Synopsis

Harry Block is a well-regarded novelist whose tendency to thinly-veil his own experiences in his work, as well as his un-apologetic attitude and his proclivity for pills and whores, has left him with three ex-wives that hate him. As he is about to be honored for his writing by the college that expelled him, he faces writer's block and the impending marriage of his latest flame to a writer friend. As scenes from his stories and novels pass and interact with him, Harry faces the people whose lives he has affected - wives, lovers, his son, his sister.

What is the budget of Deconstructing Harry?

"Deconstructing Harry," a comedy released in 1997, was directed by Woody Allen and stars Woody Allen, Judy Davis. The production budget was $20,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for comedy productions of the 1990s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Talent Salaries & Producing Deals: Established comedic talent can command $15 to 20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals.
Production & Location Filming: While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.
Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising): Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum.
Casting: Woody Allen offered the role of Harry Block to Elliott Gould, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper and Albert Brooks, all of whom turned it down. Allen took the role himself.

What were the major cost factors in Deconstructing Harry?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Deconstructing Harry."

Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.

How Does Deconstructing Harry's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $20,000,000, Deconstructing Harry sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

12 Years a Slave (2013): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $187,000,000
21 Grams (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $60,427,839
3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $11,798,854
A Guy Thing (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,400,000
A Most Violent Year (2014): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $12,007,070

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

Deconstructing Harry Box Office Performance

"Deconstructing Harry" earned $10,686,841 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $20,000,000, 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 "Deconstructing Harry," that break-even threshold was roughly $40,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $10,686,841, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $20,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $10,686,841
Net Return: −$9,313,159
ROI: approximately -46.6%

At -46.6%, "Deconstructing Harry" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

Deconstructing Harry Production History

Woody Allen offered the role of Harry Block to Elliott Gould, Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Hopper and Albert Brooks, all of whom turned it down. Allen took the role himself.

* "Twisted" (1952) , Music by Wardell Gray , Performed by Annie Ross * "Out of Nowhere" (1931) , Music by Johnny Green , Lyrics by Edward Heyman , Performed by Django Reinhardt * "The Girl from Ipanema" (1962) , Music by Antonio Carlos Jobim , Lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes , Performed by Stan Getz * "She's Funny That Way" (1928) , Music by Neil Moret , Lyrics by Richard A. Whiting , Performed by Erroll Garner * "Waiting" (1993) , Written by Glenn Dickson , Performed by the Shirim Klezmer Orchestra * "All the Things You Are" (1939) , Music by Jerome Kern , Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II * "Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain" (1867) , Written by Modest Mussorgsky , Performed by Orchestre de la Suisse Romande * "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936) , Music by Jerome Kern , Lyrics by Dorothy Fields , Performed by Erroll Garner * "Rosalie" (1937) , Written by Cole Porter , Performed by The Savoy Hotel Orpheans * "Miami Beach Rumba" (1946) , Written by John A. Camacho, Irving Fields and Albert Gamse * "Tzena Tzena Tzena" (1950) , Written by Mitchell Parish, Issichar Miron and Julius Grossman * "Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing)" (1936) , Written by Louis Prima , Performed by Benny Goodman * "Christopher Columbus" (1936) , Music by Leon Berry , Lyrics by Andy Razaf , Performed by Benny Goodman * "I Could Write a Book" (1940) , Music by Richard Rodgers , Lyrics by Lorenz Hart , Performed by The Stebbins Hall Band * "Dream a Little Dream of Me" (1931) , Music by Wilbur Schwandt and Fabian Andre , Lyrics by Gus Kahn.