Sharknado By the Numbers

The SyFy network launched a Twitter sensation in July with the release of the original movie Sharknado.

The outlandish movie sparked a lot of conversation on social media, but particularly Twitter. (What was it about? Well, actually, the title does say it all – it was about a tornado of sharks. Yup, we are finally making movies based on the ideas of 5 year-old boys…and that is awesome.)

A month later the correlation between the movie and social media is coming into focus. Originally, viewership for the film was disappointing relative to all the Twitter buzz generated in the days leading up to it and during the airing. But a funny thing happened – the movie’s second and third airings drew more viewers than the first, aided in large part by the continuing buzz (though much of it was mockery) that Sharknado generated.

So here you go, the story of Twitter’s impact on Sharknado in a half dozen numbers.

Sharknado by the Numbers

318,232  The number of tweets sent out about the SyFy movie Sharknado during its original broadcast July 11 Twitter

38 Percent of those tweets that came from the east coast Twitter

15  Percent, the number of #Sharknado tweets that came from just 495 Twitter accounts Twitter

1.4 million  Number of viewers who tuned in for Sharknado’s first airing CNN

2.1 million  Number of viewers who tuned in for Sharknado’s third airing, the most ever for a SyFy encore presentation CNN

46.8  The median age for a Sharknado viewer, the lowest for a SyFy original movie since 2011 Time