Just How Big is the 'House of the Dragon' Budget?
Its predecessor, 'Game of Thrones', has already made history as one of the most expensive shows in the world with a budget around $100 million per season.
It looks like HBO Max believes in 'House of the Dragon ' so much it poured even more money into it than 'Game of Thrones ' once had.
Even though the bucks spent on the dragon action are not officially revealed, Variety reported, citing a source familiar with the matter, that 'House of the Dragon' landed a budget of around $20 million per episode.
With ten episodes in the first season, the opening chapter of the prequel alone would cost $200 million — twice as much as the original HBO hit.
The stakes are rising with HBO being "adept" at the world-building series like 'Westworld ' and 'His Dark Materials ', with teams behind such shows being greenlit with big budgets so that they can work "as efficiently and effectively as possible', according to Variety.
HBO is not the only media company funneling money into its projects. With Netflix pouring some $30 million into each episode of 'Stranger Things ', and Amazon to soon introduce 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' (the series has already become the world's most expensive TV show), HBO needs to keep up.
After all, 'House of the Dragon' has inadvertently drawn a lot of comparisons with 'Rings of Power' — mainly due to the fact that both shows are focused on a fantasy world with magical creatures and are thus heavily relying on CGI.
But, while 'Rings of Power' faces a lot of skepticism from Tolkien fans — not least because of the CGI — 'House of the Dragon' fans seem to be rejoiced over how things are looking as of now. What seems to satisfy people the most is the design of the dragons — unique when it comes to every fire-breather, it also looks extremely realistic and intimidating... at least when it comes to promotional material.
"HBO really has great promotional material; this is the kind of thing which gets people going while also showcasing specific qualities of the show. You really have to commend them on it, because it clearly isn't the standard yet." – /DefinitelyNotALeak
Some people are audaciously suggesting that the bigger budget might also end up in the prequel being even better than the original.
"Guys I seriously think that House of the Dragon, has the potential to be better than Game of Thrones. I mean production-cinematography-CGI-scenery-costumes-music-performances-characters development-plot wise. Obviously GoT was a pop cultural phenomenon and HOTD is very very difficult to be a similar one, but honestly I really think the HOTD will be what Better Call Saul was to Breaking Bad. " – /Shaenyra
'House of the Dragon' premieres on HBO Max on August 21.