Call Me by Your Name

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Call Me by Your Name?

Directed by Luca Guadagnino, with Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg leading the cast, Call Me by Your Name was produced by La Cinéfacture with a confirmed budget of $3,500,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for romance films.

At $3,500,000, Call Me by Your Name was produced on a lean budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $8,750,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Kimi (2022): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross N/A • Joe Bell (2020): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $1,700,000 → ROI: -51% • The Rental (2020): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $4,311,042 → ROI: 23% • Honey Boy (2019): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $3,400,977 → ROI: -3% • First Reformed (2018): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $3,988,612 → ROI: 14%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Lead Cast Compensation Romantic films depend entirely on the chemistry and appeal of their leads, making star casting decisions the most consequential budget item.

▸ Location Filming Picturesque, often international locations are central to the romantic genre's visual appeal.

▸ Music Supervision & Soundtrack Iconic songs can cost $250,000–500,000 to license per use, and a well-curated soundtrack is often as important to marketing as the trailer itself.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Armie Hammer, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel Key roles: Armie Hammer as Oliver; Timothée Chalamet as Elio; Michael Stuhlbarg as Mr. Perlman; Amira Casar as Annella

DIRECTOR: Luca Guadagnino CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom MUSIC: John Adams, Sufjan Stevens EDITING: Walter Fasano PRODUCTION: La Cinéfacture, Frenesy Film, M.Y.R.A. Entertainment, RT Features, Water's End Productions, Memento Films International FILMED IN: Brazil, France, Italy, United States of America

Box Office Performance

Call Me by Your Name earned $18,095,701 domestically and $25,047,345 internationally, for a worldwide total of $43,143,046. Revenue was split 42% domestic / 58% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Call Me by Your Name needed approximately $8,750,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $34,393,046.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $43,143,046 Budget: $3,500,000 Net: $39,643,046 ROI: 1132.7%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

Call Me by Your Name was a clear financial success, generating $43,143,046 worldwide against a $3,500,000 production budget — a 1133% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to La Cinéfacture.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The outsized success of Call Me by Your Name likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar romance projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Casting

In 2015, Shia LaBeouf and Greta Scacchi were reportedly set to be cast in the film. In September 2016, Ivory confirmed they were no longer involved in the project. Ivory said he got along with LaBeouf, who had read for the film in New York City, but the production company later felt he was unsuitable after his "various troubles". Ivory thought Scacchi and LaBeouf read well together and could have made it into the film, but the company disagreed.

Guadagnino was impressed by Armie Hammer's performance in The Social Network (2010), calling him a "sophisticated actor, with a great range". Hammer had played gay characters in J. Edgar (2011) and Final Portrait (2017).

In 2013, Swardstrom—Spears's husband and agent—introduced Chalamet to Guadagnino, Elio is fluent in three languages: English, French and Italian.—prepared for his role with a schedule of daily Italian lessons, gym workouts three times a week, did not read the book until he had already joined the production. He found the script moving and said Mr. Perlman had a "sense of generosity and love and understanding". Guadagnino contacted Esther Garrel when he was in Paris to promote A Bigger Splash. Garrel was cast as Marzia without a formal audition, and chose not to read the book before shooting. Aciman was asked to be in the movie after actors became unavailable. "It was a last-minute decision", Spears recalled. "André turns out to be a phenomenal actor! So comfortable, not nervous at all. His wife was sitting there and said, 'I had no idea!'" In dialogue, the characters switch between English, French, Italian, and in one scene Annella reads a German translation of 16th-century French literature.

Hammer and Chalamet both signed contracts prohibiting the film from showing them with full-frontal nudity. The decision dismayed Ivory, whose original screenplay contained nudity. He criticized what he saw as an "American" attitude, saying: "Nobody seems to care that much or be shocked about a totally naked woman.

▸ Production

The main location set for the Perlmans' residence was Villa Albergoni, an uninhabited 17th-century mansion in Moscazzano. Guadagnino wanted to buy the house but could not afford it, and so made a film there instead. A landscape designer was hired to construct an orchard in the mansion's garden.

Guadagnino did not want the film to be a period piece and tried to resist making a film that would reflect "our idea of the 80s". His goal was an accurate recreation of the period that was invisible to the viewer. Many paintings, maps, and mirrors influenced by Asian art came from an antiques shop in Milan. Chen Li, the film's graphic designer, created a handwritten typeface for the film's title sequence of photocopied images of statues alongside items on Mr. Perlman's desk.

Costume designer Giulia Piersanti avoided using period costumes; instead, she wanted to provide "a sense of insouciant adolescent sensuality, summer heat and sexual awakening". The costumes, influenced by Pauline at the Beach (1983), A Tale of Springtime (1990), and A Summer's Tale (1996), included some pieces made by Piersanti's team. For the Perlmans' wardrobe, Piersanti took inspiration from her parents' photograph albums. For Oliver's "sexy, healthy American" image, Piersanti referred to "some of Bruce Weber's earliest photographs". Oliver's clothes change throughout the film as "he's more able to free himself". Aiming to emphasize Elio's confident style, she chose several Lacoste costumes and a distinctive, New Romantic-looking shirt in the final scene. For Elio's other costumes, Piersanti picked some items from her husband's closet, including the polo shirt and Fido Dido T-shirt.

▸ Filming & Locations

Principal photography began on May 9, 2016, and wrapped in June, lasting around 33 days. The film was shot primarily in Crema and the surrounding province of Cremona. An unusual series of rainstorms coincided with the shooting schedule, with heavy rain on 28 of the shooting days. Additional outdoor scenes were shot on December 4, 2016. The City of Crema invested €18,000 in the film, including a publicity campaign costing €7,500.

The arch of Torrazzo at Crema Cathedral and several historical locations in the streets of Crema and Pandino were chosen during production. Two days' filming at the cathedral were postponed due to the rainy weather. Filming also took place in the Lodigiano area near Crespiatica and in two small towns near Crema, Montodine and Ripalta.

Before and during filming, the actors lived in Crema and were able to experience small-town life. met for the first time during production in Crema. "I've never been so intimately involved with a director before. Luca was able to look at me and completely undress me," Hammer said. which allowed the filmmakers to "witness the onscreen maturity of both protagonist and actor", according to Fasano. Three takes were shot and Stuhlbarg was "on three different levels of getting emotional". Garrel enjoyed filming her sex scene with Chalamet, which she said was filled with "joy and simplicity". the director asked him to perform three variations of the scene, one per take. The camera was set in the fireplace with nobody behind it. "It was bit of an acting experiment", Chalamet said. a memorial to the victims of the battle of the Piave in Pandino, During the dancing sequence, Hammer had to perform to a click track in front of 50 off-camera extras with the music turned down so the dialogue could be recorded. Choreographer Paolo Rocchi, who was contacted by the Frenesy Film Company in June 2016, called the routine "awkward and realistic".

▸ Post-Production

Fasano collaborated with Guadagnino during post-production. Post-production took only a month, between June and July Fasano called it his favorite, saying it made him "lose [him]self in the story and the images". Guadagnino has discussed several scenes that did not make the final cut. There was a "well-acted" scene where Elio and Oliver were "teasing one another" under a lime tree that Guadagnino felt was "too precious".

▸ Music & Score

Guadagnino chose the music for Call Me by Your Name himself.

Impressed by the lyricism of American songwriter Sufjan Stevens, Stevens declined the voiceover role The project marked the first time Stevens had written songs explicitly for a feature-film soundtrack. Alongside Stevens's songs, several classical pieces and 1980s pop songs are on the soundtrack.

Madison Gate Records and Sony Classical released a soundtrack album in digital formats on November 3, 2017, and in physical formats on November 17. It features songs by Stevens, the Psychedelic Furs, Franco Battiato, Loredana Bertè, Bandolero, Giorgio Moroder, Joe Esposito, and F. R. David, as well as music by John Adams, Erik Satie, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Bach, and Ravel. the soundtrack had sold 9,000 copies and had 29 million on-demand audio streams of its tracks in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.

▸ Marketing & Release

Sony Pictures Classics released an official poster for Call Me by Your Name on July 27, 2017. The first theatrical trailer was released on August 1, 2017. On October 11, 2017, Sony Pictures Classics released a teaser titled "Dance Party" to celebrate National Coming Out Day. The 42-second clip, consisting of a single take of Hammer and Chalamet dancing to "Love My Way" in a bar, became a meme on Twitter. Because of its use in the clip, "Love My Way" gained popularity on music-streaming websites. It rose 13% on on-demand streams during the two months before the film's release. In the week ending November 30, 2017, the song collected 177,000 on-demand streams, its biggest streaming week in the U.S.

Reaction to the advertisement on social media was somewhat negative, largely because of Sony Pictures' misleading use of an image of Chalamet and Garrel instead of a focus on the protagonists' relationship. Daniel Megarry of Gay Times described it as "an attempt to 'straight-wash' the movie's predominant same-sex romance". Benjamin Lee of The Guardian called the ad a "disastrous attempt to push Oscar-buzzed Call Me by Your Name as a straight love story", and said the advert "belies an industry awkwardly denying queerness". Sony Pictures Classics later aired several commercial spots to promote the film during its U.S.-wide expansion on January 19, 2018.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Won 1 Oscar. 107 wins & 263 nominations total

Awards Won: ★ American Film Institute Awards ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — James Ivory (31st European Film Awards) ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — Luca Guadagnino (31st European Film Awards) ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — Peter Spears (31st European Film Awards) ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — Howard Rosenman (31st European Film Awards) ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — Rodrigo Teixeira (31st European Film Awards) ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — Émilie Georges (31st European Film Awards) ★ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film — Marco Morabito (31st European Film Awards) ★ National Board of Review: Top Ten Films ★ Dorian Award for Film of the Year ★ Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay — James Ivory (90th Academy Awards) ★ Dorian Award for LGBTQ Film of the Year ★ Gotham Awards

Nominations: ○ David di Donatello for Best Director (64th David di Donatello Awards) ○ European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film (31st European Film Awards) ○ Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay (90th Academy Awards) ○ Academy Award for Best Picture (90th Academy Awards) ○ Academy Award for Best Actor (90th Academy Awards) ○ Academy Award for Best Original Song (90th Academy Awards)

Additional Recognition: The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute selected Call Me by Your Name as one of the top 10 films of the year. At the 90th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Chalamet), Best Original Song ("Mystery of Love"), and Best Adapted Screenplay, and won the last. Chalamet became the third-youngest Best Actor nominee and the youngest nominee since 1939, and Ivory became the oldest winner in any competitive category. The film received four nominations at the 71st British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction, and won Best Adapted Screenplay for Ivory. At the 75th Golden Globe Awards, it was nominated for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for Chalamet and Best Supporting Actor for Hammer.

The film received eight nominations at the 23rd Critics' Choice Awards; Ivory won Best Adapted Screenplay. The film led the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards with six nominations, winning Best Male Lead for Chalamet and Best Cinematography for Mukdeeprom. At the 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards, Chalamet was nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. The film won the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film – Wide Release at its 29th ceremony. In Italy, Fasano won Best Editing at the 73rd Nastro d'Argento Awards and 33rd Golden Ciak Awards.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

At its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Call Me by Your Name received a standing ovation. When it screened at Alice Tully Hall as part of the New York Film Festival, it received a ten-minute ovation, the longest in the festival's history. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 363 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Call Me by Your Name offers a melancholy, powerfully affecting portrait of first love, empathetically acted by Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer." It was the best-reviewed limited release and the second-best-reviewed romance film of 2017 on the site. On Metacritic, the film has an average weighted score of 94 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". It was the year's fifth-best rated film on Metacritic.

Ty Burr of The Boston Globe gave the film three and a half stars, commended Guadagnino for "broaden[ing] his embrace of humanity while hitting new heights of cinematic bliss", and wrote that the film "may be a fantasy but it's one that's lovely and wise." David Morgan of CBS praised the cinematography, production design, and costuming for "making a summer in the 1980s palpably alive again." He found Stuhlbarg's character "the most forward-thinking parent in movie history". Richard Lawson wrote that Guadagnino's adaptation "was made with real love, with good intentions, with a clarity of heart and purposeful, unpretentious intellect" and hailed it as a "modern gay classic" in his Vanity Fair review.