HBO has had plenty of hit TV shows over the years, but few have had the insane popularity of Game of Thrones. Fans returned to Westeros with the recent premiere of the prequel House of the Dragon, which was a big enough hit that Season 2 has already been ordered. And if the Game of Thrones rumors are true, HBO spent a fortune marketing House of the Dragon.
We’re only one episode into House of the Dragon, but it sounds like it’s already made quite the splash. Despite criticism surrounding Game of Thrones’ final season, the first episode ended up being a wild success on HBO and its streaming service. And according to a new report by Deadline, this viewership may be partly because of the huge sum of money spent on marketing it. Namely around $100 million, which is the type of budget major movie blockbusters are given. Dracarys to that budget.
While this sum might be dizzying for fans, it appears that HBO has already earned back that investment based on House of the Dragon’s premiere. According to the same report, the first episode reached nearly 130 million in the US alone. As such, it’s clear that putting the focus on marketing definitely resulted in more eyes on the series premiere. We’ll just have to see if this excitement is buoyed as we get deeper into the new series.
The marketing budget can be seen in the way trailers for House of the Dragon occurred on TV, as well as expenses like billboards. After all, how is any Game of Thrones fan expected not to tune in when you see Rhaenyra Targaryen with her dragon Syrax behind her? The winged creatures were part of some of the original show’s most thrilling sequences, and there will be even more in the aptly titled prequel.
When House of the Dragon premiered last Sunday, it was so popular that some HBO Max users found that their app crashed. While this technical snafu isn’t ideal, it shows how much excitement was behind the new series ahead of its premiere. And now that audiences have dipped their toes back into Westerosi politics and war, it’s going to be hard to turn away. Especially if more references to the original show pop up.
As a whole, the Game of Thrones franchise is known for its absolutely insane budget, thanks to the period sets and costumes, exotic filming locations, and CGI necessary to bring it all together. Given how HBO hasn’t been shy about spending money on the beloved property before, it makes a great deal of sense that it would shell out serious cash to get eyes on the premiere of House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon airs Sundays on HBO, while Game of Thrones can be streamed in its entirety on HBO Max. Be sure to check out the summer premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
