What is the budget of Birth of the Dragon?

"Birth of the Dragon," an action released in 2017, was directed by George Nolfi and stars Philip Ng Wan-Lung, Billy Magnussen. The production budget was $31,000,000, 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: On February 19, 2013, it was announced that a biopic titled Birth of the Dragon about young martial artist Bruce Lee was in development, writing Christopher Wilkinson and Stephen J.

What were the major cost factors in Birth of the Dragon?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Birth of the Dragon."

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 Birth of the Dragon's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $31,000,000, Birth of the Dragon sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Arachnophobia (1990): Budget $31,000,000, Worldwide Gross $53,200,000
Arlington Road (1999): Budget $31,000,000, Worldwide Gross $41,100,000
Apocalypse Now (1979): Budget $31,500,000, Worldwide Gross $150,000,000
A History of Violence (2005): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $61,477,797
A Hologram for the King (2016): Budget $30,000,000, Worldwide Gross $9,169,507

The median budget for wide-release action films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Birth of the Dragon Box Office Performance

"Birth of the Dragon" earned $6,901,965 domestically and $7,220,490 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $31,000,000, 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 "Birth of the Dragon," that break-even threshold was roughly $62,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $7,220,490, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $31,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $7,220,490
Net Return: −$23,779,510
ROI: approximately -76.7%

At -76.7%, "Birth of the Dragon" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

Birth of the Dragon Production History

Filming was previously scheduled to begin at the North Shore Studios in Vancouver, British Columbia on October 28, 2015. Principal photography on the film began on November 17, 2015, in the Metro Vancouver area. Filming would last through January 24, 2016.

Awards and Recognition

1 win total

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 25% based on 52 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 35 out of 100, based on reviews from 13 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale. Andrew Parker, reviewer for The Globe and Mail, also gave the film a negative review, saying: "In reality, it's about a struggling white actor begging both martial-arts notables to help him free a girl he's sweet on from Chinese mob-controlled sex slavery."