Did "Game Change" give HBO a big boost with its premiere Saturday night? You betcha!
Also read: "Game Change" Review: Sarah Palin Has Nothing to Complain About
Despite vows from John McCain and other right-leaning partisans stating that they would not watch the McCain-Palin campaign biopic, "Game Change" became the most-watched original film for HBO in nearly eight years.
Also read: John McCain Launches One-Man Boycott of "Game Change"
The initial 9 p.m. airing of the movie drew 2.1 million total viewers — the highest since May 2004's "Something the Lord Made."
"Game Change" amassed 3.6 million viewers over the four airings of the weekend.
The biopic — which features Ed Harris as McCain and Julianne Moore as Palin, and is based on the John Heilemann/Mark Halperin book of the same name — drew more than its share of detractors before it even aired.
Last month, a number of current and former Palin aides derided the movie's portrayal of the former vice presidential candidate as "sick" and inaccurate.
McCain, meanwhile, declared that it'll be "a cold day in Gila Bend, Arizona" before he watches the film.