Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Next Gen?

Directed by Kevin R. Adams, Joe Ksander, with John Krasinski, Lo Mutuc, Jason Sudeikis leading the cast, Next Gen was produced by Baozou Manhua with a confirmed budget of $22,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for animation films.

At $22,000,000, Next Gen was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $55,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• 12 Rounds (2009): Budget $22,000,000 | Gross $17,280,326 → ROI: -21% • Before I Go to Sleep (2014): Budget $22,000,000 | Gross $17,669,776 → ROI: -20% • Dances with Wolves (1990): Budget $22,000,000 | Gross $424,208,848 → ROI: 1828% • Derailed (2005): Budget $22,000,000 | Gross $57,479,076 → ROI: 161% • Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005): Budget $22,000,000 | Gross $45,109,561 → ROI: 105%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Animation Production Pipeline The bulk of an animated film's budget funds the multi-year production pipeline: storyboarding, character modeling, rigging, animation, lighting, rendering, and compositing. Major studio animated features employ 300–600 artists over 3–5 years.

▸ Voice Talent Celebrity voice casting has become standard for studio animation, with A-list actors earning $5–15 million for voice roles.

▸ Music, Songs & Sound Design Original songs and orchestral scores are central to animated storytelling. Sound design for animated worlds must be created entirely from scratch.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: John Krasinski, Lo Mutuc, Jason Sudeikis, Michael Peña, David Cross Key roles: John Krasinski as Project 77 (voice); Lo Mutuc as Mai (voice); Jason Sudeikis as Justin Pin / Ares (voice); Michael Peña as Momo (voice)

DIRECTOR: Kevin R. Adams, Joe Ksander MUSIC: Alexis Marsh, Samuel Jones EDITING: Matt Ahrens PRODUCTION: Baozou Manhua, Tangent Animation, Alibaba Pictures Group FILMED IN: Canada, China, United States of America

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Next Gen (2018). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Next Gen is a Canadian-Chinese-American co-production.

In May 2018, it was announced that Netflix had purchased worldwide rights to Next Gen, an animated film directed by Kevin R. Adams and Joe Ksander, for $30 million. The deal excluded China. Charlyne Yi, Jason Sudeikis, Michael Peña, David Cross, Kitana Turnbull and Constance Wu would lead the voice cast.

Regarding the project being acquired by Netflix, Ksander stated:

R. Adams added that:

Next Gen was "effectively 100% created in Blender."

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Additional Recognition: ! Award !! Date of ceremony !! Category !! Recipient(s) !! Result !! Ref

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Next Gen has received positive reviews. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of .

In Richard Roeper's review for the Chicago Sun Times, he criticized the film's indecisiveness in what audience it was aiming for and said "It's a chore just to keep up with all the shifts in tone, and by the time Next Gen reaches the finish line, we're more exhausted than exhilarated."

However, Joel Keller of Decider found no major problems to prevent enjoyment of the film, writing, "Our Call: STREAM IT. Great voice performances, some funny moments, and a central relationship that will immediately suck you in make NextGen a fun watch for the entire family."