Tarot Budget

What is the budget of Tarot?

"Tarot," a horror released in 2024, was directed by Spenser Cohen, Anna Halberg and stars Harriet Slater, Wolfgang Novogratz. The production budget was $8,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for horror productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• 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 to 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.
• Production: Deadline Hollywood reported the production of Horrorscope in June 2022, with Jacob Batalon, Alana Boden, Avantika Vandanapu, Adain Bradley joining the cast.

What were the major cost factors in Tarot?

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

• Practical Effects: Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
• Atmospheric Production Design: Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.
• Sound Design: Sound Design & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in horror productions of this scale.

How Does Tarot's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $8,000,000, Tarot sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

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

The median budget for wide-release horror films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Tarot Box Office Performance

"Tarot" earned $18,771,004 domestically and $49,256,239 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $8,000,000, 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 "Tarot," that break-even threshold was roughly $16,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $49,256,239, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $8,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $49,256,239
• Net Return: $41,256,239
• ROI: approximately 515.7%

At 515.7%, "Tarot" earned roughly $6.16 for every $1 invested in production.

Awards and Recognition

2 wins total

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.