A Quiet Place

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for A Quiet Place?

Directed by John Krasinski, with Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds leading the cast, A Quiet Place was produced by Paramount Pictures with a confirmed budget of $17,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for horror films as part of the A Quiet Place Collection.

At $17,000,000, A Quiet Place was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $42,500,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Away We Go (2009): Budget $17,000,000 | Gross $15,779,455 → ROI: -7% • Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo (1999): Budget $17,000,000 | Gross $92,938,755 → ROI: 447% • Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003): Budget $17,000,000 | Gross $63,102,666 → ROI: 271% • Love the Coopers (2015): Budget $17,000,000 | Gross $42,426,912 → ROI: 150% • Mean Girls (2004): Budget $17,000,000 | Gross $130,195,052 → ROI: 666%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup Horror productions invest disproportionately in practical effects — prosthetic applications, animatronics, blood and gore effects, and creature suits. A single hero creature suit can cost $50,000–200,000.

▸ Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography Creating dread through environment is essential. Abandoned locations must be secured and dressed, lighting rigs designed for shadow and tension, and sets built to enable specific camera movements and reveals.

▸ Sound Design & Score Horror is arguably the most sound-dependent genre. Foley work, ambient textures, frequency manipulation, and jump-scare stingers require specialized sound designers working with unconventional techniques.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe, Cade Woodward Key roles: Emily Blunt as Evelyn Abbott; John Krasinski as Lee Abbott; Millicent Simmonds as Regan Abbott; Noah Jupe as Marcus Abbott

DIRECTOR: John Krasinski CINEMATOGRAPHY: Charlotte Bruus Christensen MUSIC: Marco Beltrami EDITING: Christopher Tellefsen PRODUCTION: Paramount Pictures, Platinum Dunes, Sunday Night Productions FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

A Quiet Place earned $188,024,361 domestically and $152,930,933 internationally, for a worldwide total of $340,955,294. Revenue was split 55% domestic / 45% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), A Quiet Place needed approximately $42,500,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $298,455,294.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $340,955,294 Budget: $17,000,000 Net: $323,955,294 ROI: 1905.6%

Detailed Box Office Notes

The Tracking Board reported on , "The stellar reviews out of SXSW, coupled with the fact that there isn't anything like it in the marketplace, should help it stand out among its bigger-budget competition." Deadline Hollywood said on that the film was projected to gross around $20 million in its opening weekend. which reached a basement of low-$20 million by the week of its release.

BoxOffice initially estimated on , 2018, that A Quiet Place would gross in its opening weekend, and that it would gross a total of in the United States. By , it increased its estimate to an opening weekend gross of and a US total gross of . The magazine said the film's trailer was well-received online and that it appeared frequently in previews for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. BoxOffice wrote, "The horror genre has also shown a knack for over-performing against expectations at the box office in recent years, setting this release up for potential success." It added that A Quiet Place would have to compete against another horror film, Truth or Dare, which would be released the following weekend.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

A Quiet Place was a clear financial success, generating $340,955,294 worldwide against a $17,000,000 production budget — a 1906% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to Paramount Pictures.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Franchise: A Quiet Place is part of the A Quiet Place Collection.

The outsized success of A Quiet Place likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar horror projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Filming & Locations

right|alt=A photo (taken in daytime) of some of a bridge which is near vegetation|The film was shot in 36 days. Filming also took place on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in New Paltz of Ulster County, using the Springtown Truss Bridge. Outside Dutchess and Ulster counties, filming took place on Main Street in Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York.

[Filming] right|alt=A photo (taken in daytime) of some of a bridge which is near vegetation|The film was shot in 36 days. Filming also took place on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail in New Paltz of Ulster County, using the Springtown Truss Bridge. Outside Dutchess and Ulster counties, filming took place on Main Street in Little Falls in Herkimer County, New York.

▸ Music & Score

During filming, the crew avoided making noise so diegetic synchronized sounds (e.g., the sound of rolling dice on a game board) could be recorded; the sounds were amplified in post-production.

Supervising sound editors Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van der Ryn worked on A Quiet Place. For scenes from the perspective of the deaf daughter, sound was removed to put greater focus on the visual. They also advised on organizing shots to reflect the creatures' perspective, like showing them noticing a sound, then showing what was causing the sound. Composer Marco Beltrami provided the sound editors music to work with in a way that would not interfere with the sound design throughout the film.

In the film, creatures are blind and communicate through clicking sounds. Aadahl and Van der Ryn said they were inspired by animal echolocation, such as that employed by bats. The sound of feedback, normally avoided by sound editors, was woven into the story at a loudness level that would not bother audiences too much.

For moments in the movie that depict Regan's point of view, Simmonds worked with sound designers to convey what the cochlear implants in the movie would have sounded like, and what she was able to hear without the implants.

▸ Marketing & Release

Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for A Quiet Place in November 2017. It aired a 30-second commercial for the film during the US football championship Super Bowl LII on February 4, 2018. Of the seven trailers that aired during the playoff, A Quiet Place and Red Sparrow were shown during the pregame and had the lowest views and social conversations. A Quiet Place had 149,000 views on YouTube, 275,000 views on Facebook, and 2,900 social conversations. On February 12, 2018, Krasinski appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to present the full trailer for A Quiet Place. The studio spent an estimated $86 million on prints and advertisements for the film.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 38 wins & 129 nominations total

Awards Won: ★ National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Additional Recognition: ! scope="col"| Award ! scope="col"| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"| Category ! scope="col"| Recipient(s) ! scope="col"| Result ! scope="col" class="unsortable"|

! scope="row"| Academy Awards

! scope="row"| American Film Institute Awards

! scope="row"| British Academy Film Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="3"| Critics' Choice Movie Awards

! scope="row"| Golden Globe Awards

! scope="row"| Hollywood Film Awards

! scope="row"| Hollywood Music in Media Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="3"| Motion Picture Sound Editors

! scope="row"| MTV Movie & TV Awards

! scope="row"| National Board of Review

! scope="row" rowspan="4"| People's Choice Awards

! scope="row"| Producers Guild Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="4"| San Diego Film Critics Society

! scope="row" rowspan="2"| Satellite Awards

! scope="row" rowspan="5"| Saturn Award

! scope="row"| Screen Actors Guild Awards

! scope="row"| Teen Choice Awards

! scope="row"| Writers Guild of America Awards