Angels in America scores for HBO

The first installment of the HBO miniseries Angels in America took 4.2 million viewers under its wings Sunday, making it the premium cable channel's highest-rated movie this year. The three-hour block, which premiered at 8 p.m., drew an 8.6 household rating/12 share in HBO homes. Angels held up well over its running time, dipping only as low as an 8.1 at its lowest point of the evening. However, director Mike Nichols's miniseries, starring Al Pacino, Emma Thompson, and Meryl Streep, did not compete with broadcast fare. HBO has seen better results from some of its original films, including Hysterical Blindness in 2002, but Blindness benefited from having Sex and the City as a lead-in.