What is the budget of Blood Diamond?

"Blood Diamond," a drama released in 2006, was directed by Edward Zwick and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou. The production budget was $100,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for drama productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Above-the-Line Talent: Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances.
Location Filming & Period Production Design: Authentic locations , whether contemporary or historical , require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period.
Post-Production, Color Grading & Score: The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone.
Production: Charles Leavitt was hired by Warner Bros.

What were the major cost factors in Blood Diamond?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Blood Diamond."

Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.

How Does Blood Diamond's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $100,000,000, Blood Diamond sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

1917 (2019): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $446,064,352
American Gangster (2007): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $269,755,430
Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024): Budget $100,000,000 , Gross $404,547,819
Batman Forever (1995): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $336,529,144
Bicentennial Man (1999): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $87,423,861

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

Blood Diamond Box Office Performance

"Blood Diamond" earned $57,377,916 domestically and $171,720,398 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $100,000,000, 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 "Blood Diamond," that break-even threshold was roughly $200,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $171,720,398, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $100,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $171,720,398
Net Return: $71,720,398
ROI: approximately 71.7%

At 71.7%, "Blood Diamond" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Blood Diamond Production History

Blood Diamond: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film of the same name, released on December 19, 2006, by Varèse Sarabande. It was composed by James Newton Howard and won the Soundtrack of the Year award at the 2008 Classic Brit Awards.