What is the budget of Bill & Ted Face the Music?

"Bill & Ted Face the Music," a comedy released in 2020, was directed by Dean Parisot and stars Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter. The production budget was $25,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for comedy productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Talent Salaries & Producing Deals: Established comedic talent can command $15 to 20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals.
Production & Location Filming: While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.
Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising): Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum.

What were the major cost factors in Bill & Ted Face the Music?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Bill & Ted Face the Music."

Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.

How Does Bill & Ted Face the Music's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $25,000,000, Bill & Ted Face the Music sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

1408 (2007): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $133,000,000
A Journal for Jordan (2021): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $6,700,000
Abandon (2002): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $10,719,357
All My Life (2020): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $2,000,000
August Rush (2007): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $66,122,026

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

Bill & Ted Face the Music Box Office Performance

"Bill & Ted Face the Music" earned $3,439,660 domestically and $6,274,027 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $25,000,000, the film faced challenges in theatrical release. Home video, streaming, and ancillary revenue may have contributed to its overall performance.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Bill & Ted Face the Music," that break-even threshold was roughly $50,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $6,274,027, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $25,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $6,274,027
Net Return: −$18,725,973
ROI: approximately -74.9%

At -74.9%, "Bill & Ted Face the Music" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.