Superbad Budget

What is the budget of Superbad?

"Superbad," a comedy released in 2007, was directed by Greg Mottola and stars Jonah Hill, Michael Cera. The production budget was $20,000,000, placing it in the mid-budget range for comedy productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Talent Salaries & Producing Deals: Established comedic talent can command $15 to 20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals.
• Production & Location Filming: While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.
• Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising): Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum.
• Development: Superbad was written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen during their teen years.

What were the major cost factors in Superbad?

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

• Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
• Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
• Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.

How Does Superbad's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $20,000,000, Superbad sits in the mid-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 12 Years a Slave (2013): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $187,000,000
• 21 Grams (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $60,427,839
• 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $11,798,854
• A Guy Thing (2003): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,400,000
• A Most Violent Year (2014): Budget $20,000,000, Worldwide Gross $12,007,070

The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the 2000s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Superbad Box Office Performance

"Superbad" earned $121,463,226 domestically and $170,800,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $20,000,000, 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 "Superbad," that break-even threshold was roughly $40,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $170,800,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $20,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $170,800,000
• Net Return: $150,800,000
• ROI: approximately 754%

At 754%, "Superbad" earned roughly $8.54 for every $1 invested in production.

Superbad Production History

Superbad was written by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen during their teen years. It is loosely based on their own experience as seniors in Vancouver in the late 1990s, hence the character names Seth and Evan. Other characters and references were influenced by Goldberg and Rogen's adolescence, such as Steven Glanzberg, their peer at Point Grey Secondary School, characterized in the film as a loner.

The film was primarily shot in Los Angeles in the fall of 2006. Exterior shots of the high school were filmed at El Segundo High School. The mall scenes were shot at the Fox Hills Mall in Culver City, California.

Awards and Recognition

11 wins & 24 nominations total

Critical Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on reviews from 207 critics, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The website's summary reads: "Deftly balancing vulgarity and sincerity while placing its protagonists in excessive situations, Superbad is an authentic take on friendship and the overarching awkwardness of the high school experience." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 76/100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade A− on scale of A to F.