Danny Boyle's London 2012 Opening Ceremony: Most Watched in 50 Years, Breaks Record

NBC's coverage of the Olympic opening ceremony scores 40.7 million average viewers

Whether you liked it or not, Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle's London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony scored Friday night.

The Shakespeare-inspired opening ceremony, complete with live animals and an oversized Voldemort from Harry Potter, was the most-watched summer games opening ceremony in history according to NBC.

So just how many tuned in to watch everything from Daniel Craig's Bond-ing moment with Queen Elizabeth II to Mr. Bean's piano stint, and yes, even rapper Dizzee Rascal, and let's not forget, the Industrial Revolution recap?

A whooping 40.7 million, y'all.

TAKE A LOOK: Hot Bods: Olympics Edition

That tops the 1996 Atlanta games, which previously held the record with 39.8 viewers, and last time's Beijing ceremony with 34.9 million.

And on top of holding the record for the most watched opening ceremony in history, the event was also the most watched event in Britain this year, with an audience of 22.4 million.

We'll give NBC and Boyle a gold medal for that!

(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)