Agatha All Along’s Success Proves That Budget Matters

Agatha All Along finally breaks the Disney mold significantly, becoming the least expensive Marvel Cinematic Universe series on Disney+. Who would have thought Disney had it in them?

The staggering sums of money Disney throws at these shows are hilarious because the figures are barely believable. Agatha’s predecessor, WandaVision, ran up a nearly $25 million per episode tab.

At nine episodes, things enter the realm of the unreal and are difficult to explain.

Considering the fact that many of these shows effectively tanked, it’s all the more head-scratching. It’s not that Disney put out some duds. It’s that they did so repeatedly.

Everyone knows the old saying about doing the same thing over and over again, anticipating a different result. Well, Disney went above and beyond that in every way possible.

The thing is, there’s a tiny possibility that someone got ahold of the steering wheel and finally did something different with Agatha All Along.

Instead of dumping cash like a prodigal wastrel, Agatha only cost around $40 million to make.

Yes, you read that correctly. Disney spent a little more on the entire production of an MCU series than on individual episodes in the previous series. Is this a sign of a course correction?

For Starters, Agatha All Along Isn’t Exactly “Successful”

At least not in all aspects. Its first week only clocked about 304 million viewing minutes. Sure, that sounds great until you realize The Acolyte one-upped it at 380 million minutes in week one.

That’s right, The Acolyte — the show Disney just canceled, amongst some angst and controversy. Moving through to the end of week three, Agatha All Along dropped to 204 million, a 33% cratering following the 22% decline from the week before.

Agatha performed worse than The Acolyte in weeks two and three, as well. Barely under 10% of all Disney+ subscribers bothered tuning into Agatha, assuming Disney’s subscriber-count reporting is accurate.

So, why does this matter? It’s important to understand the context. When Marvel’s Brad Winderbaum gushes about Agatha’s success, he really means ‘success vs. cost.’

“I can tell you it’s our least expensive show, and I think that was by design. We are looking to make these shows for a responsible cost. Frankly, it gives us a little bit more freedom creatively when we can bring them in at a reasonable budget. Like, for example, the show has minimal CG, way less than we’ve ever done before. It’s mostly practical effects, and I think you can feel it in the show.”

-Brad Winderbaum

Brad Winderbaum made that statement during an interview with Variety and, interestingly, wouldn’t go into the specifics of Agatha All Along’s numbers.

While Brad is obfuscating by shifting the cost of the show to the forefront, Disney is doing the same, waiting an entire week to reveal more details.

For obvious reasons, Disney is releasing global figures rather than domestic figures. Against the top ten charts of Disney originals, excluding older shows, Agatha All Along is currently in 10th place.

So, Where’s the ‘Success?’

Right now, Agatha All Along has an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and an audience score of 81%, which isn’t bad by any means. There may not be a horde of viewers pouring in, but the ones who are watching it and rating it are fairly satisfied.

The critic consensus is neither here nor there, with critics falling all over themselves to throw positive reviews at absolute garbage in the past and in readily demonstrable ways.

The two scores being so close together does reveal a solid degree of parity, which is good for the show.

We do have to consider competitive levels of devious gaslighting, such as comparing Agatha’s release number with those of The Penguin and claiming Agatha’s superiority. Most fans don’t bother looking at numbers, their meanings, and where they come from.

When you consider Agatha All Along’s numbers are global and The Penguin’s are domestic, that certainly changes things.

Throw in the fact that Max and Disney have roughly similar subscription rates in the US, and it looks worse for Agatha than initial proclamations suggest.

The point of this exercise is to accept the idea that Disney may have just turned a corner. The $40 million Agatha series is mindblowing, considering Disney’s history. It’s chump change, and that’s a good thing.

Now, if Disney could just put together a show that appeals to the masses on a similar budget, they might be onto something that will turn into a whole new gravy train on biscuit wheels.

We’re having a different kind of conversation right now if Disney threw $25 million into every Agatha episode.

Will Disney Continue with Low-Budget MCU and Star Wars Projects?

As of right now, Disney is embracing the cost-cutting budget plan, mostly in full force. At the end of September, a new round of layoffs at the House of Mouse, mostly at the corporate level, took place.

Disney is also gearing up to crack down on multi-users — those who share their passwords with friends and family members to steal from the same account. Subscription prices are about to go up again.

Agatha All Along is probably representative of the overall strategy going forward, with an annual exception or two.

In the meantime, Disney will continue raking in cash flow from its most lucrative business (and it’s not even close): theme parks.

Last but not least, Bob Iger is on the way out, and Disney is looking for a new CEO by putting together a Succession Planning Committee to aid in the search. Depending on who it is, we may go right back to $240 million dollar projects.

It’s just as possible that there will be even more cutbacks, or the new CEO will continue steering the ship in Bob Iger’s final heading.

Regardless of the upcoming headlines in the near or distant future, Disney will do well to learn its lessons from half-baked, poorly-written shows that cost a fortune.

Do you think Disney+ is heading in the right direction with lower-budget projects, or will Agatha All Along’s somewhat moderate success continue the overall decline?

Drop a comment below and let us know what you think!