

Good Boys Budget
Updated
Synopsis
After being invited to his first kissing party, 12-year-old Max is panicking because he doesn’t know how to kiss. Eager for some pointers, Max and his best friends Thor and Lucas decide to use Max’s dad’s drone—which Max is forbidden to touch—to spy (they think) on a teenage couple making out next door. But when things go ridiculously wrong, the drone is destroyed. Desperate to replace it before Max’s dad gets home, the boys skip school and set off on an odyssey of epically bad decisions involving some accidentally stolen drugs, frat-house paintball, and running from both the cops and terrifying teenage girls.
What is the budget of Good Boys?
"Good Boys," a comedy released in 2019, was directed by Gene Stupnitsky and stars Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams. The production budget was $20,000,000, 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.
What were the major cost factors in Good Boys?
Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Good Boys."
- 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 Good Boys's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
At $20,000,000, Good Boys sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:
- 12 Years a Slave (2013): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $187,000,000
- 21 Grams (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $60,427,839
- 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $11,798,854
- A Guy Thing (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,400,000
- A Most Violent Year (2014): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $12,007,070
The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.
Good Boys Box Office Performance
"Good Boys" earned $83,140,306 domestically and $111,037,232 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $20,000,000, 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 "Good Boys," that break-even threshold was roughly $40,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $111,037,232, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.
- Production Budget: $20,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $111,037,232
- Net Return: $91,037,232
- ROI: approximately 455.2%
At 455.2%, "Good Boys" earned roughly $5.55 for every $1 invested in production.
Awards and Recognition
2 wins & 7 nominations total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did it cost to make Good Boys (2019)?
The production budget was $20,000,000, covering principal photography, cast and crew salaries, locations, sets, post-production, and music. Marketing and distribution (P&A) costs are estimated at an additional $10,000,000 - $16,000,000, bringing the total studio investment to approximately $30,000,000 - $36,000,000.
How much did Good Boys (2019) earn at the box office?
Good Boys grossed $83,140,306 domestic, $27,896,926 international, totaling $111,037,232 worldwide.
Was Good Boys (2019) profitable?
Yes. Against a production budget of $20,000,000 and estimated total costs of ~$50,000,000, the film earned $111,037,232 theatrically - a 455% ROI on production costs alone.
What were the biggest costs in producing Good Boys?
The primary cost drivers were above-the-line talent (Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams, Brady Noon); star comedian salaries, location filming, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
How does Good Boys's budget compare to similar comedy films?
At $20,000,000, Good Boys is classified as a low-budget production. The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the 2010s ranges from $30 - 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles. Comparable budgets: 12 Years a Slave (2013, $20,000,000); 21 Grams (2003, $20,000,000); 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994, $20,000,000).
Did Good Boys (2019) go over budget?
There are no widely reported accounts of significant budget overruns for this production. However, studios rarely disclose precise budget overrun figures publicly. The reported production budget reflects the final estimated cost.
What was the return on investment (ROI) for Good Boys?
The theatrical ROI was 455.2%, calculated as ($111,037,232 − $20,000,000) ÷ $20,000,000 × 100. This measures gross revenue against production budget only - it does not account for P&A or exhibitor shares.
What awards did Good Boys (2019) win?
2 wins & 7 nominations total.
Who directed Good Boys and who were the key crew members?
Directed by Gene Stupnitsky, written by Gene Stupnitsky, Lee Eisenberg, shot by Jonathan Furmanski, with music by Lyle Workman, edited by Daniel Gabbe.
Where was Good Boys filmed?
Good Boys was filmed in United States of America. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Filmmakers
Good Boys
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