David Ghantt is an uncomplicated man stuck in a monotonous life. Day in and day out he drives an armored vehicle, transporting millions of other people’s money with no escape in sight. The only glimmer of excitement is his flirtatious work crush Kelly Campbell who soon lures him into the scheme of a lifetime. Along with a group of half-brained criminals and an absurdly faulted heist plan, David manages the impossible and makes off with $17 million in cash… only problem is he foolishly hands the money over to this wild group of double crossers and has been set up to take the fall. With the bandits blowing the millions on lavish and ridiculous luxuries, they leave behind a glaring trail of evidence. Now on the lam and in over his head, David must dodge the authorities, evade a hit man, and try to turn the tables on the ones he trusted most.

What is the budget of Masterminds?

"Masterminds," an action released in 2016, was directed by Jared Hess and stars Zach Galifianakis, Owen Wilson. The production budget was $25,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for action productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for an action 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.
Production: On February 1, 2013, Jim Carrey joined the cast.

What were the major cost factors in Masterminds?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Masterminds."

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

How Does Masterminds's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $25,000,000, Masterminds 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 action films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Masterminds Box Office Performance

"Masterminds" earned $17,368,022 domestically and $29,200,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $25,000,000, the film showed modest profitability in theatrical release.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Masterminds," that break-even threshold was roughly $50,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $29,200,000, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $25,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $29,200,000
Net Return: $4,200,000
ROI: approximately 16.8%

At 16.8%, "Masterminds" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Masterminds Production History

The title used in media coverage was Untitled Armored Car. Principal photography began on July 7, 2014, in Old Fort and Swannanoa, in the Asheville area of North Carolina. On July 29, Galifianakis was spotted in a prisoner's costume during filming in a redressed street in downtown Asheville.

Awards and Recognition

1 nomination total

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 34% based on 100 critic reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Masterminds great cast and stranger-than-fiction true story are largely wasted on a scattershot comedy with a handful of funny moments and far too much wackiness." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 47 out of 100 based on 29 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B−" on an A+ to F scale.