Synopsis

For Rod Kimball, performing stunts is a way of life, even though he is rather accident-prone. Poor Rod cannot even get any respect from his stepfather, Frank, who beats him up in weekly sparring matches. When Frank falls ill, Rod devises his most outrageous stunt yet to raise money for Frank’s operation — and then Rod will kick Frank’s butt.

What is the budget of Hot Rod?

"Hot Rod," a comedy released in 2007, was directed by Akiva Schaffer and stars Andy Samberg, Jorma Taccone. The production budget was $25,000,000, 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 Hot Rod?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Hot Rod."

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 Hot Rod's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $25,000,000, Hot Rod sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

1408 (2007): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $133,000,000
A Journal for Jordan (2021): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $6,700,000
Abandon (2002): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $10,719,357
All My Life (2020): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $2,000,000
August Rush (2007): Budget $25,000,000, Worldwide Gross $66,122,026

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

Hot Rod Box Office Performance

"Hot Rod" earned $13,938,332 domestically and $14,353,654 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $25,000,000, the film faced challenges in theatrical release. Home video, streaming, and ancillary revenue may have contributed to its overall performance.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Hot Rod," that break-even threshold was roughly $50,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $14,353,654, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $25,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $14,353,654
Net Return: −$10,646,346
ROI: approximately -42.6%

At -42.6%, "Hot Rod" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.