What is the budget of Prince of Persia Sands of Time?

"Prince of Persia Sands of Time," an adventure released in 2010, was directed by Mike Newell and stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton. The production budget was $200,000,000, placing it in the blockbuster range for adventure productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.
Filming & Locations: In March 2008, director Newell selected Morocco as a shooting location for Prince of Persia and also planned to film in Pinewood Studios.

What were the major cost factors in Prince of Persia Sands of Time?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Prince of Persia Sands of Time."

Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.
Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in adventure productions of this scale.

How Does Prince of Persia Sands of Time's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $200,000,000, Prince of Persia Sands of Time sits in the blockbuster range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

2012 (2009): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $791,217,826
Alice in Wonderland (2010): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $1,025,467,110
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023): Budget $200,000,000 , Gross $476,071,180
Argylle (2024): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $96,221,061
Black Adam (2022): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $393,452,111

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

Prince of Persia Sands of Time Box Office Performance

"Prince of Persia Sands of Time" earned $90,759,676 domestically and $336,365,676 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $200,000,000, the film showed modest profitability in theatrical release.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Prince of Persia Sands of Time," that break-even threshold was roughly $400,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $336,365,676, the film fell short of that threshold but recouped its production costs in theatrical release.

Production Budget: $200,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $336,365,676
Net Return: $136,365,676
ROI: approximately 68.2%

At 68.2%, "Prince of Persia Sands of Time" returned its production investment but margin was tight after marketing and distribution costs.

Prince of Persia Sands of Time Production History

In March 2008, director Newell selected Morocco as a shooting location for Prince of Persia and also planned to film in Pinewood Studios. Production was scheduled to begin in mid-June 2008. By May, actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton were cast into the lead roles.

Alanis Morissette composed the theme song for the film, named "I Remain". The score was written by composer Harry Gregson-Williams and was released through Walt Disney Records on May 25, 2010.

Awards and Recognition

1 win & 11 nominations total

Critical Reception

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes the film holds rating based on reviews, with an average score of . The critical consensus is: "It doesn't offer much in the way of substance, but Prince of Persia is a suitably entertaining swashbuckler,and a substantial improvement over most video game adaptations". Metacritic, which calculates an average rating based on reviews from mainstream critics, gave a score of 50 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.