Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Tarot?

Directed by Spenser Cohen, Anna Halberg, with Harriet Slater, Wolfgang Novogratz, Adain Bradley leading the cast, Tarot was produced by Screen Gems with a confirmed budget of $8,000,000, placing it in the micro-budget category for horror films.

At $8,000,000, Tarot was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $20,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Mutant Chronicles (2008): Budget $8,000,000 | Gross $2,131,057 → ROI: -73% • I'm Still Here (2024): Budget $8,000,000 | Gross $36,361,572 → ROI: 355% • Pulp Fiction (1994): Budget $8,000,000 | Gross $213,928,762 → ROI: 2574% • Little Miss Sunshine (2006): Budget $8,000,000 | Gross $100,523,351 → ROI: 1157% • My Life as a Zucchini (2016): Budget $8,000,000 | Gross $5,873,256 → ROI: -27%

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: Harriet Slater, Wolfgang Novogratz, Adain Bradley, Avantika, Jacob Batalon Key roles: Harriet Slater as Haley; Wolfgang Novogratz as Lucas; Adain Bradley as Grant; Avantika as Paige

DIRECTOR: Spenser Cohen, Anna Halberg CINEMATOGRAPHY: Elie Smolkin MUSIC: Joseph Bishara EDITING: Tom Elkins, Josh Sgarlata PRODUCTION: Screen Gems, Alloy Entertainment, Ground Control Entertainment, Capstone Pictures, TSG Entertainment FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Tarot earned $18,771,004 domestically and $30,485,235 internationally, for a worldwide total of $49,256,239. Revenue was split 38% domestic / 62% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Tarot needed approximately $20,000,000 to break even. The film surpassed this threshold by $29,256,239.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $49,256,239 Budget: $8,000,000 Net: $41,256,239 ROI: 515.7%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Highly Profitable

Tarot was a clear financial success, generating $49,256,239 worldwide against a $8,000,000 production budget — a 516% ROI. After estimated marketing costs, the film still delivered substantial profit to Screen Gems.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

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

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

Deadline Hollywood reported the production of Horrorscope in June 2022, with Jacob Batalon, Alana Boden, Avantika Vandanapu, Adain Bradley joining the cast. The film was directed and written by Spenser Cohen and Anna Halberg, based on Nicholas Adams's 1992 novel of the same name. Ground Control's Scott Glassgold produced through Alloy Entertainment, together with Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Koplovitz Dutton. Halberg and Cohen served as executive producers. In July 2022, Humberly González joined the cast. In October 2022, Harriet Slater joined the cast. Filming took place in Belgrade, Serbia.

Production design was by New Zealand production designer Felicity Abbott.

In January 2024, the film was renamed to Tarot.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 2 wins total

Additional Recognition: Felicity Abbott won the Docklands Studios Melbourne Award for Best Production Design at the 2025 ADPG Awards for her work on the film.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 59% overall positive score. Variety's Todd Gilchrist said the film "repeatedly leverages the genre's laziest mood-setting and suspense-building devices to keep its audience on the edge of their seats." IGN's Jesse Hassenger gave it 2/10 stars, saying, "Tarot seems perpetually uncertain about whether it should play its thinly conceived premise for laughs, or actually pursue real scares. It winds up with neither, stumbling around in the dark and turning its small ensemble into a crude means of timekeeping for its surprisingly sluggish 90-minute runtime."

Alison Foreman of IndieWire gave the film a B grade, writing, "Cohen and Halberg manage an admirable faith in their own movie -- delivering consistently delightful kills in a soapy story that doesn't seem insecure until the very end."