Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Good Time?

Directed by Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie, with Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Buddy Duress leading the cast, Good Time was produced by Elara Pictures with a confirmed budget of $2,000,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for crime films.

At $2,000,000, Good Time was produced on a lean budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $5,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Seven Samurai (1954): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $105,000,000 → ROI: 5150% • The Great Dictator (1940): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $11,000,000 → ROI: 450% • Sing Sing (2024): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $3,401,789 → ROI: 70% • The Lives of Others (2006): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $77,672,685 → ROI: 3784% • Anatomy of a Murder (1959): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $8,000,000 → ROI: 300%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ 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.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Buddy Duress, Taliah Webster, Jennifer Jason Leigh Key roles: Robert Pattinson as Connie Nikas; Benny Safdie as Nick Nikas; Buddy Duress as Ray; Taliah Webster as Crystal

DIRECTOR: Benny Safdie, Josh Safdie CINEMATOGRAPHY: Sean Price Williams MUSIC: Daniel Lopatin EDITING: Benny Safdie, Ronald Bronstein PRODUCTION: Elara Pictures, Rhea Films FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Good Time earned $2,026,499 domestically and $1,256,870 internationally, for a worldwide total of $3,283,369. The film skewed heavily domestic (62%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Good Time needed approximately $5,000,000 to break even. The film fell $1,716,631 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $3,283,369 Budget: $2,000,000 Net: $1,283,369 ROI: 64.2%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Modestly Profitable

Good Time earned $3,283,369 against a $2,000,000 budget (64% ROI). Full profitability was likely achieved through ancillary revenue streams.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ 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. 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. I liked the sensibility of it." The directors trusted Pattinson's commitment and decided they wanted to create a "piece of pulp" with him, partially inspired by what Josh was reading at the time (The Executioner’s Song and In the Belly of the Beast). An early iteration of the film was a prison break movie, but it eventually evolved into a more of a caper.

Josh and Benny Safdie have named several films as inspiration for Good Time including Jackie Brown, The Running Man, After Hours, 48 Hrs., Law and Order, Heat, Jackson County Jail, One Year in a Life of Crime, Lock-Up: The Prisoners of Rikers Island, Short Eyes, and Miami Blues (all of which they screened at Metrograph in New York City for a series called "Now: Films That Inspired the Safdie Brothers' Good Time").

While researching for the character of Connie, Josh would sit in on arraignments at the New York City criminal courthouse at 100 Centre Street. He also discovered an old book called Disguise Techniques which helped inform the wardrobe for the movie.

▸ Casting

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. He put on weight for the role and developed a way of speaking with his tongue held back.

Many roles were played by first-time actors, something the Safdie brothers' films are known for, with street casting for this film led by Eleonore Hendricks. The bail bondsman was played by the proprietor of American Liberty Bail Bonds, in Kew Gardens, Queens. Peter Verby, who plays the therapist in the film, is a criminal defense lawyer in real life and represented Josh Safdie after filming wrapped. Taliah Webster, who plays Crystal, was cast after showing up to an open casting call where 600 other girls showed up. Benny Safdie said, "Taliah really just had such an incredible story that was very similar to the script, but she had such a toughness and humor to her that it would make everything deeper. We kept bringing her back for call-backs and did a ton of improv scenarios with her and she thrived in all of them. It wasn’t till she met Rob (Pattinson) that we knew it was official.…After she left that meeting I was told she was a huge Twilight fan and she had hid it from all of us! Now we really knew she could act."

▸ Filming & Locations

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.

Also during filming, actor and former felon Buddy Duress was under the influence of drugs on set and spontaneously exposed his genitalia to a seventeen-year-old first-time actress who was portraying a prostitute. The Safdies claim to have not been aware of her age, and the scene was cut from the film.

[Filming] 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.

▸ Music & Score

Oneohtrix Point Never provided the film's score, which won the Soundtrack Award at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival. His work for the film included a collaboration with singer Iggy Pop, "The Pure and the Damned", which was used in a trailer and played over the film's end credits. The score was released as Oneohtrix Point Never's eighth studio album in August 2017.

The Safdie brothers directed a music video for "The Pure and the Damned", which featured Pattinson and Benny Safdie reprising their roles as Connie and Nick, respectively, as well as a computer-generated stand-in for Iggy Pop.