The Hustle Budget

What Is the Budget of The Hustle (2019)?

The Hustle (2019), directed by Chris Addison and distributed by United Artists Releasing (a joint venture between MGM and Annapurna Pictures), was produced on a reported budget of $21,000,000. The con-comedy was a gender-flipped remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) and the earlier Bedtime Story (1964). Rebel Wilson originated and produced the project through her Camp Sugar shingle, with Roger Birnbaum producing alongside, and Pin High, MGM, and Cave 76 Productions co-financing.

Wilson and Anne Hathaway headlined the film, with Hathaway joining as Wilson's co-lead after development had begun. The mid-range budget reflected the project's positioning as a contained adult-audience comedy anchored by two established stars, with the South of France location adding aesthetic ambition without massive production overhead.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

The $21,000,000 budget was distributed across these core production areas:

• Above-the-Line Talent: Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson commanded the bulk of the cast budget, with Wilson's combined star and producer compensation through Camp Sugar representing a substantial share. Supporting cast Alex Sharp, Dean Norris, Timothy Simons, and Hannah Waddingham filled out the ensemble.
• South of France Location Shoot: Principal photography took place primarily in Mallorca, Spain (substituting for the South of France setting) and in Côte d'Azur, France. The location filming captured the Riviera aesthetic essential to the film's tone and provided practical advantages over a fully studio-based production.
• Director and Production Team: Chris Addison, making his feature directorial debut after extensive television comedy work on The Thick of It and Veep, commanded a first-time-feature-director rate. DP Michael Coulter and editor Anthony Boys headed the technical departments.
• Costume and Production Design: Costume designer Emma Fryer built the contrasting wardrobes for Hathaway's aristocratic Josephine and Wilson's scruffy Penny, anchoring the visual comedy of the central pairing. The Riviera-villa production design added period-glamour aesthetic.
• Score and Music: Anne Dudley composed the score, complemented by a soundtrack of pop selections. The music budget covered original composition and licensing.
• Marketing and Distribution: MGM and Annapurna's P&A spend was estimated at approximately $25,000,000 to $35,000,000, with a Mother's Day weekend release positioned for female-skewing adult-audience counterprogramming.

How Does The Hustle's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $21,000,000, The Hustle landed in the standard range for star-driven adult comedies of the late 2010s:

• Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988): Budget $15,000,000 | Worldwide $42,000,000. The original Frank Oz comedy with Michael Caine and Steve Martin cost less than The Hustle in nominal terms and earned less, providing the source material the remake reworked.
• Ocean's 8 (2018): Budget $70,000,000 | Worldwide $297,700,000. Warner's gender-flipped Ocean's heist film cost more than three times The Hustle and earned approximately three times worldwide, providing a contemporaneous template for the gender-flipped-remake commercial positioning.
• Tag (2018): Budget $28,000,000 | Worldwide $78,300,000. New Line's adult comedy cost 33% more and earned modestly less, illustrating the financial range for mid-budget adult comedies of the period.
• Pitch Perfect 3 (2017): Budget $45,000,000 | Worldwide $185,000,000. Universal's Rebel Wilson franchise entry cost more than twice The Hustle and earned more, providing context for Wilson's box-office leverage at the time.

The Hustle Box Office Performance

The Hustle opened on May 10, 2019 over the Mother's Day weekend, debuting in third place with $13,476,287 over the standard three-day frame. The film held competently through its theatrical run. The financial breakdown:

• Production Budget: $21,000,000
• Estimated Prints & Advertising (P&A): approximately $25,000,000 to $35,000,000
• Total Estimated Investment: approximately $46,000,000 to $56,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $97,381,179
• Net Return: approximately $40,000,000 to $50,000,000 theatrical profit (against total estimated investment)
• ROI: approximately positive 73% to positive 109% (against total estimated investment)

The Hustle returned approximately $1.73 to $2.12 in worldwide theatrical revenue for every $1 invested. The domestic share of the gross was $35,438,894 against an international share of $61,942,285, a 36/64 split that reflected the property's strong international appeal. MGM recouped further through home video, cable, and streaming licensing, with the film performing notably well on Showtime and Hulu in subsequent years.

The Hustle Production History

Development of The Hustle began in the mid-2010s as a remake project at MGM, with Rebel Wilson originally attached to one of the lead roles. Wilson took ownership of the project as a producer through her Camp Sugar production banner, working with Roger Birnbaum to package the film. The original 1988 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels writers Dale Launer and Stanley Shapiro received story credit, with Jac Schaeffer writing the new draft for the gender-flipped version. Paul Henning received additional writing credit from the earlier Bedtime Story (1964) source.

Chris Addison was hired to direct in 2017 in his feature debut after his television work on Veep and The Thick of It. Anne Hathaway joined the project in 2018 as the second lead, replacing earlier names including Emma McCarthy. Principal photography took place in late 2018 primarily in Mallorca, Spain (substituting for the South of France setting) and in Côte d'Azur, France.

MGM and Annapurna Pictures released the film through their joint United Artists Releasing venture, with the May 2019 Mother's Day weekend release positioned for female-skewing adult-audience counterprogramming. The film opened to a competitive third-place finish behind Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Avengers: Endgame.

Awards and Recognition

The Hustle received no significant positive awards recognition. The film was nominated at the People's Choice Awards in popular-vote categories and received a Critics' Choice Movie Awards nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy (Anne Hathaway).

At the Razzies, the film was nominated for Worst Remake or Rip-Off but did not win, losing to Rambo: Last Blood. The film's reputation in industry conversation has been concentrated on its commercial efficiency: a $21,000,000 production that earned more than $97,000,000 worldwide proved the continued viability of star-driven adult comedies at a moment when the format was in decline.

Critical Reception

The Hustle received predominantly negative reviews from critics. The film holds a 13% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 215 critic reviews, with a critical consensus calling it a strained gender-flipped remake that underused its stars. On Metacritic, the film scored 35 out of 100, indicating generally unfavorable reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a B-, a soft response that diverged less dramatically from critics than is typical for Rotten Tomatoes outliers.

Variety's Owen Gleiberman wrote that "Hathaway and Wilson can't rescue a script that mistakes meanness for wit," and The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck called the film "a tedious throwback that wastes its leads." Praise centered on Anne Hathaway's comedic commitment and the location cinematography, with multiple critics noting that the central pairing had chemistry the screenplay failed to capitalize on. The combined reception framed The Hustle as a critical disappointment that nonetheless performed solidly with audiences, posting one of the more commercially successful results among 2019's lower-rated mainstream comedies.