Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Nine Days?

Directed by Edson Oda, with Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong leading the cast, Nine Days was produced by Juniper Productions with a confirmed budget of $10,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for drama films.

At $10,000,000, Nine Days was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $25,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• By the Sea (2015): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $3,727,746 → ROI: -63% • Eye for an Eye (2025): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross N/A • Goal! (2005): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $27,610,873 → ROI: 176% • Phantom (2013): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross $1,197,759 → ROI: -88% • War of the Worlds (2025): Budget $10,000,000 | Gross N/A

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Above-the-Line Talent Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances. Securing award-caliber actors and experienced directors represents the single largest budget line item, often consuming 30–40% of the total production budget.

▸ 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. Period dramas add the cost of era-accurate props, vehicles, and set decoration.

▸ Post-Production, Color Grading & Score The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone. Color grading, a nuanced musical score, and detailed sound mixing are critical to achieving the emotional resonance that defines the genre.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Winston Duke, Zazie Beetz, Benedict Wong, David Rysdahl, Arianna Ortiz Key roles: Winston Duke as Will; Zazie Beetz as Emma; Benedict Wong as Kyo; David Rysdahl as Mike

DIRECTOR: Edson Oda CINEMATOGRAPHY: Wyatt Garfield MUSIC: Antonio Pinto EDITING: Michael Taylor, Jeff Betancourt PRODUCTION: Juniper Productions, Mandalay Pictures, Nowhere, MACRO, The Space Program, Mansa Productions, Oak Street Pictures, 30WEST, Baked Studios, Datari Turner Productions FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Nine Days earned $694,849 domestically and $274,355 internationally, for a worldwide total of $969,204. The film skewed heavily domestic (72%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Nine Days needed approximately $25,000,000 to break even. The film fell $24,030,796 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $969,204 Budget: $10,000,000 Net: $-9,030,796 ROI: -90.3%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Unprofitable (Theatrical)

Nine Days earned $969,204 against a $10,000,000 budget (-90% ROI), falling short of theatrical profitability. Ancillary revenue may have reduced the deficit.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The underperformance may have increased risk aversion around low-budget drama productions.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Casting

Winston Duke read the screenplay after working on Us and was immediately interested in its depiction of mental illness and depression. Duke sat down with Oda for a meeting, which turned into a four-hour conversation about various topics ranging from filmmaking to content they both enjoyed to a discussion about life as an immigrant. As Oda described it, "It was almost like, I don't know, love at first sight. It was just amazing to see that I could trust this guy so much. I had a feeling that he has this big heart for humanity inside him." Though the lead role was originally set to be played by an Asian actor, Duke got the part the day after the meeting. According to Duke, the film's title is a reference to the funerary tradition practiced in the Caribbean known as the nine nights, where a person is mourned for nine days because it takes their spirit nine days to say goodbye.

On June 7, 2019, Duke, Zazie Beetz, Bill Skarsgård, Benedict Wong and David Rysdahl were announced to star. Beetz described her character as having a "childlike wonder", living in the present and confronting her issues instead of ignoring them like Will. To prepare for the role, Wong isolated himself from other people: "I locked myself up in a room ... [and] I didn't talk to anyone, solely just to have personal isolation. And when I came out, I wanted human contact, so that was like Kyo who would walk off into the dead of night, and no one knows where he goes." Hale described his character as a jokester who wants to have a good time. He categorized Arianna Ortiz's character as a romantic and Rysdahl's character as sensitive, stating that "there was a risk that we each took fully being ourselves. For some, for many, it didn't have the result we wanted, but we did take that risk." When asked about Will's response to his character, Hale said their "personalities triggered something that I think he felt he might've lacked.

▸ Filming & Locations

The cast had rehearsals for two weeks. Cinematographer Wyatt Garfield cited Schindler's List (1993), Seven (1995), Taking Off (1971), and There Will Be Blood (2007) as inspirations for the interview scenes and Gregory Crewdson as a point of reference for lighting. Garfield said there were two distinct locations in the film. The "limbo" setting, where Will lives, was captured using an Arri Alexa Mini with anamorphic lenses by Optica Elite because they "wanted to feel that the house itself was subtly bending and breathing and not totally concrete". The "real world" scenes, projected only through the televisions in Will's house, were filmed in the span of three weeks in Salt Lake City, Brazil, and Los Angeles with a number of lightweight cameras rigged to helmets and headgear, including a Sony Venice, a Codex Action Cam, and a Blackmagic Cinema Camera. As a result of the tight schedule, Oda had to cut fifteen pages from the script, including scenes featuring a symbolic spotlight and others involving Kyo.

Principal photography lasted for 24 days. Filming took place in 2019 between August and September in the state of Utah with support from the Motion Picture Incentive Program. An interior set of Will's house was built in a warehouse in West Valley City. Hale said that the house was built beside an office space, where he would often go to rehearse his lines, and noted the contrast between atmospheres. Nine Days was shot entirely in chronological order. Filming would start on Saturdays and end on Wednesdays with two-day breaks in between. The last scene, consisting of a three-page monologue, was filmed over the course of one sunset without any rehearsal or choreography. Filming wrapped early on a Wednesday at 9a.m. The crew remembered leaving the studio that day and spotting a double rainbow.

▸ Post-Production

Editing was completed by Michael Taylor and Jeff Betancourt. Nine Days received the Dolby Institute Fellowship, a post-production grant that allowed the sound designers to complete the film in Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos. Antônio Pinto composed the musical score; the theme song, played by Amanda's character on the violin, was composed during pre-production. The song played during the bicycle scene was composed by Yaniel Matos and performed in Portuguese by Manuela Julian.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 5 wins & 22 nominations total

! scope="row" rowspan=2| Black Reel Awards

! scope="row" rowspan=2| Denver International Film Festival

! scope="row" | Gotham Awards

! scope="row" | Hollywood Music in Media Awards

! scope="row" rowspan=2| Independent Spirit Awards

! scope="row" | IndieWire Critics Poll

! scope="row" | Newport Beach Film Festival

! scope="row" | Stockholm International Film Festival

! scope="row" rowspan=2| Sundance Film Festival

CRITICAL RECEPTION

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, of critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "A knockout feature directorial debut from Edson Oda, Nine Days is an ethereal and evocative film about the meaning of life – elevated by a phenomenal performance from Winston Duke." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The film would go on to appear in multiple critics' lists of the best film from 2021. Mark Dujsik of RogerEbert.com and Jared Mobarak of The Film Stage called it their favorite film of the year.

Oda was praised for his direction and screenplay. Jacob Oller of Paste called him "one of our most exciting new directors, a filmmaker possessing an innovative cinematic mind with a heart to match." The Guardians Leslie Felperin said it was "a smidge too ponderous and self-serious for its own good" but still a "reasonably promising debut". Film Threats Lorry Kikta lauded the script because it communicated its themes in a way that would successfully remind viewers about the value of life without being "preachy or pedantic." The performances of Duke and Beetz were also well-received. Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times noted the "brilliant work" from both actors and said he enjoyed the film due to its straightforward narrative and accessibility, describing it as a combination of Soul and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). Peter Debruge from Variety gave positive notes to the story, production design, cinematography, and score and categorized it as the "rare work of art that invites you to re-consider your entire worldview."