Skyscraper Budget

What is the budget of Skyscraper?

"Skyscraper," an action released in 2018, was directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber and stars Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell. The production budget was $125,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for action productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for an action 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: Principal photography on the film began on August 14, 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Additional location shooting took place on-location in Hong Kong, including at the Cultural Centre.

What were the major cost factors in Skyscraper?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Skyscraper."

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

How Does Skyscraper's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $125,000,000, Skyscraper sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Artemis Fowl (2020): Budget $125,000,000
• Assassin's Creed (2016): Budget $125,000,000, Worldwide Gross $240,700,000
• Batman & Robin (1997): Budget $125,000,000, Worldwide Gross $238,207,122
• Chaos Walking (2021): Budget $125,000,000, Worldwide Gross $26,508,132
• Clash of the Titans (2010): Budget $125,000,000, Worldwide Gross $493,214,993

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

Skyscraper Box Office Performance

"Skyscraper" earned $68,420,120 domestically and $304,870,828 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $125,000,000, 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 "Skyscraper," that break-even threshold was roughly $250,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $304,870,828, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $125,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $304,870,828
• Net Return: $179,870,828
• ROI: approximately 143.9%

At 143.9%, "Skyscraper" earned roughly $2.44 for every $1 invested in production.

Skyscraper Production History

Principal photography on the film began on August 14, 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Additional location shooting took place on-location in Hong Kong, including at the Cultural Centre. [Filming] Principal photography on the film began on August 14, 2017, in Vancouver, British Columbia. Additional location shooting took place on-location in Hong Kong, including at the Cultural Centre.

Steve Jablonsky composed the film's score, which uses elements of guitars, synthesized drums, and traditional orchestra. The soundtrack was digitally released on July 13, 2018, by Milan Records, with the physical soundtrack being released later on August 3, 2018. British singer and songwriter Jamie N Commons performed the song "Walls" which plays in the end credits of the film.

Awards and Recognition

4 nominations total

Critical Reception

On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating to reviews, the film has a score of 51 out of 100, based on 42 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Varietys Peter Debruge was more critical of the story but praised Johnson, saying, "This is escapism, pure and simple, and though the structure is rickety, by enlisting Johnson, Thurber ensures that his Skyscraper is built on solid Rock."