What is the budget of Meg 2 The Trench?

"Meg 2 The Trench," an action released in 2023, was directed by Ben Wheatley and stars Jason Statham, Wu Jing. The production budget was $129,000,000, placing it in the high-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.
Pre-Production: In March 2019, it was announced that a script for the film was in the works, with screenwriters Dean Georgaris and Jon and Erich Hoeber returning.

What were the major cost factors in Meg 2 The Trench?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Meg 2 The Trench."

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 Meg 2 The Trench's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $129,000,000, Meg 2 The Trench sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019): Budget $129,000,000 , Gross $539,987,993
After Earth (2013): Budget $130,000,000, Worldwide Gross $243,843,127
Ant-Man (2015): Budget $130,000,000, Worldwide Gross $519,311,965
Australia (2008): Budget $130,000,000, Worldwide Gross $211,787,511
Bad Boys II (2003): Budget $130,000,000, Worldwide Gross $273,339,556

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

Meg 2 The Trench Box Office Performance

"Meg 2 The Trench" earned $82,600,317 domestically and $398,500,317 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $129,000,000, 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 "Meg 2 The Trench," that break-even threshold was roughly $258,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $398,500,317, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $129,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $398,500,317
Net Return: $269,500,317
ROI: approximately 208.9%

At 208.9%, "Meg 2 The Trench" earned roughly $3.09 for every $1 invested in production.

Meg 2 The Trench Production History

In April 2021, Statham said filming was set to begin in January 2022. Filming commenced as planned at the end of January at the Warner-owned Leavesden Studios outside London, with principal photography starting on February 4, 2022. It continued there until May before switching to outdoor locations, presumably in Asia.

Harry Gregson-Williams composed the score for the sequel, returning from the first film. WaterTower Music released a score album on July 28, in addition to the Bankay Ojo's remix version of Page Kennedy's song "Chomp."

Awards and Recognition

3 wins & 5 nominations total

Critical Reception

Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B," on an A+ to F scale, while those polled at PostTrak gave it an 72% overall positive score, with 55% saying they would definitely recommend the film. Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph earned a two out of five rating, stating that "Meg 2, by design, is a completely anonymous bag of lukewarm McDonald's , it's hard to be mad at it, but only because nothing in it stands out enough to get mad at."