Armored Budget

What is the budget of Armored?

"Armored," an action released in 2009, was directed by Nimród Antal and stars Matt Dillon, Jean Reno. The production budget was $20,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for action productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
• Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
• Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.
• Production: In October 2006, it was announced Screen Gems had acquired a spec script titled Armored. In October 2007, it was announced Matt Dillon and Columbus Short would topline the film.

What were the major cost factors in Armored?

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

• Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.
• Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.
• Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.

How Does Armored's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $20,000,000, Armored sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 12 Years a Slave (2013): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $187,000,000
• 21 Grams (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $60,427,839
• 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $11,798,854
• A Guy Thing (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,400,000
• A Most Violent Year (2014): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $12,007,070

The median budget for wide-release action films in the 2000s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Armored Box Office Performance

"Armored" earned $15,988,876 domestically and $22,942,221 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $20,000,000, 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 "Armored," that break-even threshold was roughly $40,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $22,942,221, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

• Production Budget: $20,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $22,942,221
• Net Return: $2,942,221
• ROI: approximately 14.7%

At 14.7%, "Armored" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Awards and Recognition

N/A

Critical Reception

The film was not screened in advance to critics. The film received mostly negative reviews, getting a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 55 critics surveyed. The site's consensus reads: "This B-grade thriller has a good cast and director but is undone by plot holes and messy conclusion". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B-" on an A+ to F scale.