First Reformed

RDrama

Budget$3.5M

Domestic Box Office$3.4M

Worldwide Box Office$4.0M

Synopsis

Forty-six year old Reverend Ernst Toller is the pastor at the historic First Reformed Church in upstate New York. It is seen as the "tourist" church or the "souvenir shop" (its historical significance partly it being a stop on the underground railroad before the slaves crossed into Canada) by Abundant Life, which owns the church and which operates a modern self-named five thousand seat church overseen by Reverend Joel Jeffers. First Reformed is celebrating its two hundred fiftieth anniversary this year, for which a major event is planned, modest in size only at First Reformed itself although the dignitaries like the governor and mayor will be at attendance there, while the event will be simulcast at Abundant Life. Most of the speech-making will be done by local industrialist Ed Balq, a major benefactor of Abundant Life and who is the major donor for the necessary upgrades at First Reformed to be able to hold the event there, and for the event itself, while Toller's participation will be minimal beyond the introductory sermon. First Reformed is generally a sparsely attended church meaning that Toller doesn't have to do much direct ministering, although he does have the stock answers when asked how God factors into this or that situation in one's life. Toller himself has long been divorced, his marriage which could not survive the death of their son, Joseph, in war. Because of that history, Toller believes he is incapable of human love, despite a brief relationship with Esther, the choir mistress at Abundant Life, she who is arguably still in love with him. Toller is neglecting the warning signs about his poor health, the symptoms pointing to a probable diagnosis of stomach cancer, which is only exacerbated by his largely liquid (i.e. alcohol) diet. Toller is already examining his life and work in writing a daily journal for a year, that journal which he intends no one ever to read, but these issues in Toller's life become more pointed when a new pregnant congregant, Mary, asks him to speak to her husband Michael, who Toller will learn is an environmentalist concerned about bringing another human life into what he already sees as a world doomed because of man's role in climate change.

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for First Reformed?

Directed by Paul Schrader, with Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric the Entertainer leading the cast, First Reformed was produced by Arclight Films with a confirmed budget of $3,500,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for drama films.

At $3,500,000, First Reformed was produced on a lean budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $8,750,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Call Me by Your Name (2017): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $43,143,046 → ROI: 1133% • Kimi (2022): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross N/A • Joe Bell (2020): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $1,700,000 → ROI: -51% • The Rental (2020): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $4,311,042 → ROI: 23% • Honey Boy (2019): Budget $3,500,000 | Gross $3,400,977 → ROI: -3%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Above-the-Line Talent Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances. Securing award-caliber actors and experienced directors represents the single largest budget line item, often consuming 30–40% of the total production budget.

▸ 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. Period dramas add the cost of era-accurate props, vehicles, and set decoration.

▸ Post-Production, Color Grading & Score The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone. Color grading, a nuanced musical score, and detailed sound mixing are critical to achieving the emotional resonance that defines the genre.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Ethan Hawke, Amanda Seyfried, Cedric the Entertainer, Victoria Hill, Philip Ettinger Key roles: Ethan Hawke as Pastor Ernst Toller; Amanda Seyfried as Mary Mensana; Cedric the Entertainer as Pastor Joel Jeffers; Victoria Hill as Esther

DIRECTOR: Paul Schrader CINEMATOGRAPHY: Alexander Dynan MUSIC: Brian Williams EDITING: Ben Rodriguez Jr. PRODUCTION: Arclight Films, Omeira Studio Partners, Killer Films, Fibonacci Films, Big Indie Pictures FILMED IN: United States of America, United Kingdom

Box Office Performance

First Reformed earned $3,448,256 domestically and $540,356 internationally, for a worldwide total of $3,988,612. The film skewed heavily domestic (86%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), First Reformed needed approximately $8,750,000 to break even. The film fell $4,761,388 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $3,988,612 Budget: $3,500,000 Net: $488,612 ROI: 14.0%

Detailed Box Office Notes

Its opening weekend, the film made $100,270 from four theaters, averaging $25,067 per screen—one of the best per-screen averages of Schrader's career. By the end of its theatrical run, it had grossed $3,448,256 in the United States and Canada and $540,356 in other territories, for a worldwide total of $3,988,612.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Modestly Profitable

First Reformed earned $3,988,612 against a $3,500,000 budget (14% ROI). Full profitability was likely achieved through ancillary revenue streams.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

The restrained style of First Reformed recalls the films of Yasujiro Ozu, Robert Bresson, and Carl Theodor Dreyer that Schrader wrote about in his 1972 book Transcendental Style in Film. Elements of the script allude to Bresson's Diary of a Country Priest (1951), Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light (1963), and the work of Dreyer, as well as Schrader's own script for Taxi Driver (1976). Schrader said that Paweł Pawlikowski's film Ida (2013) inspired him to shoot in a 1.33:1 aspect ratio, saying it "drives the vertical lines, so you get more of the human body in the frame."

Principal photography lasted 20 days, with a budget of $3.5 million. The film was shot around Brooklyn and Queens, New York, including the building and grounds of the Zion Episcopal Church in Douglaston.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: Nominated for 1 Oscar. 62 wins & 108 nominations total

Awards Won: ★ National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Additional Recognition: The film received nominations at the 34th Independent Spirit Awards for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, and Hawke won the award for Best Male Lead. At the 24th Critics' Choice Awards, the film was nominated for Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay, winning the latter. Schrader and Hawke were awarded Best Screenplay and Best Actor, respectively, at the 28th Gotham Independent Film Awards. Both the National Board of Review and American Film Institute listed First Reformed as one of the Top 10 Films of 2018, and the National Board of Review also gave Schrader their award for Best Original Screenplay. Schrader's screenplay was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the 91st Academy Awards, marking the first Oscar nomination of his long filmmaking career.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote: "First Reformed wrestles with contemporary reality, but it isn't a work of realism in the way that term is conventionally understood. The dialogue is delivered with formal, almost stiff cadences, and the images are crisp, graceful and plain." Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "a cinephile's delight and a believer's conundrum, an austere American art film with a bracing B-movie soul, and a story in which the cruelest of cosmic punchlines may finally be no different from the most beautiful accession of grace." David Sims of The Atlantic called the film "a tale of existential woe [...] an embittered look at our world through the eyes of someone who’s increasingly horrified to be a part of it, and a film that’s one of the most searing cinema experiences of the year." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian said that "the sheer Bunyanesque severity of this film is as refreshing as a glass of ice-cold water", and called it "a passionately focused film but not a masterpiece", noting that the name of the lead character is an allusion to the German playwright Ernst Toller. Michael Phillips of The Chicago Tribune stated that "for such a deliberate exercise in a specific, methodical style, First Reformed is oddly bracing, full of unresolved, contradictory, vital ideas."

In July 2025, it was one of the films voted for the "Readers' Choice" edition of The New York Times list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century," finishing at number 122. That same month, it ranked number 39 on Rolling Stones list of "The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century."