Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for My Old Ass?

Directed by Megan Park, with Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White leading the cast, My Old Ass was produced by Indian Paintbrush with a confirmed budget of $3,000,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for comedy films.

At $3,000,000, My Old Ass was produced on a lean budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $7,500,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Ghost in the Shell (1995): Budget $3,000,000 | Gross $10,000,000 → ROI: 233% • Witness for the Prosecution (1957): Budget $3,000,000 | Gross $9,000,000 → ROI: 200% • Perfect Blue (1998): Budget $3,000,000 | Gross $683,666 → ROI: -77% • In the Mood for Love (2000): Budget $3,000,000 | Gross $15,867,968 → ROI: 429% • One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975): Budget $3,000,000 | Gross $108,981,275 → ROI: 3533%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Talent Salaries & Producing Deals Established comedic talent can command $15–20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals. Comedy ensembles multiply this cost across several well-known performers.

▸ Production & Location Filming While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.

▸ Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum. Studios typically spend 50–100% of the production budget on marketing, with comedy trailers and social media campaigns being particularly expensive.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Maisy Stella, Aubrey Plaza, Percy Hynes White, Maddie Ziegler, Kerrice Brooks Key roles: Maisy Stella as Elliott; Aubrey Plaza as Older Elliott; Percy Hynes White as Chad; Maddie Ziegler as Ruthie

DIRECTOR: Megan Park CINEMATOGRAPHY: Kristen Correll MUSIC: Tyler Hilton EDITING: Jennifer Vecchiarello PRODUCTION: Indian Paintbrush, LuckyChap Entertainment FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

My Old Ass earned $5,372,282 domestically and $333,613 internationally, for a worldwide total of $5,705,895. The film skewed heavily domestic (94%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), My Old Ass needed approximately $7,500,000 to break even. The film fell $1,794,105 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $5,705,895 Budget: $3,000,000 Net: $2,705,895 ROI: 90.2%

Detailed Box Office Notes

My Old Ass grossed $5.4million domestically (United States and Canada), and $0.3million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $5.7million. Despite its very limited opening, appearing in fewer than 40 theatres during its first two weeks, it did finish at No.10 at the domestic box office in its third week, having expanded briefly to a wide release of 1,390 screens, for its only week in the Top10.

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Modestly Profitable

My Old Ass earned $5,705,895 against a $3,000,000 budget (90% ROI). Full profitability was likely achieved through ancillary revenue streams.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

In March 2022, it was announced that Megan Park would write and direct her sophomore feature film, a coming-of-age comedy titled My Old Ass, with LuckyChap Entertainment and Indian Paintbrush producing. Margot Robbie did pre-production meetings and was on set during production. Park stated that the setting was somewhere she visited every summer growing up and the film overall was "a love letter to Canada". It wrapped in October 2022. Tyler Hilton revealed in a January 2023 interview that he was scoring the film and Aubrey Plaza was starring. Plaza was on set for one week after wrapping The White Lotus and was still in deal negotiations while the film was in production.