The Last Summer Budget

What Is the Budget of The Last Summer (2019)?

The Last Summer (2019), directed by William Bindley and distributed by Netflix, was produced on a reported budget of approximately $5,000,000 to $8,000,000 based on industry estimates of its Chicago and Cleveland location footprint, ensemble cast of emerging television stars, and 30-day production schedule. While some online aggregators have cited figures as high as $38,000,000, the production scale and Netflix acquisition model do not support that figure, and Gulfstream Pictures, the producing entity, has not publicly disclosed a budget.

Gulfstream Pictures developed the film as a Netflix acquisition with the screen presence of KJ Apa (Riverdale), Maia Mitchell (The Fosters), and Jacob Latimore (Sleight) carrying the marquee value. Netflix acquired worldwide rights and released the film globally on May 3, 2019. The economics aligned with the platform's broader YA acquisition strategy from 2018 to 2020, with modest production budgets carried by recognizable television-tier leads.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

The estimated production budget was allocated across these core areas:

• Above-the-Line Talent: KJ Apa, in the midst of Riverdale's peak network era, anchored the ensemble at a television-leading-man quote. Maia Mitchell (The Fosters), Jacob Latimore (Sleight, The Maze Runner), Halston Sage (Goosebumps), Tyler Posey (Teen Wolf), and Sosie Bacon (13 Reasons Why) brought additional television visibility at established quotes. The ensemble structure spread above-the-line costs across roughly a dozen speaking roles.
• Chicago and Ohio Location Shoot: Principal photography ran in mid-2018 across Chicago and Cleveland with additional locations in Ohio standing in for Chicago exteriors. The Chicago location work covered Lake Michigan beaches, Wrigley Field-adjacent neighborhoods, and various urban interiors, while Ohio offered tax incentive benefits for the bulk of stage work.
• Production Design: Production designer Brenda Hill built contemporary teen environments including a college send-off party, Cubs game sequences, and various Chicago restaurant and apartment interiors. The contemporary setting kept set-build costs measured relative to a period feature.
• Cinematography: Director of photography Luca Del Puppo shot the film with a glossy, sun-drenched Chicago summer aesthetic. The cinematography budget covered standard digital camera packages, drone and aerial work for the Chicago skyline establishing shots, and the warm-grade color work for the summer-romance tone.
• Score and Music: Ryan Miller of the band Guster composed the original score. The soundtrack relied heavily on contemporary pop and indie needle drops, with music licensing forming a meaningful budget category for a Netflix global-release teen film.
• Cubs and Wrigleyville Sequences: One of the film's storylines centers on a baseball-themed romance, requiring location work in and around Wrigley Field and licensing of Cubs imagery and game footage. These sequences added incremental cost beyond the typical Chicago location budget.

How Does The Last Summer's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At an estimated $5,000,000 to $8,000,000, The Last Summer sits within the Netflix YA originals range and below major-studio theatrical teen films:

• To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2018): Budget under $10,000,000 estimated | Netflix release. The closest comparison Netflix YA original launched a franchise that ran to a 2021 trilogy completion.
• The Kissing Booth (2018): Budget under $5,000,000 estimated | Netflix release. The platform's other major YA acquisition of the same era operated at a similar or lower budget tier.
• Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018): Budget under $5,000,000 estimated | Netflix release. A comparable Netflix YA original on a similar scale.
• Love, Simon (2018): Budget $17,000,000 | Worldwide $66,300,000. Greg Berlanti's theatrical YA romance cost roughly three times more and operated as a wide-release studio film with theatrical recoupment in mind.
• The Spectacular Now (2013): Budget $2,500,000 | Worldwide $6,900,000. James Ponsoldt's indie YA romance is a lower-budget critical-prestige comparison.

The Last Summer Box Office Performance

The Last Summer was released globally on Netflix on May 3, 2019 with no theatrical run. Netflix does not report individual film revenue, but Nielsen ratings and industry sources reported the film charted in Netflix's top 10 in the United States and several international markets in its opening week.

• Production Budget: estimated $5,000,000 to $8,000,000 (undisclosed)
• Estimated Prints & Advertising (P&A): absorbed into Netflix global marketing budget
• Total Estimated Investment: estimated $8,000,000 to $14,000,000 including marketing
• Worldwide Gross: not applicable (Netflix streaming release)
• Net Return: Netflix measures internally on completion and engagement metrics
• ROI: not publicly calculable for Netflix Originals

For Netflix the film delivered a modest engagement event aligned with the platform's 2019 YA strategy. Industry trackers ranked it in the platform's top 10 for approximately one to two weeks following release before falling off the charts. The film did not generate the social media or franchise traction of contemporary Netflix YA hits like To All the Boys I've Loved Before, but cleared the platform's minimum engagement threshold to be considered a successful mid-tier acquisition.

There has been no announced sequel or follow-up. Producer Mike Karz of Gulfstream Pictures continued producing similar mid-budget acquisitions for streaming platforms through the early 2020s, with the model The Last Summer represented becoming a Netflix template for low-cost teen romance acquisitions.

The Last Summer Production History

Development on The Last Summer began at Gulfstream Pictures with brothers William and Scott Bindley, longtime collaborators on family and teen films, writing the screenplay. William Bindley attached to direct, his work on Surfer, Dude (2008) and Madison (2001) representing the bulk of his prior feature directing. The project was packaged with KJ Apa (Riverdale) attached as the lead in late 2017, with the wider ensemble assembled through early 2018.

Netflix acquired worldwide rights in February 2019, ahead of the film's May 3, 2019 streaming premiere. The acquisition added Netflix's marketing footprint to the film's release without altering production. The streaming model also avoided the more difficult prospect of finding theatrical distribution for an ensemble teen film without major studio backing.

Principal photography took place across Chicago and Cleveland in mid-2018. The production used Chicago landmarks including Wrigley Field, Lake Michigan beaches, and various neighborhood streets as on-screen exteriors, while Ohio served as the primary stage and tax incentive location for interior work. The split-location approach was standard for Chicago-set films of the era, with neighboring states offering more competitive tax incentive programs than Illinois.

Awards and Recognition

The Last Summer received no significant awards recognition. The film did not feature in any major industry award conversations, including the Critics' Choice Awards, MTV Movie & TV Awards, or the Teen Choice Awards in the year of its release. Its YA positioning and direct-to-streaming release placed it outside the standard awards-season eligibility pipelines.

The film's most enduring footprint has been in the careers of its young ensemble cast, with several leads continuing into prominent television and film roles in subsequent years. KJ Apa completed Riverdale's run in 2023, Maia Mitchell continued in television, and Jacob Latimore moved into Showtime's The Chi.

Critical Reception

The Last Summer received negative reviews. The film holds a 33% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from a limited sample of 6 critics with an average of 4.7/10. Mainstream critics largely skipped the film at release in line with Netflix YA acquisitions, with the bulk of contemporary coverage coming from teen-focused outlets and YA-focused review sites.

The Hollywood Reporter's Frank Scheck wrote that the film "trades in earnest cliches" while praising the ensemble's individual moments, and Common Sense Media flagged the film for its romantic and relationship content while approving its overall low-stakes teen tone. Decider and similar streaming-focused outlets ran review-aggregator pieces with mixed-to-negative summaries.

Audience reception ran warmer than the limited critical response, with Netflix top-10 placement in the opening weeks and sustained teen-focused engagement on social media. The film's soundtrack and Chicago location work drew particularly positive audience response. In subsequent years the film has continued to circulate as a streaming staple in Netflix's teen romance category alongside other Gulfstream-produced acquisitions.