What is the budget of Pet Sematary?

"Pet Sematary," a horror released in 2019, was directed by Dennis Widmyer, Kevin Kölsch and stars Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz. The production budget was $21,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for horror productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup: Horror productions invest disproportionately in practical effects , prosthetic applications, animatronics, blood and gore effects, and creature suits. A single hero creature suit can cost $50,000 to 200,000.
Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography: Creating dread through environment is essential. Abandoned locations must be secured and dressed, lighting rigs designed for shadow and tension, and sets built to enable specific camera movements and reveals.
Sound Design & Score: Horror is arguably the most sound-dependent genre. Foley work, ambient textures, frequency manipulation, and jump-scare stingers require specialized sound designers working with unconventional techniques.
Casting: On April 16, 2018, it was announced that Jason Clarke had been cast in the lead role of Louis Creed.

What were the major cost factors in Pet Sematary?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Pet Sematary."

Practical Effects: Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
Atmospheric Production Design: Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
Sound Design: Sound Design & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.

How Does Pet Sematary's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $21,000,000, Pet Sematary sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

Blockers (2018): Budget $21,000,000, Worldwide Gross $94,017,294
Death at a Funeral (2010): Budget $21,000,000, Worldwide Gross $49,050,886
Everybody's Fine (2009): Budget $21,000,000, Worldwide Gross $16,443,609
For Colored Girls (2010): Budget $21,000,000, Worldwide Gross $38,000,000
Freedom Writers (2007): Budget $21,000,000, Worldwide Gross $43,095,175

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

Pet Sematary Box Office Performance

"Pet Sematary" earned $54,724,696 domestically and $113,118,226 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $21,000,000, 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 "Pet Sematary," that break-even threshold was roughly $42,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $113,118,226, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

Production Budget: $21,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $113,118,226
Net Return: $92,118,226
ROI: approximately 438.7%

At 438.7%, "Pet Sematary" earned roughly $5.39 for every $1 invested in production.

Pet Sematary Production History

On April 16, 2018, it was announced that Jason Clarke had been cast in the lead role of Louis Creed. On May 4, 2018, it was reported John Lithgow had joined the cast in the role of Jud Crandall. In June 2018, it was announced that Amy Seimetz would have the film's lead female role, Rachel Creed, along with Jeté Laurence as Creed's daughter Ellie and twins Hugo and Lucas Lavoie as Creed's son Gage.

Principal photography commenced on June 18, 2018, in Hudson, Quebec, Canada. Filming wrapped on August 11, 2018. [Filming] Principal photography commenced on June 18, 2018, in Hudson, Quebec, Canada. Filming wrapped on August 11, 2018.

Christopher Young composed the film score. The end credits include a cover version of the Ramones song "Pet Sematary" by American punk rock band Starcrawler. Waxwork Records released the soundtrack on a double LP in 2019 following the release of the film.

Awards and Recognition

1 win & 9 nominations total

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads: "Pet Sematary takes its source material in a few different directions, but this remake feels like an exhuming almost as often as it does a revival." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".