Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for The Last Duel?

Directed by Ridley Scott, with Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer leading the cast, The Last Duel was produced by 20th Century Studios with a confirmed budget of $100,000,000, placing it in the big-budget category for history films.

A budget of $100,000,000 represents a significant studio commitment. Including estimated P&A of $50–100 million, the total investment likely approached $170,000,000–$200,000,000, requiring approximately $250,000,000 in worldwide grosses to break even.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• 1917 (2019): Budget $100,000,000 | Gross $446,064,352 → ROI: 346% • American Gangster (2007): Budget $100,000,000 | Gross $269,755,430 → ROI: 170% • Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024): Budget $100,000,000 | Gross $404,547,819 → ROI: 305% • Batman Forever (1995): Budget $100,000,000 | Gross $336,529,144 → ROI: 237% • Bicentennial Man (1999): Budget $100,000,000 | Gross $87,423,861 → ROI: -13%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Above-the-Line Talent Drama films live or die on the strength of their performances. Securing award-caliber actors and experienced directors represents the single largest budget line item, often consuming 30–40% of the total production budget.

▸ 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. Period dramas add the cost of era-accurate props, vehicles, and set decoration.

▸ Post-Production, Color Grading & Score The editorial process for dramas is typically longer than genre films, with careful attention to pacing and tone. Color grading, a nuanced musical score, and detailed sound mixing are critical to achieving the emotional resonance that defines the genre.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck, Harriet Walter Key roles: Matt Damon as Sir Jean de Carrouges; Adam Driver as Jacques Le Gris; Jodie Comer as Marguerite de Carrouges; Ben Affleck as Pierre d'Alençon

DIRECTOR: Ridley Scott CINEMATOGRAPHY: Dariusz Wolski MUSIC: Harry Gregson-Williams EDITING: Claire Simpson PRODUCTION: 20th Century Studios, Pearl Street Films, Scott Free Productions FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

The Last Duel earned $10,853,945 domestically and $19,698,166 internationally, for a worldwide total of $30,552,111. Revenue was split 36% domestic / 64% international.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), The Last Duel needed approximately $250,000,000 to break even. The film fell $219,447,889 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $30,552,111 Budget: $100,000,000 Net: $-69,447,889 ROI: -69.4%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Unprofitable (Theatrical)

The Last Duel earned $30,552,111 against a $100,000,000 budget (-69% ROI), falling short of theatrical profitability. Ancillary revenue may have reduced the deficit.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

The underperformance may have increased risk aversion around big-budget history productions.

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Music & Score

Harry Gregson-Williams composed the film score, in his third collaboration with Scott as a composer after Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and The Martian (2015). The score was released by Hollywood Records on October 15, 2021, which consisted of vocal elements, from the British a cappella group Voces8 led by Grace Davidson (who performed one of the tracks) as well as orchestral elements, with the use of medieval and contemporary instrumentation indicated to highlight the three main characters and the events that led to the titular duel.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 5 wins & 44 nominations total

Additional Recognition: ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result ! Ref.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

The website's critics consensus reads: "The Last Duels critique of systemic misogyny isn't as effective as it might have been, but it remains a well-acted and thought-provoking drama infused with epic grandeur." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 72% positive score. Reviewing the film for TheWrap, Asher Luberto praised the performances and cinematography while criticizing the screenplay, writing: "Adapting Eric Jager's 2004 non-fiction book with screenwriters Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Nicole Holofcener, Scott spins a medieval yarn that is by turns gruesome, grotesque, gorgeous and inconsistent."

Ben Croll of IndieWire, who gave the film a "B+" grade, praised it as "something all too rare on the current Hollywood field of battle: an intelligent and genuinely daring big budget melee that is — above all else — the product of recognizable artistic collaboration." Kyle Smith of National Review wrote that the film was "absolutely soaked in fascinating strangeness", adding: "It works because it doesn’t try to retrofit the facts of the past to fit the assumptions of the present."

Linda Marric of The Jewish Chronicle gave the film a score of five out of five stars, describing it as "a true return to form for Scott and a brilliant testament to Affleck and Damon's unparalleled screenwriting expertise." Deborah Ross of The Spectator described the film as "bleak, brutal and bloody with little respite – aside from Affleck's Count Pierre, who is nicely bitchy." Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film a score of four out of five, describing it as "a medieval epic that is perhaps [Scott's] most modern movie yet".

Reviewers from NPR's Fresh Air, The Atlantic, The A.V. Club, and CNN all compared The Last Duel to Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon (1950).