After Earth Budget
Science FictionActionAdventure1h 40mUpdated
Synopsis
A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige and his legendary father Cypher stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.
What is the budget of After Earth?
"After Earth," a science fiction released in 2013, was directed by M. Night Shyamalan and stars Jaden Smith, Will Smith. The production budget was $130,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for science fiction productions of its era.
Key Budget Allocation Categories
While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a science fiction production like this include:
- Visual Effects & CGI Pipeline: Sci-fi films are among the most VFX-intensive productions in Hollywood.
- Production Design & World-Building: Creating a believable sci-fi world required significant investment in set construction, prop fabrication, and conceptual design , from physical environments through LED volume stages and virtual production technology.
- Technology & Camera Systems: Cutting-edge camera rigs, motion capture stages, LED volume stages (virtual production), and proprietary rendering technology often push the technical budget far beyond conventional filming costs.
- Production: Will Smith conceived the story for the film when he was watching the television show called I Shouldn't Be Alive with his brother-in-law Caleeb Pinkett, who also served as one of the film's producers.
What were the major cost factors in After Earth?
Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "After Earth."
- Visual Effects: Visual Effects & CGI Pipeline is one of the primary cost drivers in science fiction productions of this scale.
- Production Design: Production Design & World-Building is one of the primary cost drivers in science fiction productions of this scale.
- Technology: Technology & Camera Systems is one of the primary cost drivers in science fiction productions of this scale.
How Does After Earth's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
At $130,000,000, After Earth sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:
- 300: Rise of an Empire (2014): Budget $110,000,000 , Gross $337,580,051
- 6 Underground (2019): Budget $150,000,000
- 10,000 BC (2008): Budget $105,000,000, Worldwide Gross $269,784,201
- A Wrinkle in Time (2018): Budget $103,000,000, Worldwide Gross $132,675,864
- 1917 (2019): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $446,064,352
The median budget for wide-release science fiction films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.
After Earth Box Office Performance
"After Earth" earned $60,522,097 domestically and $243,843,127 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $130,000,000, the film showed modest profitability in theatrical release.
A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "After Earth," that break-even threshold was roughly $260,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $243,843,127, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.
- Production Budget: $130,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $243,843,127
- Net Return: $113,843,127
- ROI: approximately 87.6%
At 87.6%, "After Earth" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.
After Earth Production History
On May 3, 2013, it was revealed that Korean-American singer Jay Park would be participating on the official soundtrack of the film in Korea, with a song titled "I Like 2 Party". Then on May 5, 2013, another 30-second snippet of the song was then released with another teaser and trailer. In July 2012, it was announced that James Newton Howard would score music for the film in his eighth and final collaboration with the director.
Awards and Recognition
3 wins & 8 nominations total
Critical Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 12% based on 214 reviews and an average rating of 3.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "After Earth is a dull, ploddingly paced exercise in sentimental sci-fi,and the latest setback for director M. Night Shyamalan's once-promising career." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 33 out of 100 based on 41 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did it cost to make After Earth (2013)?
The production budget was $130,000,000, covering principal photography, visual effects, cast and crew salaries, locations, sets, post-production, and music. Marketing and distribution (P&A) costs are estimated at an additional $65,000,000 - $104,000,000, bringing the total studio investment to approximately $195,000,000 - $234,000,000.
How much did After Earth (2013) earn at the box office?
After Earth grossed $60,522,097 domestic, $183,321,030 international, totaling $243,843,127 worldwide.
Was After Earth (2013) profitable?
The film did not break even theatrically, earning $243,843,127 against an estimated $325,000,000 needed. Ancillary revenue may have improved the picture.
What were the biggest costs in producing After Earth?
The primary cost drivers were above-the-line talent (Jaden Smith, Will Smith, Sophie Okonedo); visual effects pipelines, virtual production technology, and speculative world-building.
How does After Earth's budget compare to similar science fiction films?
At $130,000,000, After Earth is classified as a big-budget production. The median budget for wide-release science fiction films in the 2010s ranges from $30 - 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles. Comparable budgets: 300: Rise of an Empire (2014, $110,000,000); 6 Underground (2019, $150,000,000); 10,000 BC (2008, $105,000,000).
Did After Earth (2013) go over budget?
There are no widely reported accounts of significant budget overruns for this production. However, studios rarely disclose precise budget overrun figures publicly. The reported production budget reflects the final estimated cost.
What was the return on investment (ROI) for After Earth?
The theatrical ROI was 87.6%, calculated as ($243,843,127 − $130,000,000) ÷ $130,000,000 × 100. This measures gross revenue against production budget only - it does not account for P&A or exhibitor shares.
What awards did After Earth (2013) win?
3 wins & 8 nominations total.
Who directed After Earth and who were the key crew members?
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, written by M. Night Shyamalan, Gary Whitta, Will Smith, shot by Peter Suschitzky, with music by James Newton Howard, edited by Steven Rosenblum.
Where was After Earth filmed?
After Earth was filmed in United States of America. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Filmmakers
After Earth
Official Trailer
Budget Templates
Build your own production budget
Create professional budgets with industry-standard feature film templates. Real-time collaboration, no spreadsheets.
Start Budgeting Free
