What is the budget of Into the Wild?

"Into the Wild," a adventure released in 2007, was directed by Sean Penn and stars Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden. The production budget was $15,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for adventure productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.

What were the major cost factors in Into the Wild?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Into the Wild."

Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.

How Does Into the Wild's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $15,000,000, Into the Wild sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

A Dangerous Method (2011): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $27,462,041
Ben-Hur (1959): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $164,000,000
Land of the Dead (2005): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $47,074,133
Rust and Bone (2012): Budget $15,400,000, Worldwide Gross $25,762,027
Days of Glory (2006): Budget $14,500,000, Worldwide Gross $22,963,701

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

Into the Wild Box Office Performance

"Into the Wild" earned $18,354,356 domestically and $56,255,142 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $15,000,000, 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 "Into the Wild," that break-even threshold was roughly $30,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $56,255,142, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $15,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $56,255,142
Net Return: $41,255,142
ROI: approximately 275%

At 275%, "Into the Wild" earned roughly $3.75 for every $1 invested in production.