What is the budget of Now You See Me 2?

"Now You See Me 2," a crime released in 2016, was directed by Jon M. Chu and stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo. The production budget was $120,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for crime productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Talent & Director Compensation: Thrillers depend on compelling lead performances to sustain tension, making cast compensation a primary budget concern. Directors with proven thriller credentials command premium fees.
Cinematography & Location Photography: Thriller aesthetics demand specific visual languages , surveillance-style photography, claustrophobic framing, or expansive location work across multiple cities or countries.
Editorial & Sound Post-Production: Precision editing , controlling information flow, building suspense through pacing, and orchestrating reveals , requires extended post-production schedules.
Casting: On October 2, 2014, Michael Caine confirmed in an interview that Daniel Radcliffe would be playing his son in the film and that shooting is expected to begin in December in London.

What were the major cost factors in Now You See Me 2?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Now You See Me 2."

Talent: Talent & Director Compensation is one of the primary cost drivers in crime productions of this scale.
Cinematography: Cinematography & Location Photography is one of the primary cost drivers in crime productions of this scale.
Editorial: Editorial & Sound Post-Production is one of the primary cost drivers in crime productions of this scale.

How Does Now You See Me 2's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $120,000,000, Now You See Me 2 sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003): Budget $120,000,000 , Gross $259,175,788
Frankenstein (2025): Budget $120,000,000, Worldwide Gross $480,678
Geostorm (2017): Budget $120,000,000, Worldwide Gross $221,600,160
How Do You Know (2010): Budget $120,000,000, Worldwide Gross $48,668,907
I, Robot (2004): Budget $120,000,000, Worldwide Gross $347,234,916

The median budget for wide-release crime films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Now You See Me 2 Box Office Performance

"Now You See Me 2" earned $65,075,540 domestically and $334,897,606 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $120,000,000, 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 "Now You See Me 2," that break-even threshold was roughly $240,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $334,897,606, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $120,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $334,897,606
Net Return: $214,897,606
ROI: approximately 179.1%

At 179.1%, "Now You See Me 2" earned roughly $2.79 for every $1 invested in production.

Now You See Me 2 Production History

On October 2, 2014, Michael Caine confirmed in an interview that Daniel Radcliffe would be playing his son in the film and that shooting is expected to begin in December in London. In October 2014, it was announced that Isla Fisher would be unable to reprise her role as Henley Reeves due to her pregnancy and Lizzy Caplan was cast as new character Lula to replace her as the Fourth Horseman. On January 28, 2015, Henry Lloyd-Hughes was confirmed to play the role of a tech whiz kid named Allen Scott-Frank.

On November 25, 2014, Mark Ruffalo posted to his Facebook that filming had begun on the sequel, as the film was shooting in London, England. On March 12, 2015, shooting began in China, where filming took place in Macau and the Macau Science Center, lasting for six days to March 18. [Filming] On November 25, 2014, Mark Ruffalo posted to his Facebook that filming had begun on the sequel, as the film was shooting in London, England.

The film's music was written and composed by Brian Tyler. The soundtrack was released on June 10, 2016, by Varèse Sarabande.

Awards and Recognition

5 nominations total

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval percentage of 34% based on 197 reviews and an average rating of 4.90/10. The critics consensus reads: "Now You See Me 2 packs in even more twists and turns than its predecessor, but in the end, it has even less hiding up its sleeve." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100 based on 33 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.