Presence

Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Presence?

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, with Callina Liang, Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan leading the cast, Presence was produced by Extension 765 with a confirmed budget of $2,000,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for horror films.

At $2,000,000, Presence was produced on a lean budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $5,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Seven Samurai (1954): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $105,000,000 → ROI: 5150% • The Great Dictator (1940): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $11,000,000 → ROI: 450% • Sing Sing (2024): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $3,401,789 → ROI: 70% • The Lives of Others (2006): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $77,672,685 → ROI: 3784% • Anatomy of a Murder (1959): Budget $2,000,000 | Gross $8,000,000 → ROI: 300%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ 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 $50,000–200,000.

▸ 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.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Callina Liang, Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland Key roles: Callina Liang as Chloe; Lucy Liu as Rebekah; Chris Sullivan as Chris; Eddy Maday as Tyler

DIRECTOR: Steven Soderbergh CINEMATOGRAPHY: Steven Soderbergh MUSIC: Zack Ryan EDITING: Steven Soderbergh PRODUCTION: Extension 765, The Spectral Spirit Company FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Presence earned $6,900,044 domestically and $4,169,361 internationally, for a worldwide total of $11,069,405. The film skewed heavily domestic (62%), suggesting strong North American appeal.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Presence needed approximately $5,000,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $6,069,405.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $11,069,405 Budget: $2,000,000 Net: $9,069,405 ROI: 453.5%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

Presence was a clear financial success, generating $11,069,405 worldwide against a $2,000,000 production budget — a 453% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to Extension 765.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The outsized success of Presence likely influenced studio greenlight decisions for similar horror projects.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Development

The film, written by David Koepp and directed by Steven Soderbergh, was not announced publicly until December 2023 when it was revealed to be part of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

The concept originated with Soderbergh, who was inspired by his own beliefs of living with a presence in his house, which he and his wife called "Mimi": "It got me thinking about how Mimi would feel about us being in her house. Is Mimi pissed at us living here?". Soderbergh remains personally skeptical of the existence of ghosts, despite his mother being a parapsychologist. He wrote 10 pages of a script before handing it off to Koepp, who then fleshed out the plot and added the movie's final twist.

▸ Filming & Locations

Principal photography took place over 11 days in September 2023 with an interim SAG-AFTRA agreement from the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The film is shot entirely in the first-person perspective, and was filmed in a house in Cranford, New Jersey. Of the film's low budget and quick production time, Soderbergh stated: "The beauty of projects at this scale is I can just do them without having to talk to anybody."

Soderbergh did his own cinematography and most of the filming, under his pseudonym, Peter Andrews. The film was shot on a Sony mirrorless camera with a DJI Ronin stabilizer, with Soderbergh wearing nylon and rubber slippers to reduce noise from his own footsteps. Much of the film consists of non-traditional cinematography Describing the conceit, Soderbergh said: "It might be the simplest idea I've ever had … The camera’s the ghost". The several shots in which Soderbergh had to go up and down stairs while filming were a particular challenge, since Soderbergh had to look at his feet while walking. He rehearsed aiming the camera at these moments by feel alone, but still spoiled several long takes partway through.

[Filming] Principal photography took place over 11 days in September 2023 with an interim SAG-AFTRA agreement from the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The film is shot entirely in the first-person perspective, and was filmed in a house in Cranford, New Jersey. Of the film's low budget and quick production time, Soderbergh stated: "The beauty of projects at this scale is I can just do them without having to talk to anybody."

Soderbergh did his own cinematography and most of the filming, under his pseudonym, Peter Andrews. The film was shot on a Sony mirrorless camera with a DJI Ronin stabilizer, with Soderbergh wearing nylon and rubber slippers to reduce noise from his own footsteps. Much of the film consists of non-traditional cinematography Describing the conceit, Soderbergh said: "It might be the simplest idea I've ever had … The camera’s the ghost".

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: N/A

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 58% overall positive score, with 33% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.

Critics particularly praised the film for its cinematography and lean, single-location structure. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter described it as "a nail-biting ghost story" with an "expertly honed screenplay". Devan Coggan of Entertainment Weekly praised it as "a taut character drama, a single-location nightmare that chronicles the Payne family’s unraveling". Saying that Presence "might be the best thing Soderbergh has done in ages," Bilge Ebiri of New York Magazine wrote that the film "isn’t afraid to be narratively predictable, because it’s out there visually. It’s an art film that also works as a spellbinding horror film". Stephanie Zacharek of Time described it as "a film that builds dread but also has some poetry in its heart". The film received a "NYT Critic's Choice" award from The New York Times, with Manohla Dargis calling it a "typically well-oiled, polished, frictionless Soderbergh whasit" with a "touchingly human" protagonist.

David Sims, writing for The Atlantic, was less positive about the movie's leanness, describing it as "less an entrée than a charming apéritif, albeit with a couple of smart twists worth ruminating on". In a mixed review, Mark Hanson of Slant said of the film that "The unoriginality of the story eventually calls out the POV conceit as a one-note gimmick", comparing it unfavorably with H.P. Mendoza's I Am a Ghost and Oz Perkins' I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House. In one of the few negative reviews, Rex Reed of the New York Observer called it "a lifeless, cliché-ridden ghost story that delivers neither scares nor suspense" that is ultimately a "worthless" film.