The Wife Budget

What is the budget of The Wife?

"The Wife," a drama released in 2017, was directed by Björn Runge and stars Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce. The production budget was $7,000,000, 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.
• Production: On May 16, 2014, it was reported that Glenn Close would star in an adaptation of the Meg Wolitzer novel The Wife.

What were the major cost factors in The Wife?

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

• 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 Wife's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $7,000,000, The Wife sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Capote (2005): Budget $7,000,000, Worldwide Gross $49,327,405
• Norm of the North (2016): Budget $7,000,000, Worldwide Gross $17,062,499
• American Psycho (2000): Budget $7,000,000, Worldwide Gross $34,269,748
• Jaws (1975): Budget $7,000,000, Worldwide Gross $470,653,000
• High School Musical 2 (2007): Budget $7,000,000

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

The Wife Box Office Performance

"The Wife" earned $20,000,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $7,000,000, 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 Wife," that break-even threshold was roughly $14,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $20,000,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $7,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $20,000,000
• Net Return: $13,000,000
• ROI: approximately 185.7%

At 185.7%, "The Wife" earned roughly $2.86 for every $1 invested in production.

Critical Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 85% based on 234 reviews, and an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Wife relies on the strength of Glenn Close's performance to drive home the power of its story,and she proves thoroughly, grippingly up to the task." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".