HBO’s “Harry Potter” series had already spent £147.4 million ($197.1 million) by the end of 2025, roughly halfway through shooting its first season, according to accounts filed in the United Kingdom.
The Times first reported the figures, which come from Plum Jam Productions, the HBO-owned company making the show. UK tax rules explain the rare glimpse. Productions that claim a government-backed refund worth about a quarter of qualifying spending must set up a separate entity and file public accounts. The filings show nearly £129 million went out in 2025, up from about £18 million in 2024, the preparation year. Cameras rolled at Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden, home of the original films, from July 2025 until May 2026.
The accounts omit 2026 filming, visual effects and marketing, so the season’s final cost will climb. HBO has not confirmed a budget. The total already tops seven of the eight films. Only “Half-Blood Prince,” reported at $250 million, cost more, and the series is expected to pass it. Several headlines claim the show has outspent all eight movies together, which is false. Those films cost around $1.2 billion over a decade, according to reported figures, a total the series would need several seasons to reach. HBO has ordered seven.
Social media posts have also circulated a figure of $100 million per episode. The filings do not support that number. Spread across a first season of eight episodes, the 2025 spending works out to roughly $24.5 million an episode. That sits near the cost of “House of the Dragon,” a comparison HBO executives have drawn themselves. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman has said the show carries the biggest budget a streaming series has received, a claim no documents verify.
The stakes help explain the spending. The eight films grossed about $7.7 billion worldwide, and the wider franchise has generated tens of billions of dollars across products and media. Streaming subscriptions must replace ticket sales to repay HBO’s investment, which makes sustained audience growth over several seasons essential to the plan.
