If you watched the trailer for Stranger Things Season 4 and thought to yourself that the production quality had gone up from its initial seasons, well, you'd be right. That's because the budget for Netflix's hit sci-fi show reportedly ballooned to $30 million per episode for season 4.
The latest figure stems from a Wall Street Journal article headlined “Netflix, Facing Reality Check, Vows to Curb its Profligate Ways,” in which sources close to the streaming giant revealed the highly anticipated fourth season "has a per-episode cost" of $30 million.
With nine episodes split over two volumes, this would put the total budget for Stranger Things Season 4 around $270 million -- a massive figure, even for a show as popular as this one. For comparison, early seasons of HBO's Game of Thrones cost about $10 million per episode before rising to $15 million per episode in the final two seasons. Paramount+'s Halo TV series costs about $10 million per episode. Stranger Things even dwarfs the Marvel TV shows on Disney+ which cost "as much as $25 million per episode."
The cost per episode for Stranger Things Season 4 is especially alarming as the report comes on the heels of Netflix's disappointing quarterly earnings report. Netflix shares fell 35.1% on Wednesday after the streaming giant confirmed that it lost 200,000 subscribers in the past three months and expects to lose 2 million more over the next couple of months.
Netflix still posted $1.6 billion in profits for the latest quarter, down slightly from the $1.7 billion in the year-ago quarter. But with competition in the streaming industry rising and consumers tightening their wallets as they deal with inflation, there are concerns that Netflix's spending has gotten a bit out of control. While Netflix previously prioritized subscriber growth over cost efficiency, it's now starting to rein its spending in while also looking for additional ways to boost revenue, including the possible introduction of a lower-priced ad-supported subscription tier as well as cracking down on password sharing.
The first batch of episodes in Stranger Things Season 4 will premiere on Netflix on May 27.