Classic tale of teenage rebellion and repression features a delightful combination of dance choreography and realistic and touching performances. When teenager Ren McCormack and his family move from big-city Chicago to a small Midwestern town, he's in for a real case of culture shock. Though he tries hard to fit in, the streetwise Ren can't quite believe he's living in a place where rock music and dancing are illegal. However, there is one small pleasure: Ariel Moore, a troubled but lovely blonde with a jealous boyfriend. And a Bible-thumping minister, who is responsible for keeping the town dance-free. Ren and his classmates want to do away with this ordinance, especially since the senior prom is around the corner, but only Ren has the courage to initiate a battle to abolish the outmoded ban and revitalize the spirit of the repressed townspeople. Fast-paced drama is filled with such now-famous hit songs as the title track and "Let's Hear It for the Boy".

What is the budget of Footloose?

"Footloose," a drama released in 2011, was directed by Herbert Ross and stars Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer. The production budget was $8,200,000, placing it in the low-budget range for drama productions of its era.

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.

What were the major cost factors in Footloose?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Footloose."

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 Footloose's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $8,200,000, Footloose sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

A Scanner Darkly (2006): Budget $8,700,000, Worldwide Gross $7,659,918
Capote (2005): Budget $7,000,000, Worldwide Gross $49,327,405
By the Sea (2015): Budget $10,000,000, Worldwide Gross $3,727,746
Eye for an Eye (2025): Budget $10,000,000

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

Footloose Box Office Performance

"Footloose" earned $80,035,402 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $8,200,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Footloose," that break-even threshold was roughly $16,400,000. With worldwide earnings of $80,035,402, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $8,200,000
Worldwide Gross: $80,035,402
Net Return: $71,835,402
ROI: approximately 876%

At 876%, "Footloose" earned roughly $9.76 for every $1 invested in production.