‘House of the Dragon‘ just premiered on Sunday, August 21. HBO’s fantasy show is a prequel to the ‘Game of Thrones’ and is set around 200 years before the original event. The first episode of the prequel has met with mostly positive responses from critics and audiences.
It was one of the most anticipated shows of this year. With so many sets, props and costumes, it appears that the budget of ‘House of the Dragon‘ is pretty big. But how much is it compared to the first season of ‘Game of Thrones‘? Let’s try and find out the answer to this question.
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What Is The Budget Of ‘House Of The Dragons’?
HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon‘ is based on the portions of George R. R. Martin‘s 2018 novel ‘Fire & Blood’. It focuses on the beginning of the end of House Targaryen.
According to a report from Variety, the prequel show has cost under $20 million per episode to produce its first 10-episode season.
‘Game of Thrones‘, on the other hand, had cost HBO almost $100 million per season. Each of its episodes cost roughly around $6 million in the first season. The number then rose to $15 million for the show’s eighth and final season.
The production team of ‘House of the Dragon‘ made extra efforts to keep the cost low as HBO has been cutting costs and shelving films lately.
Read More: What Are The Early Reviews Of ‘House Of The Dragon’ Saying About The Show?
HBO Had Canceled A Prequel After Shooting Its Pilot And Made ‘House Of The Dragon’ Instead
HBO had initial plans to create another prequel show to ‘Game of Thrones‘ titled ‘Blood Moon.’ It would focus on the history of Westeros – about 8,000 years before the main event.
But the shoot was suddenly canceled in 2019 even after filming a pilot episode. The pilot reportedly cost $35 million.
Martin stated the reason for its cancellation, ‘Bloodmoon’ was a very difficult assignment,” he said. “We’re dealing with a much more primitive people. There were no dragons yet. A lot of the pilot revolved around a wedding of a Southern house to a Northern house and it got into the whole history of the White Walkers.”
HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys admitted there was nothing wrong with it. “It required a lot more invention; it was a higher risk, higher reward,” Bloys said. “There was nothing obvious wrong with it. Development and drivers are difficult.”
