Eyes Wide Shut Budget

What is the budget of Eyes Wide Shut?

"Eyes Wide Shut," a drama released in 1999, was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman. The production budget was $65,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for drama productions of the 1990s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Above-the-Line Talent: Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances.
• Location Filming & Period Production Design: Authentic locations , whether contemporary or historical , require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period.
• Post-Production, Color Grading & Score: The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone.
• Casting: When Warner Bros.

What were the major cost factors in Eyes Wide Shut?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Eyes Wide Shut."

• Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
• Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
• Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.

How Does Eyes Wide Shut's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $65,000,000, Eyes Wide Shut sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 300 (2007): Budget $65,000,000, Worldwide Gross $456,082,343
• A Knight's Tale (2001): Budget $65,000,000, Worldwide Gross $117,487,473
• Collateral (2004): Budget $65,000,000, Worldwide Gross $220,239,925
• Marty Supreme (2025): Budget $65,000,000, Worldwide Gross $274,459,312
• Step Brothers (2008): Budget $65,000,000, Worldwide Gross $128,100,000

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

Eyes Wide Shut Box Office Performance

"Eyes Wide Shut" earned $55,691,208 domestically and $162,100,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $65,000,000, 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 "Eyes Wide Shut," that break-even threshold was roughly $130,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $162,100,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $65,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $162,100,000
• Net Return: $97,100,000
• ROI: approximately 149.4%

At 149.4%, "Eyes Wide Shut" earned roughly $2.49 for every $1 invested in production.

Eyes Wide Shut Production History

When Warner Bros. president Terry Semel approved production in 1995, he asked Kubrick to cast a movie star as "you haven't done that since Jack Nicholson [in The Shining]". After that meeting, Kubrick awarded them the roles.

Principal photography of Eyes Wide Shut began on November 4, 1996. By Kidman's account, "Stanley didn’t work under the gun. Time was the most important thing to him.

Jocelyn Pook wrote the original music for Eyes Wide Shut, but, like other Kubrick movies, the film was noted for its use of classical music. The opening title music is Shostakovich's Waltz No. 2 from "Suite for Variety Stage Orchestra", misidentified as "Jazz Suite No.

Awards and Recognition

12 wins & 30 nominations total

Critical Reception

Eyes Wide Shut received generally positive reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 76% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Kubrick's intense study of the human psyche yields an impressive cinematic work." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 based on 34 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Over fifty critics listed the film among the best of 1999.