Syfy’s Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! didn’t have the same ratings bite as the franchise’s 2014 version.  

The third installment in Syfy’s Sharknado franchise drew 2.8 million viewers, 27% below the 3.8 million viewers garnered for the July 2014 Sharknado 2: The Second One film, according to Nielsen. Sharknado 3 was toothier from a ratings perspective than the original Sharknado movie, increasing the audience by 103%, said Nielsen.

Among adults 18-49 Sharknado 3 was down 33% from Sharknado 2 and down 32% among adults 25-54.

Sharknado 3 was the most watched show on cable last night among total viewers. Syfy earlier today announced it has already greenlit Sharknado 4 for next July.

The movie was a big hit on the social media front, generating some 2 billion Twitter impressions, according to Syfy.

Syfy’s Sharknado 3:Oh Hell No! took a bite out of social media last night (July 22), reaching a unique audience of 4.5 million Twitter users, according to Nielsen Twitter TV ratings numbers.

The movie – the third in Syfy’s popular Sharknado b-movie series -- drew 360,000 tweets, easily outdistancing MTV’s Catfish: The TV Show and CBS’ Big Brother yesterday, according to Nielsen.

Syfy, which reported the movie drew some 2 billion Twitter impressions – doubling the 1 billion impressions for 2014’s Sharknado 2: The Second One – has already greenlit a Sharknado 4 movie to debut next July. The network also reported that video clips from the movie generated nearly 6 million viewers to date, including 4.1 million on Syfy’s YouTube channel.

“Sharknado 3 may have devoured half of America’s celebrities, but there are still hungry fans and sharks to feed, so the adventure continues -- not in a galaxy far, far away, but on your television sets next July,” said Chris Regina, senior vice president of program strategy for Syfy in a statement.

From a ratings perspective, Sharknado 3 averaged 2.8 million viewers, down 27% from last year's Sharknado 2: The Second One.

For the on-the-go woman (or fashion-conscious man) who won’t let a little thing like flying, razor-toothed sharks ruin what was otherwise a stellar make-up day, Syfy, producers of Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!,  has teamed with Benefit Cosmetics to promote "They’re Real," mascara that not only lengthens lashes but also apparently has recently acquired the power to kill large aquatic animals thrust mightily out of unlikely weather phenomenon. (Not really, but the producers of Sharknado are saying it anyway, tongue firmly in cheek).

To promote They’re Real, Sharknado star Tara Reid and Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills own Kyle Richards will anchor a custom vignette featuring the mascara as they fight off a Sharknado attack. The vignette will be featured on NBC universal networks Bravo, Syfy and E!

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! is scheduled to premiere on July 22 at 9 p.m.

“The ‘Sharknado’ franchise has proven to be unmatched marketing platform for advertisers, combining the enormous power of television with unparalleled social amplification,” said NBC Universal executive vice president, client solutions Alison Tarrant in a statement “It’s no surprise that we are seeing new partners in new categories, and we are excited for Benefit Cosmetics to join us as we take a giant bite out of the viewer pie.”

Syfy has not shied away from product tie-ins for the popular Sharknado franchise. In the past video games and books have all tied into the films.  This, however, is the first time a cosmetics company has joined the fray.

“We are thrilled to be Sharknado’s first-ever beauty brand partner, it was a no-brainer for Benefit to join as we strive to be fun & disruptive wherever possible,” said Benfefits VP brand marketing Nicole Frusci said in a statement.  “What better way can you show large audiences that ‘laughter is the best cosmetic’ than by having bold & girly women kill sharks using mascara?”

Based in San Francisco, Benefit has a long product line-up with tongue-in-cheek names like Boi-ing, Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow, Fakeup, Watt’s Up  and Puff Off.

You can add the Syfy Network to the long list of things that love David Hasselhoff (Germans and Norm MacDonald being just two) as the former Baywatch star joins the cast of Sharknado 3, contributing his aquatic thespian skills to the role of Gilbert Sheperd, father of series hero Fin Sheperd, portrayed by former Beverly Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering.

Hasselhoff – the star of iconic 1980s TV series Knight Rider and Baywatch – has carved out a decent side career in parodying his sometimes ultra-serious persona in films like Dodgeball and The SpongeBob Squarepants Movie. He will star opposite another 80s icon -- Bo Derek, who recently signed on to play Fin’s mother, May – as well as Ziering, Tara Reid (April) and Cassie Scerbo (Nova) in the newest installment of the global pop culture sensation.

In addition, Ryan Newman will play April and Fin’s daughter Claudia Sheperd and Jack Griffo portrays Claudia’s friend, Billy.

Additional cameo roles include Mark Cuban as the President of the United States; Ann Coulter as the Vice President; Jerry Springer as Mr. White, a manic tourist; *NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick as a pool lifeguard, and Chris Jericho, who will portray Bruce the roller coaster ride operator.

Sharknado 3 will premiere on Syfy in July, causing mass destruction in Washington, D.C., before roaring down the Eastern Seaboard and into Florida.

Anthony C. Ferrante will once again direct, based on an original screenplay by Thunder Levin. Sharknado 3 is a production of The Asylum.

When it aired last July 30, Sharknado 2: The Second One became Syfy’s most-watched original movie ever, notching just under 4 million viewers in its debut.

Actors Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will return for a third battle with killer sharks in Syfy’s Sharknado 3 originalfilm set to debut later this July.

Ziering and Reid will reprise their roles from the first two Sharknado sci-fi films, according to network officials. Man-eating sharks will terrorize Washington D.C. in the third installment of the Sharknado series, which will be produced by The Asylum studio.

Sharknado 2: The Second One which aired last July set a Syfy original movies audience record with 3.9 million viewers.

While the prospect of Tara Reid’s buzz-saw enabled appendage wreaking havoc on Congress  as sharks rain down around her creates mental images too amazing to fathom, reports that the third installment of the Sharknado franchise will take place in our nation’s capital are slightly premature.

Several movie and science-fiction oriented websites were abuzz in the past several days after Showbiz 411, citing unnamed sources,  reported that the next installment will likely take place in Washington, D.C. That sent the Internet into overdrive, with commenters speculating on possible cameos – global warming denier Ted Cruz, for one  – and potential titles for the TV Movie – Sharknado 3: Fin-dependence Day.

Syfy officials weren’t letting on about their intentions.

"We've reached no official decision on Sharknado 3 locations," a Syfy spokesman said Friday.

Sources also said that screenwriter Thunder Levin, who penned the first two installments of the franchise – is in negotiations to write the third. However, no deal has been reached yet.

The Sharknado franchise, with Reid and former Beverly Hills 90210 star Ian Ziering, has been a big hit for Syfy, with the first installment – set in Los Angeles – setting social media site Twitter aflame with more than 300,000 tweets. That mark was smashed in the second installment – aptly named Sharknado2: The Second One and set in New York City – which generated an estimated 1 billion Twitter impressions and attracted 3.9 million viewers to its July 30 premiere.

Syfy has masterfully exploited the Internet and social media to drum up interest in the Sharknado franchise – it held a Twitter naming contest for the second movie and consistently bombarded the web with promos for books, video games and other merchandise associated with the picture.

Back in August, a petition surfaced on Change.org to persuade Syfy to set Sharknado 3 in Washington, making its case with tongue firmly planted in cheek:  “DC is a city filled with history, majesty, and democracy. Most importantly, DC is a city that deserves to be pounded relentlessly by an inexplicable tornado filled with sharks,” the petition said.

While DC makes perfect sense as the setting for Sharknado 3 – the Potomac River is an outlet to Chesapeake Bay and the ocean, for instance – we are talking about a tornado full of sharks, so other more land-locked locations like Chicago and Las Vegas have also been mentioned as possible sites. And there are a host of other possibilities on both coasts. We humbly submit, for Syfy’s consideration:  Sharknado 3: Sleeveless in Seattle; Sharknado 3: Mayhem in Miami; and Sharknado 3: I Left My Heart [And Lungs] in San Francisco.

Wherever it is set, Sharknado 3 is expected to air on Syfy in the summer of 2015.