Television has traditionally been viewed as the less glamorous sibling of cinema, often overshadowed by the larger-than-life scale of films, both in India and the West. However, the rise of streaming services has transformed this perception, allowing TV shows to boast significantly larger budgets and more expansive storytelling. One such show has set a new record, eclipsing even the priciest films ever made.
‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ holds the title of the most expensive TV show in history. Premiering on Amazon Prime Video in 2022, it cost Amazon Studios an astonishing $1 billion (₹8,300 crore), according to Deadline. This figure encompasses the rights acquisition and promotional expenses for the first season. Collider reported that the production costs alone reached around $465 million (over Rs. 3,800 crore), with each of the eight episodes costing an eye-watering $58 million (Rs. 480 crore).
In comparison, the most expensive film to date, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’, had a production budget of $447 million, which is still less than that of ‘The Rings of Power’. Notably, the original ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy had a combined production cost of just $260 million for all three films, highlighting how far the spinoff has advanced in financial terms.
When it comes to Indian cinema, the gap is even wider. The most costly Indian films, including ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, ‘RRR’, and ‘Adipurush’, have budgets ranging from $70 to $75 million, a mere fraction (1/15th) of ‘The Rings of Power’s season 1 total cost. Remarkably, the per-episode production cost of $58 million surpasses the budgets of major Indian films like ‘Brahmastra Part One’ ($45 million), ‘Singham Again’ ($42 million), and ‘Jawan’ ($36 million).
Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s appendices, ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ explores the rise of Sauron, the main antagonist in Tolkien’s lore. Set centuries before the events of ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’, the show introduces new characters alongside beloved favorites. While the first season received mixed reviews, it garnered solid ratings, and a second season, which received a better reception, was released earlier this year.
