Synopsis

Carl Brashear is an ambitious sharecropper who joins the U.S. Navy to become the world’s first black master diver. But as he works through diving training, the bitter and racist Master Chief Billy Sunday sets out to make Carl’s journey as difficult as possible. Despite the entire Navy doubting his potential and sabotaging his training, the determined Carl proves that he can overcome the discrimination around him.

What is the budget of Men of Honor?

"Men of Honor," a drama released in 2000, was directed by George Tillman Jr. and stars Robert De Niro, Cuba Gooding Jr.. The production budget was $32,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for drama productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Above-the-Line Talent: Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances.
Location Filming & Period Production Design: Authentic locations , whether contemporary or historical , require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period.
Post-Production, Color Grading & Score: The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone.
Production: The film features the classic US Navy Mark V diving equipment used by the Navy from 1915 until 1985.

What were the major cost factors in Men of Honor?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Men of Honor."

Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.

How Does Men of Honor's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $32,000,000, Men of Honor sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

A History of Violence (2005): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $61,477,797
Alive (1993): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $36,700,000
Bad Times at the El Royale (2018): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $31,882,724
Bogus (1996): Budget $32,000,000
Bombshell (2019): Budget $32,000,000, Worldwide Gross $61,404,394

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

Men of Honor Box Office Performance

"Men of Honor" earned $48,818,921 domestically and $82,300,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $32,000,000, 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 "Men of Honor," that break-even threshold was roughly $64,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $82,300,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $32,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $82,300,000
Net Return: $50,300,000
ROI: approximately 157.2%

At 157.2%, "Men of Honor" earned roughly $2.57 for every $1 invested in production.

Men of Honor Production History

Mark Isham's soundtrack album was released in 2000.

Awards and Recognition

11 nominations total

Critical Reception

The film opened in third place at the North American box office behind Little Nicky and Charlie's Angels, the latter of which was on its second week at the top spot.