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The Acolyteproved to be a colossal failure for Disney and theStar Warsfranchise as a whole. The series was canceled after just one season amidst low viewership. Moreover, its massive budget compared to its poor viewership, makes it a tough loss to swallow for Disney. As a result, the show’s failure has become a much-debated topic among fans online.
Created by Leslye Headland,The Acolytewas met with divisive reactions with the hate aimed at the series cited as the primary reason for its cancellation. However, the truth of the matter is that the series failed to justify its cost compared to its viewership. As a result, Headland forgot one important lesson fromStar Warscreator George Lucas,and here is why it doomed the series.
George Lucas Proved Himself a Master of Return on Investments WithStar WarsMovies
The Acolytewas created byLeslye Headlandand is set during the High Republic era of theStar Warsuniverse. However, the series was met with negative reviews andcanceled after just one season. As a result, Headland failed to live up to the lofty standards set by franchise creatorGeorge Lucas.
Lucas launched theStar Warsfranchise in 1977, with the first film made on a budget of $11 million at the time, grossing $307.2 million during its original run. Similarly, the two sequels in the original trilogy werereportedlymade for a combined budget of $55.5 million, grossing close to a billion dollars globally.
Despite the overall mixed reception of the films in the prequel trilogy, Lucas managed to continue his great track record in terms of return on investment. The three films were produced on a budget of approximately $115 million each. The prequels collected close to $2.5 billion at the global box office, proving to be a commercial success.
‘The Acolyte’ Hunk Manny Jacinto Voicing His True Feelings About Season 2 Cancellation Will Break Fans’ Hearts All Over Again
From the box office records of the original and prequel trilogy, it is evident that Lucas took a calculated risk with theStar Warsmovies. Moreover, the filmmaker knew exactly how to maximize the return on his movies, while also retaining complete creative control over the space opera franchise. In the process, Lucasbecameone of the richest filmmakers.
The Acolyte‘s Failure Proves The Acolyte Forgot George Lucas’ Most Important Lesson
In comparison to Lucas’ films, Headland was handeda massive budget of approximately $180 millionforThe Acolyte. As a result, on a per-episode basis, the series cost more thanAndor, which is arguably the most well-received Disney+Star Warsseries of recent times.
Despite the large budget, the series only had eight episodes with small runtimes, resulting in awful pacing issues that proved to be a major drawback. Furthermore, despite its budget, the series lacked the visual appeal one would expect from such an expensive production.
The series also performed poorly on the Nielsen rating charts,falling out of the top 10 streaming shows listin its third week. Therefore, it is safe to say thatThe Acolyte‘s viewership numbers simply could not justify the heavy investment made in the series. As a result, instead of receiving a second season, the series was promptly axed.
Even 62,000 Plus Fan Votes Won’t Be Enough For Disney to Renew ‘The Acolyte’ After Its Disastrous Numbers
Ultimately, Headland failed to properly utilize the allocated budget, proving that she could not follow Lucas’ bestStar Warslesson.The Acolytefailed to draw in enough viewers to justify its cost of production and Disney decided to cut its losses by canceling the series after just one season.
The Acolyteis streaming on Disney+.
Pratik Handore
Content Writer
Articles Published :1771
With a keen interest in comic book movies and blockbuster franchises, Pratik usually covers news and updates on the DCU, MCU, Star Wars, and more.A die-hard fan of George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Pratik spends most of his time exploring different storytelling mediums that invoke a sense of wonder and adventure. Other filmmakers whose works have deeply influenced him include Alfred Hitchcock, James Gunn, and Guillermo del Toro.
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George LucasLeslye Headland
