The Taking of Pelham 123 Budget

What Is the Budget of The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)?

The production budget of The Taking of Pelham 123 was approximately $110,000,000, financed by Columbia Pictures and Relativity Media. The figure reflects a remake of the 1974 original with major-star above-the-line costs, extensive practical New York City subway and street photography, and a 106-minute theatrical running time.

Director Tony Scott shot The Taking of Pelham 123 primarily in New York City between February and June 2008, with extensive cooperation from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority that provided subway tunnel and train access. The production used a custom subway-train mock-up built on a Brooklyn soundstage for interior scenes.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

• Cast Compensation: Denzel Washington and John Travolta as the principal pair, plus John Turturro, James Gandolfini, and Luis Guzman in supporting roles.
• Production Design: A full-scale practical subway train mock-up plus control room, MTA dispatch, and tunnel sets supervised by Chris Seagers.
• New York Location Work: Subway tunnel access negotiated with the MTA plus extensive Manhattan and Brooklyn street photography for the cash courier sequence.
• Stunts and Action: Practical car chase sequences staged in midtown Manhattan, including the climactic Manhattan Bridge sequence.
• Music and Score: Harry Gregson-Williams's score plus a licensed contemporary soundtrack including Jay-Z's "99 Problems."
• Marketing and Distribution: A summer 2009 Sony marketing campaign positioning the film as a star-led action thriller.

How Does The Taking of Pelham 123's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974): Budget $4,500,000 | Worldwide $19,000,000. The original Joseph Sargent film at a tiny fraction of the budget with proportionally far stronger returns.
• Inside Man (2006): Budget $45,000,000 | Worldwide $184,376,316. A previous Denzel Washington-Spike Lee New York hostage thriller at less than half the budget with stronger returns.
• Speed (1994): Budget $30,000,000 | Worldwide $350,448,145. A vehicle-hostage action film at less than a third of the budget with vastly stronger global box office.
• Unstoppable (2010): Budget $100,000,000 | Worldwide $167,805,466. Tony Scott's next train-themed film, made for a comparable budget with similar gross.

The Taking of Pelham 123 Box Office Performance

The Taking of Pelham 123 opened to $23,377,166 across its first weekend on June 12, 2009, finishing second behind The Hangover's second weekend. The opening was below industry pre-release tracking for a film with two A-list leads.

• Production Budget: $110,000,000.
• Estimated Prints & Advertising (P&A): approximately $60,000,000.
• Total Estimated Investment: approximately $170,000,000.
• Worldwide Gross: $150,166,126.
• Net Return: approximately negative $94,000,000 on theatrical alone.
• ROI: approximately negative 55 percent on total investment before ancillaries.

For every $1 invested, Sony recouped roughly $0.45 after the exhibitor split.

International accounted for 56 percent of the worldwide total. The picture is generally regarded as a financial disappointment relative to its budget and the star power attached, though home video sales subsequently narrowed the gap. Tony Scott and Denzel Washington collaborated on Unstoppable the following year.

The Taking of Pelham 123 Production History

The Taking of Pelham 123 was a remake of the 1974 Joseph Sargent film, which was itself adapted from the John Godey novel. Brian Helgeland wrote the new screenplay, updating the period setting to contemporary New York and rebuilding the antagonist as a disgraced Wall Street trader.

Tony Scott had previously directed Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide (1995), Man on Fire (2004), and Deja Vu (2006). The principal photography in New York City required extensive Metropolitan Transportation Authority cooperation, including overnight access to active subway tunnels and shuttered stations.

The production constructed a full-scale practical subway train mock-up on a Brooklyn soundstage for the train interior sequences, while exterior chase work was staged on Manhattan streets including a Manhattan Bridge sequence that required overnight bridge closures.

Awards and Recognition

The Taking of Pelham 123 did not receive major industry award recognition. The picture received a Razzie nomination for Worst Remake or Rip-off. Denzel Washington received Image Award and NAACP nominations for his lead performance. The film has been retrospectively assessed as one of Tony Scott's final theatrical features before his death in 2012.

Critical Reception

The Taking of Pelham 123 holds a 50 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 55. CinemaScore audiences gave the film a B. Roger Ebert wrote that the film "is essentially a two-hander between Travolta and Washington, both of them doing what they do best." A.O. Scott of The New York Times called it "an effective enough urban thriller." Manohla Dargis at the Los Angeles Times found Tony Scott's editing-driven style "exhausting." Most critics agreed that the principal performances elevated the material above the screenplay's familiar genre beats.