Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Texas Chainsaw Massacre?

Directed by David Blue Garcia, with Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham leading the cast, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced by Legendary Pictures with a confirmed budget of $20,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for horror films as part of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Collection.

At $20,000,000, Texas Chainsaw Massacre was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $50,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• 12 Years a Slave (2013): Budget $20,000,000 | Gross $187,000,000 → ROI: 835% • 21 Grams (2003): Budget $20,000,000 | Gross $60,427,839 → ROI: 202% • 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994): Budget $20,000,000 | Gross $11,798,854 → ROI: -41% • A Guy Thing (2003): Budget $20,000,000 | Gross $17,400,000 → ROI: -13% • A Most Violent Year (2014): Budget $20,000,000 | Gross $12,007,070 → ROI: -40%

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: Sarah Yarkin, Elsie Fisher, Mark Burnham, Jacob Latimore, Moe Dunford Key roles: Sarah Yarkin as Melody; Elsie Fisher as Lila; Mark Burnham as Leatherface; Jacob Latimore as Dante

DIRECTOR: David Blue Garcia CINEMATOGRAPHY: Ricardo Diaz MUSIC: Colin Stetson PRODUCTION: Legendary Pictures, Bad Hombre, Exurbia Films, Good Universe FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

Franchise: Texas Chainsaw Massacre is part of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Collection.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Development

Initially during the development of Leatherface (2017), the producers had the film rights and intention to make five more Texas Chainsaw Massacre films. In April 2015, producer Christa Campbell stated that the fate of the potential sequels would largely depend on the financial and critical reception to Leatherface. By December 2017, Lionsgate and Millennium Films had lost the film rights, due to the amount of time it took to release Leatherface.

In August 2018, it was reported that Legendary Pictures had entered preliminary negotiations to purchase the film rights to Texas Chainsaw Massacre, with the studio intending to adapt television and film installments. The following year, Fede Álvarez signed onto the project as producer. In November 2019, Chris Thomas Devlin joined the production as screenwriter. In February 2020, Ryan Tohill and Andy Tohill were hired to serve as directors for the film, with Angus Mitchell signed on as cinematographer after collaborating on The Dig (2018). In May of the same year, it was announced that the film would serve as a sequel to the original film and feature a 60-year-old Leatherface, notably similar to the approach that Blumhouse Productions took with their Halloween films. In February 2022, Álvarez clarified that the events of the original sequels took place in the film's continuity.

▸ Casting

In October 2020, it was announced that Elsie Fisher had been cast to star in the film alongside Sarah Yarkin, Moe Dunford, Alice Krige, Jacob Latimore, Nell Hudson, Jessica Allain, Sam Douglas, William Hope and Jolyon Coy.

▸ Filming & Locations

Production was initially slated to begin on May 4, 2020. Principal photography commenced on August 17, 2020, in Bulgaria. However, after being unimpressed with what was filmed, the studio fired Ryan and Andy Tohill. David Blue Garcia was hired to replace them as director. The footage shot by the Tohill brothers would not be used, with Garcia starting over on the production. Director of photography Angus Mitchell left the project along with the directors and was replaced by Ricardo Diaz. Garcia and Diaz were given a very short amount of time for preparation and worked off of "shorthands and bullet points", as well as their understanding of the first film. Garcia said it was a challenge to make Bulgaria look like Texas, but they leaned into the idea that it looked more like West Texas, near the Fort Davis mountains. Garcia praised production designer Michael Perry and set decorators Asen Bozilov and Joey Ostrander for building a good replica of a Texas town, even if there wasn't enough barbed wire to fully emulate Texas.

[Filming] Production was initially slated to begin on May 4, 2020. Principal photography commenced on August 17, 2020, in Bulgaria. However, after being unimpressed with what was filmed, the studio fired Ryan and Andy Tohill. David Blue Garcia was hired to replace them as director. The footage shot by the Tohill brothers would not be used, with Garcia starting over on the production. Director of photography Angus Mitchell left the project along with the directors and was replaced by Ricardo Diaz. Garcia and Diaz were given a very short amount of time for preparation and worked off of "shorthands and bullet points", as well as their understanding of the first film. Garcia said it was a challenge to make Bulgaria look like Texas, but they leaned into the idea that it looked more like West Texas, near the Fort Davis mountains.

▸ Post-Production

By March 2021, Álvarez announced that production had completed, while confirming that the film would focus on an older-aged Leatherface. The filmmaker revealed that the production took an "old school" approach to filmmaking, noting vintage lenses and practical effects used for the gore. The following month, the film was officially titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It was believed at one point that the title had changed to Texas Chainsaw Begins but Devlin denied this. In May, it was reported that after test screenings, the audience reaction was generally negative. In August, Álvarez stated that overall audience response at test screenings was mostly positive, emphasizing that the film remains respectful to the first film's legacy.

That same month, it was revealed that Colin Stetson served as composer for the film.

▸ Marketing & Release

On June 6, 2024, a digital pinball table was released by Zen Studios for Pinball M, inspired by the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

An attraction based on the film opened at Six Flags Fright Fest through early September to November 3, 2024.

Three action figures of Leatherface from the film were released by Hiya Toys in 2024.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: N/A

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Valerie Complex for Deadline Hollywood wrote: "The real horror here is the modernizing of the content by merging social media, social issues and Twitter buzz words in a careless fashion that makes it hard to latch onto anything substantial". For The A.V. Club, A.A. Dowd negatively compared the film to David Gordon Green's Halloween, and said: "Isn't it kind of arrogant to position your movie as the only proper follow-up to an iconic original and then make the same blunders as the films you're retconning?" Owen Glieberman of Variety called the film "a blood-soaked but unscary footnote." David Sims of The Atlantic said that the film "feels unnecessary and anonymous, leaning on crass visual shocks while failing to match the unsparing brutality of its lodestar." Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press gave the film 1/4 stars, writing: "Did we really need another? And sadly, given the lack of imagination, creativity or even basic attention to logic in a perfunctory and downright silly script, the answer seems a resounding "Nope."" Lauren Milici of Total Film remarked that the movie failed to honor the original, writing: "It's a formulaic film about a group of kids who get chased by a killer. Take Leatherface out of the equation and you could easily mistake it for any other horror."

Writing for TheWrap, William Bibbiani said: "Garcia clearly knows that this is the film's ultraviolent slasher centerpiece, and he absolutely delivers on all that gory promise." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote: "Texas Chainsaw Massacre doesn't exactly offer anything new, but gorehound fans who rejoice at watching people's innards fall out of their bodies will find much to appreciate." Brad Wheeler of The Globe and Mail wrote: "Texas Chainsaw Massacre is what it says it is.