Veering off its usual course, Disney Channel scored big last week with original telepic Tiger Cruise, which was basic cable’s most-watched movie of the week among viewers and one of the network’s key demos.
Grabbing a 2.8 household rating with its 8 p.m. debut Aug. 6, Tiger Cruise launched with some 3.8 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research data. Among tweens 9-14, the film’s premiere attracted some 1.4 million of those viewers.
For each of its three encore telecasts last weekend, Tiger Cruise averaged 2.5 million total viewers.
With a daughter and her career-minded naval father at the center, the film is a fictional story inspired by events aboard the aircraft carrier USS Constellation when, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, the ship went into full combat alert with civilians on board for the first time in modern history.
Tiger Cruise -- which is also scheduled to encore Wednesday, Aug. 24 and Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. (EST/PST) -- carries a “TV-PG” parental guideline and an on-screen advisory reading, “This movie contains references to the events of Sept. 11, 2001.”
