I Know What You Did Last Summer Budget

What is the budget of I Know What You Did Last Summer?

"I Know What You Did Last Summer," a horror released in 2025, was directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and stars Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline. The production budget was $18,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for horror productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup: Horror productions invest disproportionately in practical effects , prosthetic applications, animatronics, blood and gore effects, and creature suits. A single hero creature suit can cost $50,000 to 200,000.
• Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography: Creating dread through environment is essential. Abandoned locations must be secured and dressed, lighting rigs designed for shadow and tension, and sets built to enable specific camera movements and reveals.
• Sound Design & Score: Horror is arguably the most sound-dependent genre. Foley work, ambient textures, frequency manipulation, and jump-scare stingers require specialized sound designers working with unconventional techniques.
• Casting: In March 2023, Prinze Jr.

What were the major cost factors in I Know What You Did Last Summer?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

• Practical Effects: Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
• Atmospheric Production Design: Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
• Sound Design: Sound Design & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.

How Does I Know What You Did Last Summer's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $18,000,000, I Know What You Did Last Summer sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 127 Hours (2010): Budget $18,000,000, Worldwide Gross $35,700,000
• A Dog's Way Home (2019): Budget $18,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,643,857
• Amadeus (1984): Budget $18,000,000, Worldwide Gross $90,007,557
• And So It Goes (2014): Budget $18,000,000, Worldwide Gross $25,312,387
• Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004): Budget $18,000,000 , Gross $65,070,412

The median budget for wide-release horror films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

I Know What You Did Last Summer Box Office Performance

"I Know What You Did Last Summer" earned $32,165,634 domestically and $64,808,120 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $18,000,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "I Know What You Did Last Summer," that break-even threshold was roughly $36,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $64,808,120, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $18,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $64,808,120
• Net Return: $46,808,120
• ROI: approximately 260%

At 260%, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" earned roughly $3.6 for every $1 invested in production.

I Know What You Did Last Summer Production History

In March 2023, Prinze Jr. said in an interview that he had not received an offer to join the film, explaining "They just said that to get people excited. I haven't spoken to anyone at their company, my agents haven't received an offer from them whatsoever." By September, Mendes had exited the project due to her starring in Amazon MGM Studios' Masters of the Universe (2026), while Cline, Pidgeon, Withers, and King were confirmed to star.

Production was ready in October 2024, Filming continued in Los Angeles in February and March 2025, and finished on March 13. Additional last-minute shooting was conducted in early June 2025 to add a new ending in which Madelyn Cline's character survives (she died originally) and for a short scene in which Cline looked at a framed photo of Sarah Michelle Gellar's legacy character at a grave site. Chanda Dancy was hired to compose the score.

The soundtrack to I Know What You Did Last Summer was released by Milan Records on the same day as the film's release. The album contains 20 cues composed by Chanda Dancy. It is the fourth I Know What You Did Last Summer soundtrack album to be released.

Awards and Recognition

N/A

Critical Reception

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of C+ on an A+ to F scale. Entertainment Weeklys Jordan Hoffman gave the film a B− and wrote, "Clever moments and a sensational performance from Madelyn Cline keep the movie (mostly) alive." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave it one out of four stars and wrote, "The overall shallowness of I Know What You Did Last Summer would be fine if it were just better made. In particular, the editing by Saira Haider is just off rhythm.