The oldest opium of humankind is not the poppy, but fantasy! Fantasy is that very concoction that carries a person from one time to another and from one place to another. In fantasy a person can go back to the Middle Ages and, with only a legendary sword, cleanse the world of evils. Or travel to the future and, with only a code, save planet Earth from certain destruction. They can sit on the shoulders of giant birds and scour the sky, or go to the depths of the oceans, right into the middle of a party of fish. They can even strike up a friendship with nonhuman races and rule over them. Fantasy unbinds all impossibilities from humankind's hands and feet and brings them to their ultimate aim, which is absolute freedom. Is this not humankind's sweetest discovery?
The popularity of the fantasy genre in the world
The fantasy genre has over the past decades had growing popularity across the world and has captivated large audiences through various media formats—from film and television to books and video games. The astonishing success of franchises such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Game of Thrones well reflects this genre's global appeal. For example, the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies have together had nearly 6 billion dollars in sales at the global box office. On television as well, series such as Game of Thrones have recorded unprecedented figures. The finale of this series had more than 19 million viewers on the HBO network alone. Streaming platforms have also helped the growth of this genre. So much so that Netflix's The Witcher series and Amazon Prime's The Rings of Power have millions of viewers from around the world.
It is noteworthy that this genre's success in traditional formats such as books has not only continued but in recent years has had an upward trend. So much so that since 2019 sales of adult fantasy books have increased by approximately 50 percent.
Namafar invites you to read the note types of genre.
Why the fantasy genre?
It is obvious that limitation is in the nature of human life. Limitation in the length of one's life, in the choice of the era one lives in, in the number of one's journeys, in the possibility of being present in new places, in the opportunity to become acquainted with particular people or even with nonhuman species. This is the very boundary that story, and the fantasy genre in particular, breaks, and it grants a person who has only one chance to live various experiences of living.
On the other hand, the desire for power is also rooted within the human being. That same desire that throughout all of history has drawn humans toward enchantment and magic now draws them toward magical and supernatural films.
Of course, the increase in the popularity of the fantasy genre in recent years cannot be meaningless. If we accept the remark of that late philosopher, Schopenhauer, that "life is a pendulum between suffering and boredom," we realize that our age is an age of boredom. As a result of hundreds of years of fleeing from suffering, the human being has today reached the dead end of boredom. They are in need of an elixir for this numbness harder than death. So in parallel with making their amusement parks larger, raising the ceilings of their shopping malls, expanding the size of their discos, and producing bhang and opium, they also create more fantasies. Perhaps fantasy is a way for the pendulum of life to return from boredom toward suffering. The human who has fled from fighting wolves and boars and rhinoceroses now, in longing for the adventures of that primitive life, sits and watches battle with dragons.
The most popular fantasies of recent years
Looking at the list of highest-grossing films over the past few years, the names of several fantasy series also appear. "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," "Wednesday," "Avatar: The Way of Water," "Dune," and "Game of Thrones: House of the Dragon" are among these series, which we examine below.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power
The Rings of Power is a prequel that takes place thousands of years before The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (the work of J.R.R. Tolkien). This series deals with important events of the Second Age of Middle-earth, such as the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of Sauron, the fall of Numenor, and the alliance of Elves and Men. The Rings of Power, adapted from Tolkien's voluminous history, weaves together several narrative strands to create a unified epic.
The axis of this series is Galadriel, an Elven warrior who, to take revenge for the murder of her brother, wants to destroy Sauron. Galadriel's efforts lead her to Numenor and the Southlands and beyond. Later she allies with a mysterious man named Halbrand who subsequently forms many plot twists.
So far 2 seasons comprising 16 episodes of this series have been released. According to Amazon's report, the second season of The Rings of Power had 55 million viewers in the first month alone. This figure in December 2022 reached 100 million and it became Prime Video's most-watched series.
Wednesday | Wednesday
The Wednesday series is made on the basis of the fictional character Wednesday Addams, the only daughter of the Addams family. The story begins when Wednesday, to retaliate for the water polo team boys' harassment of her brother, pours live piranha fish into the school pool and is expelled from school. After that her father and mother enroll her at Nevermore Academy, a school for monstrous outcasts. There Wednesday realizes that, like her mother, she has supernatural abilities, and using them she tries to solve a murder mystery connected with the school. This series has artistically combined horror, comedic, and fantasy elements and formed a rich theme. Wednesday was nominated for the Golden Globe Awards in 2023.
Number of viewers
The Wednesday series, with more than 341 million hours watched in the first week of release, holds the record for the most hours watched in a week as an English-language series on Netflix. Three weeks after release, this series became Netflix's second most-watched English-language series in the history of this platform; while approximately 150 million households watched it and in total it has had 1.02 billion hours watched. Wednesday, after The Witcher series, had the most followers before release among Netflix's original series. This series also, through Netflix, gained first rank in number of viewers in 83 countries.
So far 1 season comprising 8 episodes of this series has been released through Netflix.
Avatar: The Way of Water | Avatar: The Way Of Water
The film The Way of Water, which was released in 2022, is a sequel to the 2009 film Avatar directed by James Cameron and expands the world built in Avatar. "The Way of Water" focuses on the life of Jake Sully, Neytiri, and their children, who are caught up in personal, cultural, and environmental challenges on the planet Pandora. The film's main conflict arises from the return of humans, who are ruthlessly seeking to exploit Pandora's resources and threaten the Na'vi way of life.
The core of this film is family, and we witness Jake and Neytiri's efforts and sacrifices to protect their children, which deepens the emotional dimension of the film through these family bonds.
Following the return of the colonizing humans, when Jake's family takes refuge among the Metkayina—a sea-dwelling Na'vi tribe—the film's story takes a surprising turn and takes us into the underwater world. Pandora's marine life and its biodiversity, which is intricately bound to the Metkayina's survival, depicts environmental challenges and shows the tensions between nature and humanity. Also, since the Sullys must learn the customs of the Metkayina, cultural themes are added to the film as well.
"The Way of Water" is an extraordinary narrative that blends family drama with epic, and with visual innovations it pushes cinematic boundaries.
The Way of Water was named by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute as one of the best films of 2022. At the Academy Awards it was also nominated for four awards including Best Picture and won the award for visual effects.
The next three Avatar installments are in production, and the third installment will be released in December 2025.
Box office revenue
The Way of Water has earned 680.4 million dollars in the United States and Canada as well as 1.629 billion dollars in other regions of the world. In total it has reached 2.310 billion dollars in global sales. This film, whose opening alone was 441 million dollars, became the highest-grossing film of 2022.
Dune | Dune: Dune (2021) and part two (2024)
The "Dune" films directed by Denis Villeneuve are adapted from Frank Herbert's science-fiction novel. The story takes place in a distant future in which the world revolves around a valuable substance called spice. This substance is essential for interstellar travel and exists only on the planet Arrakis. Arrakis, whose desert nature has made it known as Dune, over the course of the film becomes an arena for war among various races. The story is a combination of interstellar struggles, political intrigues, and themes related to the environment, colonialism, the pursuit of power, and destiny. Both parts of Dune attracted many fans because of their complex storytelling, deep world-building, and breathtaking visual effects.
Box office revenue
While the production cost of the first part of Dune was only 165 million dollars, it reached 433 million dollars in sales. This film at the ninety-fourth Academy Awards was nominated for 10 awards, of which it also won six.
The second part of Dune as well, with a cost of 190 million dollars, achieved global sales of more than 714 million dollars and became the fourth highest-grossing film of 2024.
The third part of Dune is also in production, based on Dune Messiah.
House of the Dragon: The House Of Dragone
The television series House of the Dragon is a prequel to "Game of Thrones" adapted from George R.R. Martin's novel "Fire and Blood." The story goes back to about 200 years before Game of Thrones, in the time of the reign of Viserys I Targaryen. The axis of the story is Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen—King Viserys's chosen heir—and her rivalry with Queen Alicent Hightower, Viserys's second wife.
Rhaenyra, a strong-willed and ambitious woman, as a female heir becomes entangled with the prejudices of her patriarchal society. Alicent, who was at first Rhaenyra's friend, becomes a political enemy when her son Aegon II emerges as a rival claimant to the throne. The personal and political conflict between these two women fuels a major part of the drama, which leads to open war.
This series also deals with the lives of the Targaryen children, whose rivalries and personal choices intensify the conflicts. The consequences of the civil war—including the destruction of the dragons and the weakening of Targaryen power—prepare the ground for the events of Game of Thrones.
This film addresses themes such as power, legacy, and gender roles and depicts the destructive nature of ambitious struggles.
So far two seasons comprising eighteen episodes of House of the Dragon have been released, and about 20 million dollars has also been spent for each episode. This expensive series has been a nominee for or recipient of many awards; including the eightieth Golden Globe ceremony, at which it was chosen as the best television drama series.
Number of House of the Dragon viewers
The chart below shows the number of House of the Dragon viewers from 2022 to 2024 in the United States of America, broken down by linear and streaming. The first episode of season one alone had about 10 million viewers, and the second episode in total even went beyond 10 million.
Conclusion
Over the past years the fantasy genre has had growing popularity. From film and television to video games and even books, they have attracted millions of audiences in the fantasy genre and have recorded stunning figures. The Rings of Power, The Way of Water, Dune, Wednesday, and House of the Dragon are the latest highest-selling fantasy series, which we have examined in this note.
Machine-translated from Persian by Namafar; the Persian original is authoritative. Read the original in Persian