The internet is fast changing the way people consume content. Long considered the king of entertainment, big screens no longer mean big budget. That space is now gradually being taken over by the online streaming platforms, being widely preferred by audiences around the world.
The biggest TV shows were no match to big-budget films, be it in India or even the West. But that is changing now as shows get bigger budgets and much larger canvases to play with. The biggest of them all dwarfs even the most expensive films made in the world.
World's most expensive TV show
The Rings of Power is the most expensive TV show ever made and it premiered on Amazon Prime Video in 2022, with the Deadline reporting that it cost Amazon Studios a staggering $1 billion (₹ 8300 crore). The cost includes the purchase of rights and the promotions for season 1. Collider reported that the production cost for movies was as high as $465 million (₹38 crore). Each eight-episode season costs around $58 million (Rs 480 crore).
Rings of Power is more expensive than some top Bollywood movies
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the costliest film ever made, had a production budget of $447 million, which is less than the Rings of Power. The original Lord of Rings was made with a production budget of around $260 million for the three movies.
In this race, Indian movies lag way behind as the most expensive Indian movies are Kalki 2898 AD, RRR, and Adipurush, made with a budget of $70-75 million each which is just 1/15th of the Rings of Power season 1 landing cost. Even each episode of Ring of Power is higher than some of the biggest Indian movies such as Brahmastra Part One ($45 million), Singham Again ($42 million), and Jawan ($36 million).
All about Rings of Power
The Lord of the Rings shares the story of the rise of Sauron, the key antagonist of Tolkien's work. The movie is set centuries before the events of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings and introduces several new characters with old fan favourites. The first season received mixed reactions from both fans and critics but managed to get good reviews.