What is the budget of Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul?

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul," a comedy released in 2017, was directed by David Bowers and stars Jason Ian Drucker, Alicia Silverstone. The production budget was $22,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for comedy productions of its era.

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.
Production: In 2012, the series' third entry, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days was described as the last live action film in the franchise.

What were the major cost factors in Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul."

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 Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $22,000,000, Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

12 Rounds (2009): Budget $22,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,280,326
Before I Go to Sleep (2014): Budget $22,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,669,776
Dances with Wolves (1990): Budget $22,000,000, Worldwide Gross $424,208,848
Derailed (2005): Budget $22,000,000, Worldwide Gross $57,479,076
Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005): Budget $22,000,000 , Gross $45,109,561

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

Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul Box Office Performance

"Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul" earned $20,738,724 domestically and $40,120,144 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $22,000,000, the film showed modest profitability in theatrical release.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul," that break-even threshold was roughly $44,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $40,120,144, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $22,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $40,120,144
Net Return: $18,120,144
ROI: approximately 82.4%

At 82.4%, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid The Long Haul" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Awards and Recognition

1 nomination total

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 19% based on 70 reviews and an average rating of 4.20/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "With an all-new cast but the same juvenile humor, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul finds the franchise still stuck in arrested , and largely unfunny , development." On Metacritic, it has a score of 39 out of 100 based on 16 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the first three films' "A−".