‘Behind the Candelabra’ Scores Big Ratings For HBO

What do you get when you put Matt Damon and Michael Douglas in a movie about Liberace? You get about 3.5 million viewers.

According to USA Today, Behind The Candelabra scored the biggest audience for an HBO Film since 2004’s Something The Lord Made.

The movie, which starred Michael Douglas as Las Vegas legend Liberace, and Matt Damon as his young lover Scott Thorson, brought in 2.4 million viewers during its premiere. The subsequent airing brought in another 1.1 million viewers to give Behind The Candelabra a 3.5 million person audience during its Memorial Day debut.

Entertainment Weekly reports that the debut is even more impressive since TV ratings typically decline over Memorial Day weekend.

Behind The Candelabra premiered just before the Emmy deadline and should be a strong contender come award time. Damon and Douglas have both been praised for their performances in the movie.

The Denver Post writes: “The stunning and quite intimate performances by Michael Douglas and Matt Damon are award-worthy.”

IGN adds: “Director Steven Soderbergh’s dramedy features great performances by Michael Douglas and Matt Damon in the story of entertainer Liberace and his longtime lover.”

We’ll have to wait and see of the new HBO Film wins awards but it has already won a huge audience.

Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the new movie.

Did you watch the new HBO movie this weekend?