The Tomorrow War Budget

What is the budget of The Tomorrow War?

"The Tomorrow War," an action released in 2021, was directed by Chris McKay and stars Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski. The production budget was $200,000,000, placing it in the blockbuster range for action productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for an action production like this include:

• Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects: Action films allocate a substantial portion of their budget to choreographing and executing practical stunts, pyrotechnics, and CGI-heavy sequences.
• Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director): A-list talent commands significant upfront fees plus backend participation.
• Production Design, Sets & Locations: Action films frequently require multiple international shooting locations, large-scale set construction, vehicle acquisitions and modifications, and specialized equipment , all of which drive production costs well above those of dialogue-driven genres.
• Development: The film had been in development for several years by Skydance Media when they made a deal with writer Zach Dean.

What were the major cost factors in The Tomorrow War?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "The Tomorrow War."

• Stunts: Stunts, Action Sequences & Visual Effects is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.
• Above-the-Line Talent (Cast: Above-the-Line Talent (Cast & Director) is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.
• Production Design: Production Design, Sets & Locations is one of the primary cost drivers in action productions of this scale.

How Does The Tomorrow War's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $200,000,000, The Tomorrow War sits in the blockbuster range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 2012 (2009): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $791,217,826
• Alice in Wonderland (2010): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $1,025,467,110
• Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023): Budget $200,000,000 , Gross $476,071,180
• Argylle (2024): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $96,221,061
• Black Adam (2022): Budget $200,000,000, Worldwide Gross $393,452,111

The median budget for wide-release action films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

The Tomorrow War Box Office Performance

"The Tomorrow War" earned $14,400,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $200,000,000, the film faced challenges in theatrical release. Home video, streaming, and ancillary revenue may have contributed to its overall performance.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "The Tomorrow War," that break-even threshold was roughly $400,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $14,400,000, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

• Production Budget: $200,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $14,400,000
• Net Return: −$185,600,000
• ROI: approximately -92.8%

At -92.8%, "The Tomorrow War" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

The Tomorrow War Production History

The film had been in development for several years by Skydance Media when they made a deal with writer Zach Dean. On February 13, 2019, Chris Pratt was confirmed as joining the film as the lead star and that it would be directed by Chris McKay, marking the latter's live-action debut after directing only for animated projects such as Moral Orel, Robot Chicken, Titan Maximum, and most recently The Lego Batman Movie. Pratt revealed that he would also serve as an executive producer of the film, making his debut as a producer.

Filming began on September 1, 2019, in Lincolnton, Georgia, the historical city in the central Savannah River area. The film was also shot at the Graves Mountain area in 2019. The battle scenes depicting a future Miami were filmed in downtown Atlanta and Buckhead, Georgia, using both CGI and live pyrotechnics to create the postapocalyptic setting.

On August 6, 2020, Lorne Balfe was confirmed to be the composer for The Tomorrow War. Balfe had already collaborated with director Chris McKay on the score for the 2017 animated comedy movie The Lego Batman Movie. The soundtrack album was released on July 2, 2021, by Milan Records.

Awards and Recognition

8 nominations total

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 52% based on 207 reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "Chris Pratt ably anchors this sci-fi adventure, even if The Tomorrow War may not linger in the memory much longer than today." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 45 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".