The unreal cost of making Game of Thrones
lovemoney staff
17 July 2017
Dragon's aren't cheap
It’s the most talked-about show on TV right now. But dragons, bloody battles and direwolves don’t come cheap. We reveal how much money it really costs to put Game of Thrones together.
How much?
Season six of GoT had been its most expensive yet with a whopping $10 million (£7.7m) budget per episode. And with 10 episodes shot, that’s an eye-watering $100 million (£7.7m) for a single season, making GoT one of the most expensive TV series of all time.
Even bigger
However, season seven might blow its predecessor out of the water. In a recent interview GoT cinematographer Robert McLachlan revealed that, while the show's seventh season will span only seven episodes instead of the usual 10, the budget is "probably the same" as previous seasons. That means that potentially, the budget per episode has soared past last season’s $10 million (£7.7 million) episode budget.
Way back when
If that sounds steep, the pilot episode alone reportedly cost between $5 (£3.9m) and $10 million (£7.7m).
Growing in price
While not much is known about the financials of season one, the second season of the series cost approximately $6 million (£4.6m) per episode.
Breaking the bank
The season 2 episode “Blackwater” was one of the early production spurges. Fans will remember Tyrion saving the day by unleashing green fiery explosions on the seas around Kings Landing and might not be surprised to find it cost $8 million (£6.5m) to achieve. In those early season two days, that was a lot, and production had to beg HBO to supplement the episode with an extra $2 million (£1.6m).
Can’t stop watching
But it was worth it! People are tuning in in droves. In 2016 8.9 million viewers tuned in to watch the show's finale live on HBO. If you factor in streaming and catch up, each episode of GoT is viewed by over 23 million people.
Make believe
Seasons five and six of GoT have seen Daenerys’ beloved dragons gain even more airtime, but that doesn’t come cheap. The magical power of CGI which brings dragons, direwolves and some epic battle scenes to life can run up a hefty bill. It’s thought that 10 minutes of CGI can cost up to $800,000 (£617k).
Doggone it
In the earlier seasons, when the direwolves were still young, the show used Northern Inuit dogs for filming. The breed is a pricey one, costing up to $730 (£560) for a single pup – and there were six at the beginning of the show.
It takes an army
While viewers might only see the work of GoT actors, there's a whole lot more going on behind the scenes. Season 5 was shot in five countries on 151 sets for 240 days with 166 cast members, over 1,000 crew members, and more than 5,000 extras.
Big money
The Battle of the Bastards in season six required cast and crew to go an extra mile. To create the scene where a wall of cavalry charge at Kit Harrington’s Jon Snow, rather than use CGI, the production used 40 real horses. In total, there were 80 horses hired for the bloody battle.
The fine details
GoT production designer Deborah Riley and her team had to dress every single one of the fake human and horse corpses in proper house sigils and armor.
A battle of a shoot
Battle of the Bastards used 65 stunt actors, four different camera crews and 500 extras. A news report revealed some GoT extras earn up to $117 (£80) for the first six hours on set and $50 (£35) per hour after that. The battle scene took 25 days to shoot – that’s a decent paycheck.
Pocket change
The much talked-about Purple Wedding scene in season four featured around 100 extras on set, who were paid $28 (£19) a day. Should the scene have run more than one day – which is highly likely – the bills for extras alone would have run into the thousands.
Tyrion on top
From seasons one to six it was revealed certain actors like Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister) and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister) were paid around $150,000 (£115k) per episode.
Payday
There is some speculation, however, that the lead actors have renegotiated again for season seven and that, thanks to a ‘licensing clause’ that will see them profit from distribution rights, their pay might skyrocket to up to $2 million (£1.5m) per episode. That would make the GoT leads the highest-paid actors ever on TV, eclipsing the stars of Friends and The Big Bang Theory.
Location, location, location
Forget hiring a studio, GoT is shot on location, all around the world. So far it’s been filmed in Northern Ireland, Iceland, Morocco, Malta, Spain and Croatia, meaning all the actors, runners, hair and make-up artists, caterers, etc, need to be flown in too. That’s a lot of air miles.
Northern Ireland boom
The bill for all this expensive traveling – as well as housing and feeding the whole crew on location – gets picked up by production, but they get a little helping hand from Northern Ireland’s development agency, Invest NI. As the show is headquartered there, Northern Ireland contributes a hefty $15 million (£11.5m) to the show’s budget each season. It pays off though, as it’s estimated that GoT alone has boosted the country’s economy by $141 million (£108m) in services and tourism.
UnbeWEAVEable
The ladies of GoT have rocked some pretty out-there hairdos during the series. From Margaery’s perfectly-coifed mane to Khaleesi’s wild silver locks, most of the cast members don wigs made from real human hair. Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys has two wigs that take up to two hours to apply and cost up to $7,000 (£5,400) each.
What a wardrobe
And let’s not forget the incredible costumes. From fur cloaks and armor to the Wildings suit of bones, each costume is made in house thanks to a team of leather workers, metal workers, cutters, printers and embroiders who are all on the GoT payroll.
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