Been So Long Budget

What Is the Budget of Been So Long (2018)?

Been So Long (2018), directed by Tinge Krishnan and adapted from the 2009 Royal Festival Hall stage musical by Che Walker (book and lyrics) and Arthur Darvill (music), was made on a low UK independent budget that industry sources placed in the £1,500,000 to £3,000,000 range (approximately $2,000,000 to $4,000,000 USD at 2017 exchange rates). The film was produced by Greenacre Films and Nik Powell's Scala Productions, with funding support from the BFI and Film4 and worldwide acquisition by Netflix following the film's premiere at the BFI London Film Festival in October 2018.

The budget reflected the standard cost structure of a British musical-adaptation indie: a contained Camden Town setting, an emerging-talent ensemble cast led by Michaela Coel and Arinzé Kene, a 25- to 30-day shooting schedule, and the music-licensing and choreography overhead specific to a musical adaptation. The project was developed and financed independently through the UK indie production ecosystem before being acquired by Netflix for global streaming distribution.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

The reported budget was distributed across these core production areas:

• Above-the-Line Talent: Michaela Coel, then known for her Channel 4 series Chewing Gum and the BAFTA-winning Black Earth Rising, headlined as Simone. Arinzé Kene (Misty, The Pass) co-led as Raymond. George MacKay (1917, Captain Fantastic) and Ronke Adekoluejo rounded out the principal cast. Director Tinge Krishnan and writer Che Walker received standard UK indie rate-card fees.
• Camden Town Location Shoot: Principal photography took place largely on practical locations in Camden Town and the surrounding north London neighborhoods, capturing the contemporary urban setting the script required. Location work at pubs, street corners, and residential interiors added meaningful authenticity to the film's neighborhood-specific tone while keeping set-construction costs minimal.
• Music Adaptation and Licensing: Arthur Darvill's original Royal Festival Hall stage score was reorchestrated and re-recorded for the film, with additional musical-direction, vocal-coaching, and on-set playback equipment required for the musical sequences. Several principal cast performances were recorded both pre-production and live on set.
• Choreography and Movement: Choreographer Aletta Collins designed the film's musical-sequence movement, drawing on a UK contemporary-dance language rather than a Hollywood-musical register. Rehearsal time, choreography fees, and live-performance coverage represented a meaningful budget line.
• Cinematography: Catherine Derry shot the film with a naturalistic, contemporary visual style that anchored the musical sequences in a recognizable north London setting. Camera and lighting packages were standard for a low-budget UK indie.
• Post-Production and Festival Delivery: Editor Mick Mahon shaped the film through 2017 and 2018, with delivery timed to the BFI London Film Festival premiere in October 2018. Sound mixing and music final-mix were particularly involved given the musical-adaptation requirements.

How Does Been So Long's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At an estimated £1,500,000 to £3,000,000, Been So Long sits at the low end of contemporary musical-adaptation budgets and in the mid-range of UK indie features. Its peers spent in a comparable bracket:

• Sing Street (2016): Budget approximately $3,000,000 | Worldwide $13,769,755. John Carney's Dublin musical drama is the closest mid-budget musical comparison, made on a comparable budget and demonstrating the indie-musical theatrical viability model.
• La La Land (2016): Budget $30,000,000 | Worldwide $471,238,672. Damien Chazelle's prestige musical is the upper-end musical reference at roughly ten times the Been So Long budget, with a vastly larger commercial outcome.
• An Education (2009): Budget $7,500,000 | Worldwide $26,074,580. Lone Scherfig's UK prestige drama is a useful contemporary UK-indie reference at roughly two to three times the Been So Long budget.
• Beach Rats (2017): Budget approximately $500,000 | Worldwide $516,000. Eliza Hittman's American indie is a useful lower-end character-drama reference, made for roughly a quarter of the Been So Long budget.
• Hairspray (2007): Budget $75,000,000 | Worldwide $202,548,575. Adam Shankman's studio musical is the upper-end studio-musical reference, demonstrating the production-cost gulf between an indie musical and a studio adaptation.

Been So Long Box Office Performance

Been So Long premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on October 13, 2018 and was acquired by Netflix for global streaming distribution. The film opened in a limited UK theatrical qualifying release on October 26, 2018 timed to the BAFTA awards window and simultaneously launched globally on Netflix.

Against an estimated £1,500,000 to £3,000,000 production budget, the streaming-economics model means traditional theatrical ROI metrics do not apply. The closest financial framing:

• Production Budget: estimated £1,500,000 to £3,000,000 (approximately $2,000,000 to $4,000,000)
• Estimated Prints & Advertising (P&A): estimated $1,000,000 to $3,000,000 including BFI festival and limited qualifying-run support
• Total Estimated Investment: estimated $3,000,000 to $7,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: limited UK qualifying run under £50,000; primarily streaming distribution
• Net Return: not publicly disclosed by Netflix
• ROI: measured by Netflix internally via household viewership and engagement, not disclosed

Netflix did not disclose viewership figures, but trade reporting indicated the film performed steadily in the platform's UK and music-themed category recommendations following its launch. The film's primary audience reach came through the global Netflix streaming launch rather than through the brief UK qualifying theatrical run.

Without disclosed viewership data the recoupment math cannot be calculated, but the Netflix acquisition price would have substantially derisked the production investment for the indie producers, with the BFI and Film4 funding partners receiving recoupment through the acquisition deal rather than through a longer specialty theatrical run.

Been So Long Production History

Che Walker's 2009 Royal Festival Hall stage musical Been So Long, with music by Arthur Darvill (later known for his role as Rory Williams in Doctor Who), had run at the Young Vic and the Royal Festival Hall in 2009 and 2010 to positive critical reception. The screen-adaptation rights were optioned in the early 2010s and developed over several years through producer Nadine Marsh-Edwards at Greenacre Films, who has built a track record producing British indie cinema including The Crouches and Lost in London.

Tinge Krishnan, the British director known for her BIFA-winning short Junkhearts (2011) and her debut feature Junkhearts (2011), was attached to direct in 2016. Krishnan had developed a reputation for naturalistic London-set character work, and the marriage of her observational visual style with the stage musical's heightened emotional register was the central creative bet of the production.

Principal photography took place in spring and early summer 2017 over approximately 25 to 30 days, largely on practical locations in Camden Town and the surrounding United Kingdom production area. The UK Film Tax Relief supported the in-country spend, with location work at Camden pubs, street corners, and residential interiors standing in for the film's contemporary north London setting.

Post-production wrapped through late 2017 and early 2018, with the film's musical sequences requiring extended music-mixing and color-correction time. Delivery was timed to the BFI London Film Festival premiere in October 2018, with Netflix's acquisition closing shortly before the festival launch.

Awards and Recognition

Been So Long received select UK industry awards recognition. The film was nominated at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) for Best British Independent Film and for Best Joint Lead Performance (Michaela Coel and Arinzé Kene). The London Film Critics Circle and the BAFTA Outstanding British Film conversation included the film in their longer-form coverage of the 2018 UK indie year, though it did not penetrate the major UK awards categories.

Michaela Coel's performance was widely cited in 2018 year-end UK critics' roundups, with the film representing a key step in her transition from television comedy work to feature film. Her subsequent BAFTA-winning HBO series I May Destroy You (2020) drew on the creative range Been So Long had helped establish.

Critical Reception

Been So Long received mixed reviews from critics. The film holds a 64% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 25 reviews, with a critical consensus praising the central performances and music while noting the formal challenges of the stage-to-screen musical adaptation. On Metacritic, the film scored 58 out of 100, indicating mixed or average reviews.

Critics singled out Michaela Coel and Arinzé Kene's central performances as the film's strongest element, with The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw writing that "Coel's presence anchors the film through its less-successful musical sequences," and Variety's Owen Gleiberman calling Kene "a charismatic male lead whose blend of vulnerability and physical presence carries the film." The musical sequences received more divided reception, with some critics praising Tinge Krishnan's contemporary urban staging and others objecting to what was perceived as a mismatch between the naturalistic narrative scenes and the heightened musical numbers.

IndieWire's David Ehrlich noted that "the film tries to honor its stage origins while resisting their conventions, with mixed results." The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Dalton was more positive, describing the film as "a fresh-feeling musical with two breakout central performances and a real feel for its north London setting." Audience response on Letterboxd and Netflix's in-platform metrics was warmer than the critical reception, with viewers responding to the music, the chemistry between the central pair, and the specifically British urban texture.