Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Immaculate?

Directed by Michael Mohan, with Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco leading the cast, Immaculate was produced by Black Bear Pictures with a confirmed budget of $9,000,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for horror films.

At $9,000,000, Immaculate was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $22,500,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Memento (2000): Budget $9,000,000 | Gross $40,060,108 → ROI: 345% • 3 Idiots (2009): Budget $9,000,000 | Gross $70,000,000 → ROI: 678% • There's Still Tomorrow (2023): Budget $9,000,000 | Gross $50,121,593 → ROI: 457% • Midsommar (2019): Budget $9,000,000 | Gross $48,498,408 → ROI: 439% • Manchester by the Sea (2016): Budget $9,000,000 | Gross $79,000,000 → ROI: 778%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ 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 $50,000–200,000.

▸ 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.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Sydney Sweeney, Álvaro Morte, Simona Tabasco, Benedetta Porcaroli, Giorgio Colangeli Key roles: Sydney Sweeney as Sister Cecilia; Álvaro Morte as Father Sal Tedeschi; Simona Tabasco as Sister Mary; Benedetta Porcaroli as Sister Gwen

DIRECTOR: Michael Mohan CINEMATOGRAPHY: Elisha Christian MUSIC: Will Bates EDITING: Christian Masini PRODUCTION: Black Bear Pictures, Fifty-Fifty Films, Middle Child Pictures FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Immaculate earned $15,671,307 domestically and $19,668,708 internationally, for a worldwide total of $35,340,015. Revenue was split 44% domestic / 56% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Immaculate needed approximately $22,500,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $12,840,015.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $35,340,015 Budget: $9,000,000 Net: $26,340,015 ROI: 292.7%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Profitable

Immaculate delivered a solid return, earning $35,340,015 worldwide on a $9,000,000 budget (293% ROI). Combined with ancillary revenue, the film was a financial positive for Black Bear Pictures.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The outsized success of Immaculate likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar horror projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Development on Immaculate was underway as early as 2014, when Sydney Sweeney first auditioned for a role in the film from a screenplay written by Andrew Lobel. However, the project fell into development hell instead of entering production. Following her breakout role in the television series Euphoria, Sweeney purchased the rights to the screenplay and approached frequent collaborator Michael Mohan to direct.

In October 2022, it was announced that Sweeney had joined the cast of the film, with Mohan directing, and with Sweeney serving as a producer under her Fifty-Fifty Films banner. Mohan stated that the script originally featured a cast of high school girls, not nuns, and was changed to better suit Sweeney and audience expectations.

In February 2023, Álvaro Morte, Benedetta Porcaroli, Dora Romano, Giorgio Colangeli and Simona Tabasco joined the cast of the film.

Principal photography took place in and around Rome, Much of the film was shot at Villa Parisi and the Doria Pamphilj Gallery. Villa Parisi had previously been used as a location for several horror films, including Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970), A Bay of Blood (1971), Blood for Dracula (1974) and Burial Ground (1981). The catacombs sequences were shot in the real catacombs of Rome.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 8 nominations total

! scope="row"| South by Southwest Film Festival

! rowspan="3" scope="row" | Golden Trailer Awards

! scope="row"| Astra Midseason Movie Awards

! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards

! scope = "row" | Actors and Actresses Union Awards

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave the film a 52% overall positive score, with 30% saying they would definitely recommend it. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the film a Critic's Pick, writing that the film "is a scare-fest with a plucky heroine, an irreverent hot-button twist and just enough narrative ambiguity to give viewers something to argue about."