What is the budget of Cats?

"Cats," a fantasy released in 2019, was directed by Tom Hooper and stars Francesca Hayward, Judi Dench. The production budget was $95,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for fantasy productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Visual Effects & Creature Design: Fantasy productions require extensive VFX for magical elements, mythical creatures, and fantastical battle sequences.
Costumes, Prosthetic Makeup & Production Design: Period-inspired or wholly original costumes, elaborate prosthetic and makeup applications, and richly detailed set construction are hallmarks of fantasy filmmaking.
Music Score & Sound Design: Fantasy epics typically commission full orchestral scores recorded with 80 to 100 piece ensembles, plus extensive sound design for magical effects, creature vocalizations, and immersive world audio.
Casting: In June 2018, there were reports that Anne Hathaway was considered for a role in the film, but she declined due to a scheduling conflict.

What were the major cost factors in Cats?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Cats."

Visual Effects: Visual Effects & Creature Design is one of the primary cost drivers in fantasy productions of this scale.
Costumes: Costumes, Prosthetic Makeup & Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in fantasy productions of this scale.
Music Score: Music Score & Sound Design is one of the primary cost drivers in fantasy productions of this scale.

How Does Cats's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $95,000,000, Cats sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Asterix at the Olympic Games (2008): Budget $97,250,400, Worldwide Gross $131,856,927
A Good Day to Die Hard (2013): Budget $92,000,000, Worldwide Gross $304,654,182
Black Hawk Down (2001): Budget $92,000,000, Worldwide Gross $172,989,651
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024): Budget $99,000,000, Worldwide Gross $452,000,435
1917 (2019): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $446,064,352

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

Cats Box Office Performance

"Cats" earned $12,990,175 domestically and $77,276,321 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $95,000,000, 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 "Cats," that break-even threshold was roughly $190,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $77,276,321, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $95,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $77,276,321
Net Return: −$17,723,679
ROI: approximately -18.7%

At -18.7%, "Cats" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

Cats Production History

In June 2018, there were reports that Anne Hathaway was considered for a role in the film, but she declined due to a scheduling conflict. Hugh Jackman was also offered a role by Hooper but turned it down. In July 2018, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden, and Ian McKellen joined the cast.

Principal photography began on 12 December 2018 Swift said that the cast attended "cat school", in which "We would literally do hours on end of barefoot crawling on the floor, hissing at each other. We learned about cat instincts and the way they carry themselves and the way that they process information, the way they see the world, the way they move." [Filming] Principal photography began on 12 December 2018 Swift said that the cast attended "cat school", in which "We would literally do hours on end of barefoot crawling on the floor, hissing at each other. We learned about cat instincts and the way they carry themselves and the way that they process information, the way they see the world, the way they move.".

Music for the film was composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with contributions from producer Greg Wells, who was initially brought in after production in mid-2019. The recordings were created partly at Abbey Road Studios with contributions from the London Symphony Orchestra. The song "Beautiful Ghosts" by Taylor Swift, a single from the soundtrack album, was released on 15 November 2019.

Awards and Recognition

11 wins & 8 nominations total

Critical Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 19% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 334 reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critics consensus reads: "Despite its fur-midable cast, this Cats adaptation is a clawful mistake that will leave most viewers begging to be put out of their mew-sery." On review aggregator Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 32 out of 100 based on 51 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews.