‘Agatha All Along’ Emerges as the MCU’s Cheapest Production to Date
Agatha All Along premiered last week with its first two episodes. While initial audience reactions were positive, critics initially panned the show before the overall reception evened out. It is now certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, boasting an 83% approval rating from critics and an 82% rating from audiences.
Despite focusing on a C-list character and having a premise that might not appeal to many casual MCU fans, the show has attracted a notable number of views.
According to the latest figures, Agatha All Along attracted 9.3 million views in its first week. While this is less than other popular shows released in the past six months, it’s still significant for Agatha All Along, especially given the backlash over its queer cast and themes.
Now, Agatha All Along has another point in its favor: according to The Hollywood Reporter, it is the least expensive Marvel Studios production to date. The exact figures haven’t been disclosed, but several factors explain this.
First, despite the show’s focus on magic, there has been minimal CGI so far, with most of the production relying on practical effects and sets.
The second factor is the number of episodes. Agatha All Along will have a total of 9 episodes, whereas other MCU Disney+ shows typically range from 6 to 8 episodes. Thus, even if Agatha All Along has a higher overall budget, it still comes out cheaper per episode.
Loki, Moon Knight, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel, and The Falcon and The Winter Soldier each cost around $140-150 million for their six episodes. In contrast, WandaVision and She-Hulk: Attorney at Law had budgets of approximately $225 million each, as they had longer episode counts.
Secret Invasion holds the title for the most expensive series per episode, costing $212 million for six episodes, while Echo is the least expensive, with a total of just $40 million for its five episodes.
When compared to Disney productions overall, Agatha All Along is significantly cheaper than the notorious flop The Acolyte, which had a budget of $180 million for 8 episodes.
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