What is the budget of Beverly Hills Cop Axel F?

"Beverly Hills Cop Axel F," an action released in 2024, was directed by Mark Molloy and stars Eddie Murphy, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The production budget was $150,000,000, placing it in the blockbuster 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.
Casting: In August 2022, Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were cast in undisclosed roles.

What were the major cost factors in Beverly Hills Cop Axel F?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Beverly Hills Cop Axel F."

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 Beverly Hills Cop Axel F's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $150,000,000, Beverly Hills Cop Axel F sits in the blockbuster range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

6 Underground (2019): Budget $150,000,000
Angels & Demons (2009): Budget $150,000,000, Worldwide Gross $485,930,816
Batman Begins (2005): Budget $150,000,000, Worldwide Gross $374,218,673
Bee Movie (2007): Budget $150,000,000, Worldwide Gross $287,594,577
Alexander (2004): Budget $155,000,000, Worldwide Gross $167,298,192

The median budget for wide-release action films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Beverly Hills Cop Axel F Production History

In August 2022, Taylour Paige and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were cast in undisclosed roles. In the same month, Paul Reiser and John Ashton were confirmed to reprise their roles as Jeffrey Friedman and John Taggart, respectively, returning to the roles 37 years after their performances in Beverly Hills Cop II. In September, Judge Reinhold and Bronson Pinchot were confirmed to reprise their roles as Billy Rosewood and Serge, respectively, returning to the roles 30 years after their performances in Beverly Hills Cop III.

In February 2022, the film entered pre-production and received a California state tax credit of $16million. Principal photography began on August 29, 2022, in San Bernardino, along with other areas in California, for 58 days, to generate $78million in qualified spending in tax incentives. Additional filming occurred in Detroit in late November and early December 2022, although Murphy himself did not travel to the city.

As the film reuses most of the music from the first two films, a compilation soundtrack was not commissioned, making it the first in the franchise to not have an album featuring the songs heard in the film unlike its predecessors. However, an original song "Here We Go!" was written for the film, by rapper-singer Lil Nas X and released as a single on June 28, 2024. Lorne Balfe composed the film's score, which incorporates the "Axel F" theme composed by Harold Faltermeyer from the first film.

Awards and Recognition

3 wins & 3 nominations total

Critical Reception

Brian Tallerico, writing for RogerEbert.com, gave the film three out of four stars, stating that the film is "a shockingly entertaining diversion.... From the beginning, Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F is buoyant and playful in a way that legacy sequels usually aren't allowed to be, and that was arguably missing in the more leaden second and third films in this series."