The Color Purple Budget

What is the budget of The Color Purple?

"The Color Purple," a drama released in 1985, was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Danny Glover, Whoopi Goldberg. The production budget was $15,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for drama productions of the 1980s.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

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

• Above-the-Line Talent: Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances.
• Location Filming & Period Production Design: Authentic locations , whether contemporary or historical , require scouting, permits, travel, lodging, and often significant dressing to match the story's time period.
• Post-Production, Color Grading & Score: The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone.
• Casting: Whoopi Goldberg was known primarily as a stage performer when she was cast as Celie Harris.|Rather than cast established stars, Walker sought out lesser-known actors to play the principal roles, since their rise from obscurity represented the experience of characters in her novels.

What were the major cost factors in The Color Purple?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "The Color Purple."

• Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
• Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.
• Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in drama productions of this scale.

How Does The Color Purple's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $15,000,000, The Color Purple sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• A Dangerous Method (2011): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $27,462,041
• Ben-Hur (1959): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $164,000,000
• Land of the Dead (2005): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $47,074,133
• Into the Wild (2007): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $56,255,142
• King's Ransom (2005): Budget $15,000,000, Worldwide Gross $4,139,856

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

The Color Purple Box Office Performance

"The Color Purple" earned $98,467,863 domestically and $146,300,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $15,000,000, 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 Color Purple," that break-even threshold was roughly $30,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $146,300,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $15,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $146,300,000
• Net Return: $131,300,000
• ROI: approximately 875.3%

At 875.3%, "The Color Purple" earned roughly $9.75 for every $1 invested in production.

The Color Purple Production History

Whoopi Goldberg was known primarily as a stage performer when she was cast as Celie Harris.|Rather than cast established stars, Walker sought out lesser-known actors to play the principal roles, since their rise from obscurity represented the experience of characters in her novels. Oprah later said she had chosen the film as it had special meaning in her life. After lobbying producers for the part, 29-year-old Goldberg was personally selected by Walker after she saw her stand-up.

While the novel was based on Walker's childhood home of Eatonton, Georgia, the film was shot predominantly in James C. Bennett's house, located in Lilesville (Anson County), and Union County in North Carolina during the summer months. Sets were constructed at an Antebellum-era plantation outside Wadesboro, while the town of Marshville had its paved roads covered in mud and clay to match the early 20th-century setting.

The Color Purple's film score was written by Quincy Jones, the first feature film directed by Spielberg for which John Williams did not compose the music. The score combines elements of classical and period jazz, blues, and gospel, and features several popular songs of the era. The track Miss Celie's Blues (Sister), performed in the film by the character Shug (Avery; dubbed by Táta Vega), later gained popularity as a concert piece.

Awards and Recognition

Nominated for 11 Oscars. 14 wins & 25 nominations total

• National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
• National Board of Review Award for Best Film

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 73% based on 125 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "It might have been better served by a filmmaker with a deeper connection to the source material, but The Color Purple remains a worthy, well-acted adaptation of Alice Walker's classic novel." On Metacritic, the film received a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".