Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Behind the Candelabra’ Is the Highest Rated HBO Movie Since 2004

The premiere of Steven Soderbergh’s highly anticipated Liberace biopic “Behind The Candelabra” was a huge ratings success for HBO, giving the network its best ratings for a TV movie since 2004.

READ MORE: Que(e)ries: It Was an Impressively Gay Cannes, But ‘Behind The Candelabra’ Ended Up Having Little To Do With That

“Candelabra” — which stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon and screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival — was watched by 2.4 million viewers Sunday night at 9pm. The last time an HBO movie managed that feat was Alan Rickman-Mos Def starrer “Something The Lord Made,” about the black cardiac pioneer Vivien Thomas and his partnership with white surgeon Alfred Blalock, a pioneer of modern heart surgery. “Lord” found 2.6 million viewers at the time.

READ MORE: Cannes Review: ‘Behind the Candelabra’ is Steven Soderbergh’s Glamorous, Garish and Great Goodbye (For Now)

Comparably, recent HBO biopic “Phil Spector” — featuring a similar starry cast in Al Pacino and Helen Mirren — was watched by just 754,000 people in its first airing.

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