Central Intelligence Budget

What is the budget of Central Intelligence?

"Central Intelligence," an action released in 2016, was directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart. The production budget was $50,000,000, 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.
• Filming & Locations: Principal photography began on May 6, 2015, and took place in Atlanta, Georgia, and throughout various Massachusetts locations, including Boston, Burlington, Lynn, Middleton, and Quincy.

What were the major cost factors in Central Intelligence?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Central Intelligence."

• 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 Central Intelligence's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $50,000,000, Central Intelligence sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Angela's Ashes (1999): Budget $50,000,000, Worldwide Gross $13,042,112
• Dredd (2012): Budget $50,000,000, Worldwide Gross $41,037,742
• Lord of War (2005): Budget $50,000,000, Worldwide Gross $72,600,000
• Shall We Dance? (2004): Budget $50,000,000, Worldwide Gross $170,128,460
• The Iron Giant (1999): Budget $50,000,000, Worldwide Gross $23,300,000

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

Central Intelligence Box Office Performance

"Central Intelligence" earned $216,972,543 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $50,000,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Central Intelligence," that break-even threshold was roughly $100,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $216,972,543, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $50,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $216,972,543
• Net Return: $166,972,543
• ROI: approximately 333.9%

At 333.9%, "Central Intelligence" earned roughly $4.34 for every $1 invested in production.

Central Intelligence Production History

Principal photography began on May 6, 2015, and took place in Atlanta, Georgia, and throughout various Massachusetts locations, including Boston, Burlington, Lynn, Middleton, and Quincy. Principal photography ended in July 2015. To promote the film, Johnson and Hart had an Instagram war against each other on set.

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, Central Intelligence has an approval rating of 71% based on 184 reviews with an average rating of 5.76/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson make for well-matched comic foils, helping Central Intelligence overcome a script that coasts on their considerable chemistry." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 52 out of 100 based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.