What is the budget of 1917?

"1917," a war released in 2019, was directed by Sam Mendes and stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman. The production budget was $100,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for war productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a war production like this include:

Above-the-Line Talent: Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances.
Location Filming & Period Production Design: Authentic locations , whether contemporary or historical , require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period.
Post-Production, Color Grading & Score: The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone.
Writing: In August 2019, Mendes stated that the film shows "the story of a messenger who has a message to carry." In December 2019, Mendes stated that the writing involved some risk-taking: "I took a calculated gamble, and I'm pleased I did because of the energy you get just from driving forward (in the narrative), in a war that was fundamentally about paralysis and stasis." The ideas for a script, which Mendes wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, came from the story that Mendes's grandfather, Alfred Mendes, a native of Trinidad who was a messenger for the British on the Western Front, had told him.

What were the major cost factors in 1917?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "1917."

Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in war productions of this scale.
Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in war productions of this scale.
Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in war productions of this scale.

How Does 1917's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $100,000,000, 1917 sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

10,000 BC (2008): Budget $105,000,000, Worldwide Gross $269,784,201
15 Minutes (2001): Budget $60,000,000, Worldwide Gross $56,359,980

The median budget for wide-release war films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

1917 Box Office Performance

"1917" earned $159,227,644 domestically and $446,064,352 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $100,000,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "1917," that break-even threshold was roughly $200,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $446,064,352, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $100,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $446,064,352
Net Return: $346,064,352
ROI: approximately 346.1%

At 346.1%, "1917" earned roughly $4.46 for every $1 invested in production.

1917 Production History

In August 2019, Mendes stated that the film shows "the story of a messenger who has a message to carry." In December 2019, Mendes stated that the writing involved some risk-taking: "I took a calculated gamble, and I'm pleased I did because of the energy you get just from driving forward (in the narrative), in a war that was fundamentally about paralysis and stasis." The ideas for a script, which Mendes wrote with Krysty Wilson-Cairns, came from the story that Mendes's grandfather, Alfred Mendes, a native of Trinidad who was a messenger for the British on the Western Front, had told him..

Roger Deakins was the cinematographer for the film, reuniting with Mendes for their fourth collaboration, having first worked together on Jarhead in 2005. Although many media accounts have referred to the story as being told in only one shot, the screen does cut to black one hour and six minutes into the film, when Schofield is knocked unconscious, and fades in upon his regaining consciousness after night has fallen. Mendes explained, "It was to do with the fact that I wanted the movie to go from afternoon to dusk, and then from night into dawn.

The soundtrack album of the film was released on 20 December 2019. The score was composed by Thomas Newman, the regular collaborator to Mendes. It was nominated for best original score at the Academy Awards.

Awards and Recognition

Won 3 Oscars. 137 wins & 202 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Sound: Stuart Wilson (92nd Academy Awards)
Academy Award for Best Sound: Mark Taylor (92nd Academy Awards)
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture: Drama
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects: Greg Butler (92nd Academy Awards)
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects: Guillaume Rocheron (92nd Academy Awards)
Academy Award for Best Visual Effects: Dominic Tuohy (92nd Academy Awards)
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Hard-hitting, immersive, and an impressive technical achievement, 1917 captures the trench warfare of World War I with raw, startling immediacy." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.