Sully Budget

What is the budget of Sully?

"Sully," a drama released in 2016, was directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart. The production budget was $60,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for drama productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Above-the-Line Talent: Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances.
• Location Filming & Period Production Design: Authentic locations , whether contemporary or historical , require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period.
• Post-Production, Color Grading & Score: The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone.
• Casting: By June 2015, it was reported that Tom Hanks was already in talks to play the lead role of Sullenberger.

What were the major cost factors in Sully?

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

• Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
• Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
• Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.

How Does Sully's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $60,000,000, Sully sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 15 Minutes (2001): Budget $60,000,000, Worldwide Gross $56,359,980
• Almost Famous (2000): Budget $60,000,000, Worldwide Gross $47,386,287
• Analyze That (2002): Budget $60,000,000, Worldwide Gross $55,003,135
• Antz (1998): Budget $60,000,000, Worldwide Gross $171,757,863
• Cats & Dogs (2001): Budget $60,000,000, Worldwide Gross $200,687,492

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

Sully Box Office Performance

"Sully" earned $125,070,033 domestically and $240,800,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $60,000,000, 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 "Sully," that break-even threshold was roughly $120,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $240,800,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $60,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $240,800,000
• Net Return: $180,800,000
• ROI: approximately 301.3%

At 301.3%, "Sully" earned roughly $4.01 for every $1 invested in production.

Sully Production History

By June 2015, it was reported that Tom Hanks was already in talks to play the lead role of Sullenberger. Much of the rest of the cast was announced in August (with Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Holt McCallany, and Jamey Sheridan joining), September (Jerry Ferarra), and October (Max Adler, Sam Huntington, and Wayne Bastrup).

Principal photography on the film began on September 28, 2015, in New York City. On October 15, filming started in Atlanta, where a building in downtown Atlanta was transformed into a New York hotel. Most of the film's budget was spent in Los Angeles, where the crash sequence and water evacuation scenes were filmed at Warner Bros.

Awards and Recognition

• National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 346 reviews, with an average rating of 7.20/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "As comfortingly workmanlike as its protagonist, Sully makes solid use of typically superlative work from its star and director to deliver a quietly stirring tribute to an everyday hero." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".