Synopsis

A newly unveiled ocean liner, the Argonautica sets out on its first cruise, only to encounter dangers both on board and in the ocean depths. While the beautiful thief Trillian attempts to steal riches from the boat’s wealthy passengers, the ship encounters major problems, most notably a giant murderous sea creature with tentacles. Eventually, a boat captained by John Finnegan comes across the Argonautica, and everyone struggles to survive the monster.

What is the budget of Deep Rising?

"Deep Rising," an adventure released in 1998, was directed by Stephen Sommers and stars Treat Williams, Famke Janssen. The production budget was $45,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for adventure productions of the 1990s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for an adventure 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.
Production: Stephen Sommers began writing the script to Deep Rising, then called Tentacle, when he worked at Hollywood Pictures in the mid-1990s.

What were the major cost factors in Deep Rising?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Deep Rising."

Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.

How Does Deep Rising's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $45,000,000, Deep Rising sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

65 (2023): Budget $45,000,000, Worldwide Gross $60,730,568
Across the Universe (2007): Budget $45,000,000, Worldwide Gross $29,625,761
Aliens in the Attic (2009): Budget $45,000,000, Worldwide Gross $57,881,056
Bangkok Dangerous (2008): Budget $45,000,000, Worldwide Gross $42,487,390
Chicken Run (2000): Budget $45,000,000, Worldwide Gross $224,834,564

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

Deep Rising Box Office Performance

"Deep Rising" earned $11,203,026 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $45,000,000, 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 "Deep Rising," that break-even threshold was roughly $90,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $11,203,026, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $45,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $11,203,026
Net Return: −$33,796,974
ROI: approximately -75.1%

At -75.1%, "Deep Rising" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

Awards and Recognition

3 nominations total

Critical Reception

Chicago Sun-Times critic Roger Ebert included the film in his most hated list. Ebert called the film "essentially an Alien clone with a fresh paint job". Variety Leonard Klady said the film "is an old-fashioned B-movie with A-budget effects, but the quality sheen can't disguise the cheap-thrills hokum."