HBO’s New Fantasy Series Is More Expensive Than The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

HBO’s Harry Potter was expected to become one of its biggest shows of all time. Even ahead its December release, the show just broke a major record.

Adriano Goldman, director of photography for HBO Max’s Harry Potter TV series, appeared on André Pilli’s podcast for “A Masterclass with the Harry Potter Cinematographer Adriano Goldman.” During the chat, the director of photography clarified several details from the ambitious productions and revealed a major record. Per Goldman, Harry Potter has the largest production budget ever allocated to a streaming series, even surpassing The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Harry Potter’s Scale Is Massive

HBO is planning to adapt all seven novels, each of them getting one season, with a more book-accurate approach. The show kicked off production in the summer of 2025 at Warner Bros.’ Leavesden studio, the same place where the eight Harry Potter films were created, and where Warner Bros. holds the Harry Potter studio. However, the new series doesn’t share the same set, and the series had to build everything up. Season 2 has already been renewed.

Brazilian television director and cinematographer Adriano Goldman already has a lot of experience with extremely expensive shows, as he was the cinematographer on Disney+’s Andor and Netflix’s The Crown. Both seasons of Andor had a budget above $20 million per episode, with the Netflix historical series coming with a price tag above $10 million per episode.

However, Goldman admitted that Harry Potter likely has the biggest budget of all streaming shows. At the top of the charts sits Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, with a whopping $58 million for Season 1 (unadjusted for inflation) and $57.2 million for Season 2. So far, Max hasn’t unveiled the budget for Harry Potter, but it’s likely to come with a high cost, according to the filmmaker.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it has the biggest construction budget ever — you know, for streaming, let’s say; it might well be,” Goldman noted.

“But what they built is colossal, and the level of finish is incredible. I think people are really going to love it, you know? Yeah, everyone seems really excited.”

The Harry Potter Films Were Huge Blockbusters

Harry Potter Film Series — Characters from the *Harry Potter* film series.

Having Warner Bros. invest a lot in Harry Potter doesn’t come as a surprise, as the eight feature films also came with a significant budget. Overall, Warner Bros. spent over $1.15 billion to produce the eight Harry Potter films, with 2002’s Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets being the cheapest of them all, with a $100 million budget.

However, that paid off, as the series grossed more than seven times its budget. Overall, the Harry Potter franchise has grossed more than $7.7 billion worldwide, with the first, 2001’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and the last, 2011’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, passing the billion-dollar mark.

HBO is no stranger to large-scale productions, with Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, His Dark Materials, and The Last of Us.

The upcoming Harry Potter series premieres on HBO Max on Dec. 25.