Antonio Salieri believes that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music is divine and miraculous. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. He began his career as a devout man who believes his success and talent as a composer are God's rewards for his piety. He's also content as the respected, financially well-off, court composer of Austrian Emperor Joseph II. But he's shocked to learn that Mozart is such a vulgar creature, and can't understand why God favored Mozart to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is ready to take revenge against God and Mozart for his own musical mediocrity.

What is the budget of Amadeus?

"Amadeus," a history released in 1984, was directed by Miloš Forman and stars F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce. The production budget was $18,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for history productions of the 1980s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a history 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.
Production: Kenneth Branagh wrote in his autobiography Beginning that he was one of the finalists for the role of Mozart, but was dropped from consideration when Forman decided to make the film with an American cast.

What were the major cost factors in Amadeus?

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

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

How Does Amadeus's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $18,000,000, Amadeus sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

127 Hours (2010): Budget $18,000,000, Worldwide Gross $35,700,000
A Dog's Way Home (2019): Budget $18,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,643,857
A Cinderella Story (2004): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $70,067,909
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $36,192,775
Action Point (2018): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $5,059,608

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

Amadeus Box Office Performance

"Amadeus" earned $51,973,029 domestically and $90,007,557 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $18,000,000, 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 "Amadeus," that break-even threshold was roughly $36,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $90,007,557, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $18,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $90,007,557
Net Return: $72,007,557
ROI: approximately 400%

At 400%, "Amadeus" earned roughly $5 for every $1 invested in production.

Amadeus Production History

The soundtrack album reached No. 1 in the Billboard Classical Albums Chart, No. 56 in the Billboard Popular Albums Chart, has sold over 6.5 million copies and received thirteen gold discs, making it one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time.

Awards and Recognition

Won 8 Oscars. 43 wins & 15 nominations total

BAFTA Award for Best Sound: Chris Newman
BAFTA Award for Best Sound: Mark Berger
Academy Award for Best Costume Design: Theodor Pištěk (57th Academy Awards)
Academy Award for Best Director: Miloš Forman (57th Academy Awards)
BAFTA Award for Best Editing: Nena Danevic
BAFTA Award for Best Editing: Michael A. Chandler
Academy Award for Best Production Design: Karel Černý (57th Academy Awards)
Academy Award for Best Production Design: Patrizia von Brandenstein (57th Academy Awards)

Critical Reception

Amadeus holds a score of 90% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes based on 159 reviews, with an average rating of 8.9/10. The site's consensus states: "Amadeus liberties with history may rankle some, but the creative marriage of Miloš Forman and Peter Shaffer yields a divinely diabolical myth of genius and mediocrity, buoyed by inspired casting and Mozart's rapturous music."