Maybe the nationwide heat wave helped.
Disney Channel’s original “Teen Beach Movie” premiered to a whopping 8.4 million viewers Friday night — eclipsing even the network’s past champ, “High School Musical.”
“Teen Beach Movie” was the night’s top-rated telecast — cable and broadcast — and is now the year’s most-watched TV movie.
The movie, an homage to the mid-’60s sun-and-surf flicks (“Beach Blanket Bingo” et al.) stars Ross Lynch, Kent Boyd, Jordan Fisher, Maia Mitchell, Grace Phipps, Garrett Clayton, John Deluca, Chrissie Fit and Mollee Gray.
It’s Disney Channel’s top original movie premiere in over four years — in total viewers — and now ranks third behind only “High School Musical 2” and “Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie” in terms of viewership in the kids 2-11 demo.
The movie, which aired from 8 to 10 p.m., peaked with 9 million viewers in its last half hour.
It’s the fifth-most-watched original movie in Disney Channel history (out of 91 original movies produced over the years).