Synopsis

High powered lawyer Claire Kubik finds her world turned upside down when her husband, who she thought was Tom Kubik, is arrested and is revealed to be Ron Chapman. Chapman is on trial for a murder of Latin American villagers while he was in the Marines. Claire soon learns that to navigate the military justice system, she'll need help from the somewhat unconventional Charlie Grimes; meanwhile, Claire's sister, Jackie, is falling in love with wet-behind-the-ears Lieutenant Embry assigned as the official defense lawyer. And most of the eyewitnesses have rather too conveniently died.

What is the budget of High Crimes?

"High Crimes," a drama released in 2002, was directed by Carl Franklin and stars Ashley Judd, Morgan Freeman. The production budget was $42,000,000, placing it in the mid-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 High Crimes?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "High Crimes."

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 High Crimes's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $42,000,000, High Crimes sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Along Came Polly (2004): Budget $42,000,000, Worldwide Gross $178,300,000
Bloodshot (2020): Budget $42,000,000, Worldwide Gross $39,861,118
Brüno (2009): Budget $42,000,000, Worldwide Gross $138,805,831
Here Comes the Boom (2012): Budget $42,000,000, Worldwide Gross $73,100,000
28 Days (2000): Budget $43,000,000, Worldwide Gross $62,198,945

The median budget for wide-release drama films in the 2000s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

High Crimes Box Office Performance

"High Crimes" earned $41,543,917 domestically and $63,781,810 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $42,000,000, 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 "High Crimes," that break-even threshold was roughly $84,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $63,781,810, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $42,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $63,781,810
Net Return: $21,781,810
ROI: approximately 51.9%

At 51.9%, "High Crimes" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.