Good Time Budget

What is the budget of Good Time?

"Good Time," a crime released in 2017, was directed by Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie and stars Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie. The production budget was $2,000,000, placing it in the micro-budget range for crime productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Talent & Director Compensation: Thrillers depend on compelling lead performances to sustain tension, making cast compensation a primary budget concern. Directors with proven thriller credentials command premium fees.
• Cinematography & Location Photography: Thriller aesthetics demand specific visual languages , surveillance-style photography, claustrophobic framing, or expansive location work across multiple cities or countries.
• Editorial & Sound Post-Production: Precision editing , controlling information flow, building suspense through pacing, and orchestrating reveals , requires extended post-production schedules.
• Development: On July 9, 2015, it was announced that Josh and Benny Safdie were set to direct a caper film called Good Time, and that Robert Pattinson was attached to star.

What were the major cost factors in Good Time?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Good Time."

• Talent: Talent & Director Compensation is one of the primary cost drivers in crime productions of this scale.
• Cinematography: Cinematography & Location Photography is one of the primary cost drivers in crime productions of this scale.
• Editorial: Editorial & Sound Post-Production is one of the primary cost drivers in crime productions of this scale.

How Does Good Time's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $2,000,000, Good Time sits in the micro-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Seven Samurai (1954): Budget $2,000,000, Worldwide Gross $105,000,000
• The Great Dictator (1940): Budget $2,000,000, Worldwide Gross $11,000,000
• Sing Sing (2024): Budget $2,000,000, Worldwide Gross $3,401,789
• The Lives of Others (2006): Budget $2,000,000, Worldwide Gross $77,672,685
• Anatomy of a Murder (1959): Budget $2,000,000, Worldwide Gross $8,000,000

The median budget for wide-release crime films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Good Time Box Office Performance

"Good Time" earned $2,026,499 domestically and $3,283,369 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $2,000,000, 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 "Good Time," that break-even threshold was roughly $4,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $3,283,369, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

• Production Budget: $2,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $3,283,369
• Net Return: $1,283,369
• ROI: approximately 64.2%

At 64.2%, "Good Time" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Good Time Production History

On July 9, 2015, it was announced that Josh and Benny Safdie were set to direct a caper film called Good Time, and that Robert Pattinson was attached to star. Sebastian Bear-McClard and Oscar Boyson of Elara Pictures produced the film, The project came about because Robert Pattinson approached the directors after seeing a still of their film Heaven Knows What and admired their unique approach to filmmaking. Pattinson said of the still, "It was on the banner of some website, just of Arielle’s face; she just has an amazing expression on her face.

For the character of Nick, the Safdie brothers originally considered casting an actor with a real disability, but worried that the filming environment wouldn't be appropriate. Josh Safdie said, "We were very far along in that process and we were interviewing a lot of people…but we ended up…looking at our schedule, which was very aggressive, and a lot of scenes that called for intricate blocking and action set pieces,because this is, in the end, an action movie.…We realized that [the actor] wouldn't have much agency in those scenes, we'd be pushing them around and manipulating, and that morally crossed a line for us." Benny ended up taking on the role himself. In order to convince the skeptical financers of the film that he was right for the part, he made an audition tape in character as Nick.

Principal photography for the film took place in New York City in February and March 2016. One scene is shot in the New World Mall, in Flushing, where the Safdies had permission to shoot, but they showed up without warning and shot with mostly hidden cameras. The directors decided not to disclose that Benny, playing Nick, was an actor, "for the fear that it would be too distracting", so he stayed in character the whole day, for 17 hours.