There are few adaptions that have been as masterfully well-executed as Arcane, but it wasn't cheap. With the second and final season set to be released next week, a new report has revealed how much Riot have spent on the show.
Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll be aware that Arcane has been a massive success for Riot and Netflix. The animated show based on League of Legends is one of the most highly-rated adaptions ever produced, and both fans and newcomers alike seem enthralled.
That might lead you to believe it's also been massively profitable, but the margins are far thinner than many would expect.
Riot spent $250 million to produce Arcane
According to an exclusive report from Variety, Riot have spent "approximately $250 million to produce and promote over 18 total episodes" of Arcane. At about $14 million per episode, this makes Arcane the most expensive animated show ever produced, and by a hell of a lot.
For context, here is the per-episode budget of a few much other major animated shows:
- "The Simpsons" (Season 30) (2018) – Estimated $5 million per episode
- "Family Guy" (Season 15) (2016) – Estimated $2 million per episode
- "The Clone Wars" (Season 7) (2020) – Estimated $1-2 million per episode
- "South Park" (Recent Seasons) – Estimated $1-2 million per episode
- "Rick and Morty" (Season 5) (2021) – Estimated $1 million per episode
As you can see, Riot gave Arcane a budget far more generous than the industry standard, but with an IMDb score of 9/10, we can at least be happy the money was well spent.
If you're wondering why the show was so expensive, it was apparently caused by inexperience in the writer's room and extravagant spending on marketing:
What drove the cost far beyond typical animation expenses, insiders say, were both a labor-intensive approach and frequent cost overruns triggered by delayed script deliveries after the second season was put into production with only a fraction of the season written. But even more eyebrow-raising than the production cost was that Riot spent $60 million of its own money to promote the first season of “Arcane,” [with] extravagant stunts like a takeover of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai.
This was Riot's first serious attempt to pivot into the entertainment space, and we're certain future productions will be less wasteful, but all the same there was clearly mismanagement at play. But, as noted, we can be thankful the finished product was no flop.
Will you be tuning in for the next season of Arcane?