What's the average budget for a movie?
The average cost to produce a major studio movie has been around $65 million. But the production costs don't cover distribution and marketing, which adds another $35 million or so, on average, bringing the total cost to produce and market a major movie to right about $100 million.
The most popular runtime is 90–100 minutes. Vast majority of movies is 80–120 minutes long. This is consistent with our movie-watching intuition. Let's find an average movie runtime by year.
Rank | Title | Cost (est.) (millions) |
---|---|---|
Nominal | ||
1 | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides | $378.5 |
2 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | $365 |
3 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | $300 |
The longest film ever made was the 85 hour The Cure for Insomnia (USA 1987), directed by John Henry Timmis IV and premiered in its entirety at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, USA from 31 January to 3 February 1987.
- 13 Going on 30 (2004) PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance. ...
- The Back-up Plan (2010) PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Romance. ...
- I Love You, Man (2009) R | 105 min | Comedy, Romance. ...
- Wedding Crashers (2005) R | 119 min | Comedy, Romance. ...
- Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) ...
- Billy Madison (1995) ...
- Mr. ...
- Uptown Girls (2003)
Rank | Actor | Earnings |
---|---|---|
1 | George Clooney | $239 million |
2 | Dwayne Johnson | $124 million |
3 | Robert Downey Jr. | $81 million |
4 | Chris Hemsworth | $64.5 million |
A budget is typically divided into four sections: above the line (creative talent), below the line (direct production costs), post-production (editing, visual effects, etc.), and other (insurance, completion bond, etc.).
Actor. The Hollywood Reporter estimates that A-list movie stars routinely make $15 million to $20 million for top roles in big-budget films. Secondary lead actors in a movie such as "The Force Awakens" earned an estimated $1.5 million to $4.5 million.
On average, the production budget for a Marvel Cinematic Universe is $190,350,000 - with the highest being $330,600,000 for 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' whilst the lowest being $130,000,000 for 'Ant-Man'. All told, Marvel has so far spent $3.8 BILLION on their films so far, and that's not yet counting 'Avengers: Endgame'.
Now, thanks to Vanity Fair, you can rest assured that the Hollywood hierarchy is alive and well. In the video below, VF estimates the breakdown of a $200 million blockbuster. Unsurprisingly, above-the-line talent scores the biggest paycheck; Lead Actors 1, 2, and 3 comprise 9% of the film's entire budget.
Do low budget movies make money?
Low Budget Films Can Make Money
In fact, sometimes keeping the budget low provides more margin for profit. If the film flies and costs little to produce, then you are on to a real winner. The classic example of a low budget indie film that made it big, is The Blair Witch Project.
How much do Netflix movies cost to make? According to Business Insider, certain Netflix Original movies have had a lot of funds to work with. Triple Frontier reportedly cost $115 million to produce, while The Irishman had a $159 million budget.