The Other Guys Budget

What Is the Budget of The Other Guys (2010)?

The production budget of The Other Guys was approximately $100,000,000, financed by Columbia Pictures and Gary Sanchez Productions. The figure reflects a major studio comedy anchored by Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg, with extensive practical stunt work, prominent action set pieces in New York City, an ensemble supporting cast, and a 107-minute running time.

Director Adam McKay shot The Other Guys primarily in New York City between September and December 2009, with backlot work for interiors. The production used New York State's film production credit to offset a portion of below-the-line spend.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

• Cast Compensation: Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as the principal pair, plus Samuel L. Jackson, Dwayne Johnson, Eva Mendes, Steve Coogan, and Michael Keaton in supporting roles.
• Stunt Work: Extensive practical stunt and chase sequences staged on New York City streets, including the climactic Times Square sequence.
• Production Design: NYPD precinct and Wall Street trading-floor builds supervised by Clayton Hartley.
• New York Location Work: Manhattan and Brooklyn location days, including extensive use of midtown and the Financial District.
• Music and Score: Jon Brion's score plus a licensed contemporary soundtrack, including the recurring "Pimps Don't Cry" original track.
• Marketing and Distribution: A summer 2010 Sony marketing campaign positioning the film as a Will Ferrell tentpole comedy.

How Does The Other Guys's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

• Anchorman 2 (2013): Budget $50,000,000 | Worldwide $173,649,025. McKay's next collaboration with Ferrell, made for half the budget with comparable returns.
• Pineapple Express (2008): Budget $26,000,000 | Worldwide $101,624,843. A buddy action comedy at roughly a quarter of the budget with similar gross.
• Hot Fuzz (2007): Budget $16,000,000 | Worldwide $80,573,774. A buddy-cop genre satire at a small fraction of the budget with strong cult returns.
• Cop Out (2010): Budget $30,000,000 | Worldwide $55,632,238. A 2010 buddy-cop comedy at less than a third of the budget that underperformed.

The Other Guys Box Office Performance

The Other Guys opened to $35,543,162 across its first weekend on August 6, 2010, finishing first at the domestic box office. The opening was the strongest live-action comedy debut of the summer.

• Production Budget: $100,000,000.
• Estimated Prints & Advertising (P&A): approximately $50,000,000.
• Total Estimated Investment: approximately $150,000,000.
• Worldwide Gross: $170,422,236.
• Net Return: approximately negative $35,000,000 on theatrical alone, recouped via home video.
• ROI: approximately negative 23 percent on theatrical, positive across full ancillary slate.

For every $1 invested, Sony recouped roughly $0.85 after the exhibitor split at theatrical, with full break-even achieved through DVD, Blu-ray, and streaming sales.

Domestic accounted for 70 percent of the worldwide total, a heavily North America-skewed performance typical of dialogue-driven American comedies. The picture has retained strong cable and streaming library value, and Adam McKay has repeatedly discussed a sequel that has not advanced.

The Other Guys Production History

The Other Guys was developed by Adam McKay and Chris Henchy at Gary Sanchez Productions, the production company McKay founded with Will Ferrell. Columbia Pictures greenlit the picture in early 2009 following the success of McKay and Ferrell's previous collaborations Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers.

Principal photography began in September 2009 in New York City and continued through December. The production used multiple Manhattan exteriors including Times Square, the Financial District, and West Side Highway for the principal action sequences.

The film's critical engagement with financial fraud was paired with end-credits infographics about the 2008 financial crisis, prefiguring McKay's later turn toward financial-themed dramatic work in The Big Short (2015) and Vice (2018).

Awards and Recognition

The Other Guys received a Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Movie: Comedy. The picture did not receive major industry award recognition but has been recognized in retrospective coverage as an early indicator of Adam McKay's shift toward financial-systems commentary, which culminated in The Big Short and Vice.

Critical Reception

The Other Guys holds a 78 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 64. CinemaScore audiences gave the film a B+. Roger Ebert wrote that the picture "is one of the more interesting cop comedies." A.O. Scott of The New York Times called it "ramshackle, intermittently inspired, and very funny." Manohla Dargis at the Los Angeles Times found it "shaggy, ridiculous and pretty smart." Critics broadly praised the chemistry between Ferrell and Wahlberg and noted the picture's genre-comedy ambition.