Amazon boss justifies Lord of the Rings' $465 million budget for Season 1

Indiewire

Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke was asked about the reported budget during a Hollywood Reporter roundtable of Hollywood's most powerful women. “The market is crazy, as you saw with the Knives Out deal,” Salke said, referring to the reported $469 million Netflix is paying for two Knives Out sequels. “This is a full season of a huge world-building show. The number is a sexy headline or a crazy headline that’s fun to click on, but (the budget) is really building the infrastructure of what will sustain the whole series.” She added: "As for how many people need to watch Lord of the Rings? A lot. (Laughs.) A giant, global audience needs to show up to it as appointment television, and we are pretty confident that that will happen.”