Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Everybody Wants Some!!?

Directed by Richard Linklater, with Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman leading the cast, Everybody Wants Some!! was produced by Annapurna Pictures with a confirmed budget of $10,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for comedy films.

At $10,000,000, Everybody Wants Some!! was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $25,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• By the Sea (2015): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $3,727,746 → ROI: -63% • Eye for an Eye (2025): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross N/A • Goal! (2005): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $27,610,873 → ROI: 176% • Phantom (2013): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $1,197,759 → ROI: -88% • War of the Worlds (2025): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross N/A

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Talent Salaries & Producing Deals Established comedic talent can command $15–20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals. Comedy ensembles multiply this cost across several well-known performers.

▸ 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. Studios typically spend 50–100% of the production budget on marketing, with comedy trailers and social media campaigns being particularly expensive.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, J. Quinton Johnson Key roles: Blake Jenner as Jake Bradford; Zoey Deutch as Beverly; Ryan Guzman as Kenny Roper; Tyler Hoechlin as Glen McReynolds

DIRECTOR: Richard Linklater CINEMATOGRAPHY: Shane F. Kelly EDITING: Sandra Adair PRODUCTION: Annapurna Pictures, Detour Filmproduction FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Everybody Wants Some!! earned $3,400,278 in worldwide box office revenue.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Everybody Wants Some!! needed approximately $25,000,000 to break even. The film fell $21,599,722 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $3,400,278 Budget: $10,000,000 Net: $-6,599,722 ROI: -66.0%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Unprofitable (Theatrical)

Everybody Wants Some!! earned $3,400,278 against a $10,000,000 budget (-66% ROI), falling short of theatrical profitability. Ancillary revenue may have reduced the deficit.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The underperformance may have increased risk aversion around low-budget comedy productions.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Linklater wrote the first draft of the film in mid-2005, and tried to finance it in 2009, but could not get production off the ground until Annapurna Pictures became involved.

In August 2014, Linklater ceased involvement on the Warner Bros. film The Incredible Mr. Limpet, saying that he wanted to concentrate on a university-set, 1980s baseball film under the working title That's What I'm Talking About. The project is considered a "spiritual sequel" to Linklater's 1993 film Dazed and Confused, which was set on the last day of high school in 1976. Linklater also considers the film a "spiritual sequel" to Boyhood because "it begins right where Boyhood ends with a guy showing up at college and meeting his new roommates and a girl." The film is based on Linklater's real-life experiences while attending Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.

In September, Linklater offered Jenner, Hoechlin, Russell, and Guzman roles as members of the baseball team the film focuses on. Hoechlin chose his role over returning to the fifth season of MTV's series Teen Wolf. More cast members were announced, including Deutch, Brittain, and Powell. To create camaraderie among the cast, Linklater had the actors move out to his Austin-area ranch for rehearsals.

Principal photography began on October 13, 2014, in Austin. Filming took place in Weimar, Texas, from October 15 to December 2. Other shooting locations included San Marcos, Texas, Bastrop, Texas, Elgin, Texas and San Antonio. A night shoot involving extras occurred on October 31, 2014, for a costume party scene in Taylor, Texas.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Additional Recognition: It was nominated as Best Ensemble at the December 19, 2016 Detroit Film Critics Society. It was also nominated for both Best Feature and the Audience Award at the 2016 Gotham Independent Film Awards.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

On Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of critics gave the film positive reviews based on 247 reviews, with an average rating of 7.60/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Nostalgic in the best sense, Everybody Wants Some!! finds Richard Linklater ambling through the past with a talented cast, a sweetly meandering story, and a killer classic rock soundtrack." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 85 out of 100 based on 50 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Justin Chang of Variety wrote, "After the dramatic one-two punch of 'Before Midnight' and 'Boyhood,' a master of the modern hangout movie achieves his most sustained comic bliss-out in years." Chang added, "Linklater indulges his characters' antics with such wild, free-flowing affection that you might miss the thoughtful undertow of this delightful movie: Few filmmakers have so fully embraced the bittersweet joy of living in the moment — one that's all the more glorious because it fades so soon." In RogerEbert.com, Sheila O'Malley said, "Linklater approaches [his subjects] with affection, and even kindness—one of his distinguishing characteristics. 'Everybody Wants Some!!' is a corrective to the tired, false 'dumb jock' stereotype."

Emily St. James of Vox wrote how the film, along with Dazed and Confused, Boyhood, and the Before Sunrise trilogy, shows how "Linklater is our best living American filmmaker when it comes to the subject of time." She wrote that Linklater demonstrates that "what's important in life aren't the big, dramatic moments or even the major changes.