

How It Ends Budget
Updated
Synopsis
As a mysterious apocalypse causes the spread of misinformation and violence, a man and his estranged father-in-law race across a chaotic and fractured country to save his pregnant wife.
What is the budget of How It Ends?
"How It Ends," a science fiction released in 2018, was directed by David M. Rosenthal and stars Theo James, Forest Whitaker. The production budget was $20,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for science fiction productions of its era.
Key Budget Allocation Categories
While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a science fiction production like this include:
- Visual Effects & CGI Pipeline: Sci-fi films are among the most VFX-intensive productions in Hollywood.
- Production Design & World-Building: Creating a believable sci-fi world required significant investment in set construction, prop fabrication, and conceptual design , from physical environments through LED volume stages and virtual production technology.
- Technology & Camera Systems: Cutting-edge camera rigs, motion capture stages, LED volume stages (virtual production), and proprietary rendering technology often push the technical budget far beyond conventional filming costs.
What were the major cost factors in How It Ends?
Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "How It Ends."
- Visual Effects: Visual Effects & CGI Pipeline is one of the primary cost drivers in science fiction productions of this scale.
- Production Design: Production Design & World-Building is one of the primary cost drivers in science fiction productions of this scale.
- Technology: Technology & Camera Systems is one of the primary cost drivers in science fiction productions of this scale.
How Does How It Ends's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
At $20,000,000, How It Ends 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 science fiction films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.
Awards and Recognition
5 nominations total
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did it cost to make How It Ends (2018)?
The production budget was $20,000,000, covering principal photography, visual effects, 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 How It Ends (2018) earn at the box office?
Box office figures are not publicly available.
Was How It Ends (2018) profitable?
Insufficient data for a profitability assessment.
What were the biggest costs in producing How It Ends?
The primary cost drivers were above-the-line talent (Theo James, Forest Whitaker, Kat Graham); visual effects pipelines, virtual production technology, and speculative world-building; international production across Canada, United States of America.
How does How It Ends's budget compare to similar science fiction films?
At $20,000,000, How It Ends is classified as a low-budget production. The median budget for wide-release science fiction 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 How It Ends (2018) 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 awards did How It Ends (2018) win?
5 nominations total.
Who directed How It Ends and who were the key crew members?
Directed by David M. Rosenthal, written by Brooks McLaren, shot by Peter Flinckenberg, with music by Atli Örvarsson, edited by Jason Ballantine.
Where was How It Ends filmed?
How It Ends was filmed in Canada, United States of America. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Filmmakers
How It Ends
Official Trailer








































































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