"Squid Game." Youngkyu Park
Netflix spent $21.4 million on "Squid Game," the biggest-hit series it has ever produced.
This is a relatively small amount compared to Netflix's other hits, like "Stranger Things", and "The Crown."
Other companies such as Apple and Disney have streaming shows that are movie-like in budget.
The explosion in streaming platforms over the past years has sparked a content arms race. This has led to an increase in costs as media companies attempt to attract subscribers with high-budget IP.
Netflix's "Squid Game", the most popular show on Netflix right now, isn't based upon any preexisting IP. It also costs a relatively small amount compared to other streaming hits.
According to Bloomberg's Lucas Shaw, who used internal documents that he had obtained, the streamer spent $21.4million on the Korean-language series. Netflix refused to comment on the figure at Insider's request.
On Tuesday, Netflix announced that "Squid Game", its most popular series, had been watched by 111 million households since September 17. (Netflix counts a viewer if they watch at least two minutes of a movie or show). In its first month, 82 million viewers watched "Bridgerton," the second-most popular series on Netflix.
Variety reports that Netflix has committed $500 million to South Korea this year in order to invest heavily in its home country.
Netflix spent $2.4 million for "Squid Game", which consists of nine episodes. This is a lower cost than other Netflix hit shows.
Variety reported that "Stranger Things", "The Crown" and "The Crown" were launched at $8 million and $10 millions per episode, respectively. Comparatively, Netflix's sixth-largest launch of "Stranger Things," season 3, is $8 million and $10 million per episode respectively, Variety reported in 2017.
The Hollywood Reporter reported that Marvel shows such as "WandaVision", "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier," and "WandaVision" are available on Disney+. They can be purchased for up to $25 million each episode. According to THR, the first season of "Star Wars"' series "The Mandalorian," had a budget at $15 million per episode. This would have put the whole eight-episode season at $120million.
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Amazon and Apple, tech giants, have also spent a lot of money to expand their streaming businesses. According to THR, Amazon will spend $465 million for season 1 of "Lord of the Rings", which includes the $250 million it spent in rights.
According to Bloomberg and THR, "The Morning Show" cost Apple $300m for two seasons. This is a figure that was comparable to the price of "Star Wars", which costs $15 million per episode for 20 episodes. Mimi Leder, the show's executive producer, disputed that figure in an interview with Insider before Apple TV+'s 2019 debut. However she did not reveal any numbers.
Let's recap:
"Lord of the Rings", Amazon Prime Video - $465 Million for the first season, including $250 Million for the series rights
"WandaVision" and the "Falcon and the Winter Soldier", (Disney+), - $25 Million per episode
"The Mandalorian", (Disney+), $15 million per episode
"The Morning Show" (Apple TV+ - $15 Million per Episode
"The Crown" (Netflix), $10 Million per Episode
"Stranger Things", (Netflix), $8 Million per Episode
"Squid Game" - $2.4 million per episode ($21.4 million for nine episodes)
Business Insider has the original article.
