Disney Spent Over $230 Million Creating ‘The Acolyte’ — But That’s Not the Full Story

While much of the discourse surrounding the cancelation of The Acolyte has focused on the divisive reaction the show received from the Star Wars fan base and the backlash from certain segments of the population, Disney’s decision to pull the plug on the series had far more to do with dollars than it did with discourse.

Set roughly 100 years before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, The Acolyte introduced audiences to the era of the High Republic, where a mystery was afoot.

Photo; Lucasfilm

Needless to say, anticipation was high.

‘The Acolyte’ Failed to Hold Its Audience

While the series delivered 4.8 million views on its first day of streaming, giving Disney+ its biggest premiere of 2024, The Acolyte failed to hold that audience.

Photo: Disney

According to Deadline, the series fell out of the Nielsen Top 10 by its third episode. It then failed to chart again until its Season 1 finale.

Speaking of the final episode, The Acolyte’s swan song only managed to bring in 335 million minutes streamed, the lowest ever for a Star Wars season finale.

Defenders of The Acolyte will note that it is perhaps unfair to other Star Wars streaming series, such as The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, and Ahsoka, which benefited from familiar characters.

Photo: Lucasfilm

While this is certainly true (though The Mandalorian cast was largely composed of original characters), The Acolyte simply did not deliver enough audience to warrant a second season, especially when the show’s budget is considered.

The Series Had a Massive Budget

As we previously reported, The Acolyte has an astronomical budget. While the exact figures were a bit shady, it was generally accepted that Disney spent roughly $180 million on the series.

With a price tag that high, The Acolyte needed to be an undeniable hit.

Photo: EW

According to a new Forbes report, Disney actually spent $230 million to bring The Acolyte to life. Because much of the series was filmed in the United Kingdom, however, Disney also received an Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit from the UK government of $46.5 million. That credit would bring the net cost back down to $183.6 million.

Notably, however, the latest financial findings on which Forbes based the total budget do not include all of the post-production, meaning the number could be higher.

Photo: Star Wars

Whether Disney spent $180 million or $200 million on The Acolyte, the show simply did not deliver enough views to warrant that kind of spending.

A Product of Its Era

It should be noted, however, that The Acolyte began production in 2021 when Disney was willing to spend billions of dollars on content to attract new subscribers to Disney+. In that regard, the series was simply a product of its era.

Master Sol (Lee Jung-jae) in Lucasfilm’s THE ACOLYTE, exclusively on Disney+. ©2024 Lucasfilm Ltd. & TM. All Rights Reserved.

With Bob Iger back at Disney’s helm and Wall Street hyper-focused on streaming profitability, the model that led to the creation of The Acolyte no longer made sense.

Photo: Disney

It was only logical then that Disney canceled the series after just one season, no matter how disappointed some fans may be.

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