‘Acolyte’ turned out to be more expensive than anyone thought: They spent more on one episode than on ‘Game of Thrones’

It seems that “The Acolyte” would undoubtedly become a huge hit due to its combination of all the necessary conditions of modern Hollywood cinema:

• a cast of different genders, races and orientations,
• the first queer person in history to lead a Star Wars project
• and a staggering budget.

Lucasfilm has allocated an amount many times greater than the cost of the first seasons of Game of Thrones ($60 million), and this does not include marketing costs.

“Acolyte” turned out to be more expensive than anyone thought: they spent more on one episode than on “Game of Thrones” – image 1

According to some assumptions, the studio management even managed to buy the critics, who gave the spin-off a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience rating was only 18%.

In total, the makers needed 180 million, which means 22.5 million per episode.

The project even surpassed “House of the Dragon”, which spent 20 million per episode, and the film “Dune” with a budget of 165 million.

However, all this did not save the series from a resounding failure.

After starting with a plot that captured the audience’s attention, he failed to maintain the momentum and slipped into the finals.

“Acolyte” turned out to be more expensive than anyone thought: they spent more on one episode than on “Game of Thrones” – image 2

The negative public reaction led to the company abandoning the idea of ​​a sequel, and showrunner Leslye Headland’s hopes for a trilogy were dashed.

Analysts fear that the cancellation of “Acolyte” does not bode well for future works about a galaxy far, far away, unless they return to the canons of the last century.