Moving Remains Most Expensive K-drama Ever Filmed with the Top 5 Budget K-dramas Resulting in 3 Massive Hits and 2 Failures
Normally I would say 3 hits and two flops is at least still a winning percentage but considering the magnitude of the sunk costs of the two failures it’s still not a track record K-dramas can boast of. With When the Stars Gossip ending, K-ent is doing yet another reflecting of how best to produce hits and it’s not by big budget, big name cast alone. The top 5 most expensive K-dramas ever made to date is led by Disney+ drama Moving with a 65 billion won budget filming for 11 months, and that drama was a massive hit and will have a sequel soon. Next comes Queen of Tears with a 57 billion won budget filming for 11 months and that drama was an even bigger hit than Moving. Third spot goes to Arthdal Chronicles with 54 billion won filming for 9 months and it’s the first flop on this list. Next is When the Stars Gossip at 50 billion won and was an even bigger flop. And the 5th most expensive drama filmed was Mr. Sunshine at 42 billion won and that drama was not just a ratings hit but a huge awards season darling. I hope there is still willingness to invest in tentpole K-dramas but please good god have the script and casting vetted before pouring all that money in.
Now this list should be update next year by 1.when life gives you Tangerines(60 billion won ) 2. Show business (80 billion won) 3. Moving season 2. But what about squid game season 2 or season 3 ? All about expensive drama is trust either on writer or actor or director before putting money on drama . Still it’s risky and with no guarantee. But overall Netflix showing big bugdet drama this year or next ,hope’s it all about script not stardom because it’s Netflix original
Is the full list available? Where can we see it? I’m curious to know where Squid Game, Jirisan, King The Land, Our Blues and Crash Landing on You fit on this list. Do we know how much upcoming dramas like Show Business When Life Gives You Tangerines and Tempest cost. Which channel has the most expensive tentpole drama among the 3 terrestrial channels in recent years?
Honestly, it’s all about the script. Casting-wise, big names might serve as an initial draw but have no lasting holding power if the story is terrible. So you only need the actors to be competent enough not to detract from the script (which should be impeccable), and same goes for the directing. All that money you’d otherwise spend on the stars’ huge salaries is better used on perfecting the production values.
Yep agree with this, tbh there’s no point investing just for the cast. It would be better if the big budget goes to the production rather than the artist. Of course big name artist is still the best promotion
As if a good script guarantee hits. It’s prove so many times mediocre script also enable generate high rating. A Star is still the main draw public trust. If good script guarantee high rating instead of star, there will be increase script quality instead increase star salaries
Sorta agreed. There are a few hit dramas thanks to star power but the scripts are overrated IMO.
Willing to bet knock off will make it to the list of high budgeted flops for next year. Kim soohyun’s inflated salary plus the period setting means the cost is high but the pd and writer are virtually unknown which means the script will probably be a mess and tank terribly.
Will server a good karma to oppa fans who love to boast as if ksh carries all his shows himself when it’s the other way around.
Surprised to see arthdal on the list. Quite enjoyed that one especially joongki’s performance.
Yeah someone like you from past 18 yrs waiting or wishing ksh downfall,I can see were your jeaoulsy coming.
can dream only .but about ksh fan boosting seriously? Are you blind he is 2nd youngest baeksang award winner or many times nominated or Gallup survey or Forbes influence under 30 list what not but I forget all this ksh fan paying to boost he nuggu actor according to you he don’t getting any love or appreciation only thing ksh fan making bubble .yeah certain of male actors fans or her previous female co star syj,gw fanbase whatever i don’t know ksh living in their dream 24/7 whenever they get chance they spout venom against him. They only talk about karma or high salary etc. But I will wait & just want see if your prediction of flop if it became true or not in future.Time will tell but just I want ask simple question how many times your favourite actor or actress has paid highest tax or awarded by korean government for paying national tax payer award just curious ? What know please?
HOW to produce hits is by writing a good story! Why does that even have to be a point of reflection—that’s how you know the industry is already messed up.
“Moving” and “Queen of Tears” had a special focus on character development, and “Arthdal” was actually a good story, but I feel like people, especially the Korean audience, didn’t want to and, in fact, refused to explore the deeper themes it presented—conquest, power, greed, insecurity and self-loathing, identity, responsibility—they were just hoping to feel feels (I would argue, romantic feels, which wasn’t the focus of the story, considering its multiple character arcs that it actually managed well). Where “Arthdal” messed up was NOT bringing its story to actual conclusion and leaving it open to a sequel. The way I would’ve fixed the ending was by having Tanya DREAM of the twins and her meeting, END SCENE.
OK, there IS one more element.
Good Story + FITTING CASTING = Hit Production
All they need to get right in a cast is the two main leads to elevate a good script. Unfortunately, I feel like leading LADIES are far and few in Korea
they’re not on the come up and consistently steady like the boys who are acting. I can’t explain it quite yet, but many of the ladies are just not hitting the emotional expression or depth that’s needed to push a story to great.
Sigh.
Reading everything I wrote back, I actually feel like it’s a universal issue right now, as far as entertainment goes. The crafts of writing and performing themselves are suffering.
Arthdal Chronicles was interesting and went way deeper than even the regular ‘greed and corruption’ themed kdramas, the problem was that it was literally only half a drama. Imagine if Lord of the Rings was only one movie of the first LotR book but they never bothered to film the others (and also LotR books 2 and 3 didn’t exist)? that’s what season 1 of AC felt like. Also how did they even decide to make S2 with a different cast if it flopped?
WTSG otoh was a giant steaming pile of poo with no redeeming points, not even ‘so bad it’s good’ like the camp factor in makjang kdramas. Arthdal Chronicles frustrated me but it wasn’t a total waste of time*, that’s more than anyone can say for WTSG.
*(at least I could see the makings of a good and interesting kdrama under the styling and half-complete story, the acting was also good and the cast had actual chemistry with each other)
Knock off is surely going to be added to the list of high budgeted flops next year thanks to kim soohyun’s inflated fees and lacklusture pd and writer!
Oh really? Your heads up makes me wanna watch it even more. I’ll let my friends and family know, so they can watch it too. Thank you.
Are you the same IP address as fluffybear?
lol most definitely. And the same IP as the person who spammed KSR’s posts and got exposed by Koala too. This person loves getting slapped on the face repeatedly it seems
You don’t need to worry about him,he still going strong he not joker like your favourite . He’s fees has nothing do with production budget. simply sll production (jtbc )backing him because they trust him.song of bandit was flop. If ksh was not there no big investor will put money in this drama seeing previous record of writer expect you are same level example lmh & other actor etc. So overall knock off only ksh is expensive so nobody is charging equal to ksh in drama .so drama don’t comes under expensive budget. It will just moderate one only . your logic incredible he is only actor getting high fees other male actor getting peanut. Just what about lmh apple tv drama fees or squid male actor fees etc. it all about success every actor charging money but how many actor paying taxes properly ?
I think it is fair to say that showbiz is a gamble. You can’t predict what perfect combo of ingredients will make a drama get a good return on investment.
The writer for WTSG had written some good dramas before, so the crashing and burning of the writing in such spectacular fashion may not have been on the shortlist of things that could go terribly wrong with this drama.
Precisely. I think this is the only correct comment tbh.
It’s always a gamble. Even star writers can flop rather spectacularly once in a while. It’s why Jirisan, Eternal King, Arthdal and many other absolute crap dramas are talked about years later. Same with S tier actors and actresses- Jun JiHyun, Son YeJin, Hyun Bin, Song JoongKi all had their share of huge flops. Nothing is ever guaranteed no matter how good the writer’s track record, or the actor’s ability to pick a good script. Very few writers and actors have insane records of never flopping, but it’s so rare I can count them on one hand. At the end of the day, it’s all a big gamble.
agree… Star writers also has up and down in their writing too. We just never know what exactly the ingredient of what public want even when a star writers has good track record.
But at least A star can draw public attention for marketing purpose.
Sometimes even if the script isn’t great, having a really good director casting the actors ( it doesn’t mean big names or popular ones) who fit the best for the roles can make a big diference .A good PD must know how to guide the actors and to take out of them the potential, the emotions that he needs . Nothing more, nothing less . One may have in his hands a great script but if he fails casting and directing it will be a flop . Timing is also a x factor , sometimes really good movies or dramas failed because viewers, spectators,…weren’t in the mood to watch them .Franck Capra’s It’s a wonderful life was unsuccessful at the box office ,to the point that they didn’t renew the copyright and entered the public domain , now it’s considered as one of the greatest films of all the time . Citizen Kane,…and many others .
I enjoyed Arthdal Chronicles II so much. The story itself is intriguing and the pivotal characters have rich history to share with viewers. The CGI of AC II is also in the better class among Asian dramas, per my CGI engineer relative. Yet to watch AC I cuz I like both leads. Popularity isn’t a factor for me to choose what to watch. Nonetheless, the tongue-twisting names of the characters in AC might have been intimidating to Asian fans LMAO. Funny that I had no trouble at all remembering who’s who when following the story.
Moving is by far the most engaging action/thriller ever produced by Kdrama. It deserves all the raves given its novelty in Kdrama. QoT is a huge flop to me regardless of how I appreciate both lead actors. The script of QoT is crap.
As to Mr. Sunshine, is it that good worth watching? Never been a fan of any stories set in that period of political turmoil, let alone the lead actor is someone I don’t really appreciate that much. But is this one really award worthy? I’m open to watch it if there’s nothing else currently interesting me.
Forget the budget, when am I going to get a great gut wrenching or rib tickling , well acted with great script? I want to get hyped about a show, discuss it to tiny details, love it so much that ppl around begin to hate it. It’s been so long we have seen a drama that we love to go on a ride on…are stories and ideas dead?
I’ve read that Escape of the Seven had a 46.2-billion won budget exceeding that of Mr. Sunshine, although the former has more episodes (so 1.4 billion won on average for the 33 episodes versus 1.75 billion won on average for 24 episodes). Escape of the Seven was such a huge flop though, reaching a low of 2.1%.