The Bad Guys Budget
FamilyComedyCrimeAnimationAction1h 40mUpdated
Synopsis
When the Bad Guys, a crew of criminal animals, are finally caught after years of heists and being the world’s most-wanted villains, Mr. Wolf brokers a deal to save them all from prison.
What is the budget of The Bad Guys?
"The Bad Guys," a family released in 2022, was directed by Pierre Perifel and stars Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron. The production budget was $80,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for family productions of its era.
Key Budget Allocation Categories
While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a family 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.
- Music & Score: On June 22, 2021, Daniel Pemberton was signed to compose the score for the film, having previously composed the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
What were the major cost factors in The Bad Guys?
Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "The Bad Guys."
- Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in family productions of this scale.
- Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in family productions of this scale.
- Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in family productions of this scale.
How Does The Bad Guys's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
At $80,000,000, The Bad Guys sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:
- Edge of Darkness (2010): Budget $80,000,000, Worldwide Gross $81,126,522
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010): Budget $80,000,000 , Gross $140,073,390
- Meet the Fockers (2004): Budget $80,000,000, Worldwide Gross $516,642,939
- Shutter Island (2010): Budget $80,000,000, Worldwide Gross $294,804,195
- The Lego Batman Movie (2017): Budget $80,000,000, Worldwide Gross $311,950,384
The median budget for wide-release family films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.
The Bad Guys Box Office Performance
"The Bad Guys" earned $97,459,240 domestically and $250,162,278 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $80,000,000, 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 "The Bad Guys," that break-even threshold was roughly $160,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $250,162,278, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.
- Production Budget: $80,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $250,162,278
- Net Return: $170,162,278
- ROI: approximately 212.7%
At 212.7%, "The Bad Guys" earned roughly $3.13 for every $1 invested in production.
The Bad Guys Production History
On June 22, 2021, Daniel Pemberton was signed to compose the score for the film, having previously composed the soundtrack for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. A song "Good Tonight" written by Pemberton and Gary Go was made and released on March 18 by Back Lot Music, performed by Anthony Ramos, who does the additional lyrics with Will Wells. The album was released on March 31 with two other new songs included with "Good Tonight", includes a cover of "Feelin' Alright" by Elle King (released on March 25) and "Brand New Day" by The Heavy.
Awards and Recognition
2 wins & 30 nominations total
Critical Reception
Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an average score of 4 out of 5 stars. IGNs Ryan Leston gave a rating of 8 out of 10 and wrote: The Bad Guys is a slick, hilarious heist movie with buckets of laughs and a lot of heart. It's Ocean's Eleven meets Little Red Riding Hood with Sam Rockwell's Wolf going on a charm offensive to stay out of jail... and he might just win you over in the process.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did it cost to make The Bad Guys (2022)?
The production budget was $80,000,000, covering principal photography, cast and crew salaries, locations, sets, post-production, and music. Marketing and distribution (P&A) costs are estimated at an additional $40,000,000 - $64,000,000, bringing the total studio investment to approximately $120,000,000 - $144,000,000.
How much did The Bad Guys (2022) earn at the box office?
The Bad Guys grossed $97,459,240 domestic, $152,703,038 international, totaling $250,162,278 worldwide.
Was The Bad Guys (2022) profitable?
Yes. Against a production budget of $80,000,000 and estimated total costs of ~$200,000,000, the film earned $250,162,278 theatrically - a 213% ROI on production costs alone.
What were the biggest costs in producing The Bad Guys?
The primary cost drivers were above-the-line talent (Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Awkwafina); star comedian salaries, location filming, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
How does The Bad Guys's budget compare to similar family films?
At $80,000,000, The Bad Guys is classified as a mid-budget production. The median budget for wide-release family films in the 2020s ranges from $30 - 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles. Comparable budgets: Edge of Darkness (2010, $80,000,000); Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010, $80,000,000); Meet the Fockers (2004, $80,000,000).
Did The Bad Guys (2022) go over budget?
There are no widely reported accounts of significant budget overruns for this production. However, studios rarely disclose precise budget overrun figures publicly. The reported production budget reflects the final estimated cost.
What was the return on investment (ROI) for The Bad Guys?
The theatrical ROI was 212.7%, calculated as ($250,162,278 − $80,000,000) ÷ $80,000,000 × 100. This measures gross revenue against production budget only - it does not account for P&A or exhibitor shares.
What awards did The Bad Guys (2022) win?
2 wins & 30 nominations total.
Who directed The Bad Guys and who were the key crew members?
Directed by Pierre Perifel, written by Etan Cohen, with music by Daniel Pemberton, edited by John Venzon.
Where was The Bad Guys filmed?
The Bad Guys was filmed in United States of America. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Filmmakers
The Bad Guys
Official Trailer
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