The Shape of Water Budget

What is the budget of The Shape of Water?

"The Shape of Water," a drama released in 2017, was directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon. The production budget was $19,500,000, placing it in the low-budget range for drama productions of its era.

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: A fan of her performances in Fingersmith (2005) and Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), del Toro wrote the script with Sally Hawkins in mind for the female lead and pitched the idea to her while he was intoxicated at the 2014 Golden Globes.

What were the major cost factors in The Shape of Water?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "The Shape of Water."

• 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 Shape of Water's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $19,500,000, The Shape of Water sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Dhoom 3 (2013): Budget $19,500,000, Worldwide Gross $91,000,000
• Secret in Their Eyes (2015): Budget $19,500,000, Worldwide Gross $34,854,990
• The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008): Budget $19,700,000, Worldwide Gross $26,937,355
• Bird Box (2018): Budget $19,800,000
• Gosford Park (2001): Budget $19,800,000, Worldwide Gross $87,754,044

The median budget for wide-release drama films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

The Shape of Water Box Office Performance

"The Shape of Water" earned $63,859,435 domestically and $195,300,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $19,500,000, 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 Shape of Water," that break-even threshold was roughly $39,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $195,300,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $19,500,000
• Worldwide Gross: $195,300,000
• Net Return: $175,800,000
• ROI: approximately 901.5%

At 901.5%, "The Shape of Water" earned roughly $10.02 for every $1 invested in production.

The Shape of Water Production History

A fan of her performances in Fingersmith (2005) and Happy-Go-Lucky (2008), del Toro wrote the script with Sally Hawkins in mind for the female lead and pitched the idea to her while he was intoxicated at the 2014 Golden Globes. Hawkins prepared for the role by watching films of silent comedians Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, and Stan Laurel from Laurel and Hardy, the last of whom Del Toro told her to watch because he thought Laurel could "do a state of grace without conveying it verbally". Doug Jones was chosen to portray the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water, having collaborated with del Toro on Mimic (1997), Hellboy (2004), Pan's Labyrinth (2006), Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008), and Crimson Peak (2015), with Jones also playing a different amphibian man in the Hellboy series.

Principal photography began on August 15, 2016, in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, and wrapped on November 6, 2016. The interior of the Orpheum (the movie theater seen in the film), is that of the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto, while the exterior of the building is the façade of the Victorian Massey Hall, a performing arts theatre not far from the other one. Elisa and Giles's old flats, which in the film are just above the Orpheum, were actually a set built at Cinespace Studios, West Toronto.

Three years before The Shape of Water was released, del Toro met with composer Alexandre Desplat to talk about the film's premise. In January 2017, Desplat was shown a rough cut of the finished film, and finding it similar to a musical, he agreed to compose a score. As a result, Desplat tried to capture the sound of water extensively to have audiences experience a "warm feeling" that is also caused by love.

Awards and Recognition

Won 4 Oscars. 138 wins & 350 nominations total

• Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
• Academy Award for Best Picture (90th Academy Awards)
• Golden Lion
• Academy Award for Best Original Score: Alexandre Desplat (90th Academy Awards)
• Academy Award for Best Production Design: Jeff Melvin (90th Academy Awards)
• Academy Award for Best Production Design: Paul Denham Austerberry (90th Academy Awards)
• Academy Award for Best Director: Guillermo del Toro (90th Academy Awards)

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 92% based on 465 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Shape of Water finds Guillermo del Toro at his visually distinctive best,and matched by an emotionally absorbing story brought to life by a stellar Sally Hawkins performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".