Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for The Underdoggs?

Directed by Charles Stone III, with Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter, Elias Ferguson leading the cast, The Underdoggs was produced by Death Row Pictures with a confirmed budget of $30,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for comedy films.

With a $30,000,000 budget, The Underdoggs sits in the mid-range of studio releases. Marketing costs for a wide release at this level typically add $30–60 million, putting the break-even point near $75,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• A Hologram for the King (2016): Budget $30,000,000 | Gross $9,169,507 → ROI: -69% • A Lot Like Love (2005): Budget $30,000,000 | Gross $42,886,719 → ROI: 43% • Big Momma's House (2000): Budget $30,000,000 | Gross $173,959,438 → ROI: 480% • Crazy Rich Asians (2018): Budget $30,000,000 | Gross $238,539,198 → ROI: 695% • Doomsday (2008): Budget $30,000,000 | Gross $22,472,631 → ROI: -25%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Talent Salaries & Producing Deals Established comedic talent can command $15–20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals. Comedy ensembles multiply this cost across several well-known performers.

▸ Production & Location Filming While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.

▸ Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum. Studios typically spend 50–100% of the production budget on marketing, with comedy trailers and social media campaigns being particularly expensive.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Snoop Dogg, Tika Sumpter, Elias Ferguson, Jonigan Booth, Caleb Dixon Key roles: Snoop Dogg as Jaycen 'Two Js' Jennings; Tika Sumpter as Cherise; Elias Ferguson as Young Jaycen; Jonigan Booth as Tre

DIRECTOR: Charles Stone III CINEMATOGRAPHY: Mitchell Amundsen EDITING: Paul Millspaugh PRODUCTION: Death Row Pictures, Khalabo Ink Society, SMAC Entertainment, Panoramic Media Company, Amazon MGM Studios FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for The Underdoggs (2024). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

The idea for the film was pitched by Snoop Dogg and Constance Schwartz-Morini. On August 2, 2022, it was announced that Snoop Dogg would star in and produce the film, to be directed by Charles Stone III, with the screenplay by Danny Segal and Isaac Schamis, produced by Schwartz-Morini, Kenya Barris, Mychelle Deschamps, and Jonathan Glickman. On October 4, 2022, it was announced that Tika Sumpter, Mike Epps, Andrew Schulz, and George Lopez had joined the cast, alongside child actors Jonigan Booth, Adam James Carrillo, Kylah Davila, Caleb Dixon, Alexander Michael Gordon, and Shamori Washington.

Principal photography began in Atlanta, Georgia on September 26, 2022, and filmed for seven weeks.