On the Amazon actuality present “Beast Video games,” contestants participated in a potato sack race, tower climbing activity, and coin assortment problem, amongst others, as they competed for a $10 million money prize, the single biggest prize within the historical past of tv and streaming. The present, which aired the ultimate episode of its first season on February 13, was Amazon’s largest unscripted present ever, incomes 50 million viewers in its first 25 days.
Now Jimmy Donaldson, the 26-year-old creator who can be recognized on YouTube as MrBeast, is revealing that he misplaced “tens of hundreds of thousands” of {dollars} on the present, however that he has no regrets about utilizing his personal cash to assist fill within the gaps within the present.
“I misplaced a ton of cash filming the present,” Donaldson advised Steven Bartlett on a “Diary of a CEO” podcast episode launched earlier this month. “It was not an excellent monetary choice to make ‘Beast Video games’.”
Jimmy Donaldson. Photograph by Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC by way of Getty Photographs
Donaldson revealed that the primary episode alone required over $15 million to assemble the set, which consisted of 1,000 towers that have been every 10 ft tall. The set of the second episode, in the meantime, took $14 million to construct.
Associated: MrBeast Has Grown Up. He Thinks His YouTube Videos Should Too.
Donaldson declined to specify how a lot the complete 10-episode season price however mentioned that the present price greater than its $100 million budget general.
Nonetheless, when Bartlett requested if he had any regrets, Donaldson mentioned no.
“For me, it was about making season one nearly as good as potential,” Donaldson acknowledged. “I am unable to let the YouTube group down.”
In accordance with Donaldson, YouTube creators do not have an excellent status in the case of transferring over to streaming platforms. He mentioned that even he, because the YouTuber with the most subscribers in the world, struggled to garner curiosity amongst streaming executives for his present.
So the stakes weren’t simply excessive for “Beast Video games,” they have been excessive for the YouTube group at massive, Donaldson mentioned. Now that the present is a hit, doorways are opening for him and different creators.
“I already know of two creators who’ve signed offers simply primarily based on the success of ‘Beast Video games,’ and possibly tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} [are] going to circulation into creators’ pockets simply due to ‘Beast Video games’ within the subsequent yr,” Donaldson claimed.
Associated: MrBeast Has Grown Up. He Thinks His YouTube Videos Should Too.
Donaldson additionally revealed within the interview that whereas he could also be a billionaire on paper, he truly has lower than $1 million in his checking account. Although he provides himself a wage, he ensures it’s simply sufficient to cowl his private bills. He reinvests the remaining into his model.
Beast Video games is offered solely on Prime Video. In accordance with Donaldson, the present attracts about 700,000 new distinctive viewers daily.
