Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for No Other Choice?

Directed by Park Chan-wook, with Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon leading the cast, No Other Choice was produced by CJ ENM Studios with a confirmed budget of $12,200,000, placing it in the low-budget category for comedy films.

At $12,200,000, No Other Choice was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $30,500,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Sisu: Road to Revenge (2025): Budget $12,200,000 | Gross $9,724,644 → ROI: -20% • Goon (2012): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $6,985,158 → ROI: -42% • Jobs (2013): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $42,100,000 → ROI: 251% • All That Jazz (1979): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $37,823,676 → ROI: 215% • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $71,923,560 → ROI: 499%

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: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom Hye-ran Key roles: Lee Byung-hun as Yoo Man-su; Son Ye-jin as Lee Mi-ri; Park Hee-soon as Choi Seon-chul; Lee Sung-min as Gu Bum-mo

DIRECTOR: Park Chan-wook CINEMATOGRAPHY: Kim Woo-hyung MUSIC: Cho Young-wuk EDITING: Kim Sang-bum, Kim Ho-bin PRODUCTION: CJ ENM Studios, Moho Film, KG Productions FILMED IN: South Korea, France

Box Office Performance

No Other Choice earned $9,950,355 domestically and $27,204,247 internationally, for a worldwide total of $37,154,602. International markets drove the majority of revenue (73%), indicating strong global appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), No Other Choice needed approximately $30,500,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $6,654,602.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $37,154,602 Budget: $12,200,000 Net: $24,954,602 ROI: 204.5%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Profitable

No Other Choice delivered a solid return, earning $37,154,602 worldwide on a $12,200,000 budget (205% ROI). Combined with ancillary revenue, the film was a financial positive for CJ ENM Studios.