Thoroughbreds Budget

What is the budget of Thoroughbreds?

"Thoroughbreds," a drama released in 2018, was directed by Cory Finley and stars Olivia Cooke, Anya Taylor-Joy. The production budget was $5,000,000, 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: The script, which Finley had expected to be produced as a stage play, was instead acquired for production as a film by companies B Story (Nat Faxon, Jim Rash, and Kevin J. Walsh) and June Pictures.

What were the major cost factors in Thoroughbreds?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Thoroughbreds."

• 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 Thoroughbreds's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $5,000,000, Thoroughbreds sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Come and See (1985): Budget $5,000,000, Worldwide Gross $20,929,648
• Cinema Paradiso (1988): Budget $5,000,000, Worldwide Gross $35,962,062
• Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985): Budget $5,000,000 , Gross $502,758
• Once Upon a Time in the West (1968): Budget $5,000,000, Worldwide Gross $5,380,118
• A Separation (2011): Budget $5,000,000, Worldwide Gross $24,426,169

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

Thoroughbreds Box Office Performance

"Thoroughbreds" earned $3,072,605 domestically and $2,830,775 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $5,000,000, 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 "Thoroughbreds," that break-even threshold was roughly $10,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $2,830,775, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

• Production Budget: $5,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $2,830,775
• Net Return: −$2,169,225
• ROI: approximately -43.4%

At -43.4%, "Thoroughbreds" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

Thoroughbreds Production History

Principal photography began on May 9, 2016, in the Massachusetts towns of Cohasset, Tewksbury, Scituate, Westwood, and Wellesley, concluding on June 5, 2016, 14 days before Yelchin died. Finley said of his experience with Yelchin: "The whole experience was really amazing. As soon as he came on board, we had a great dinner, where we talked about film noir as a genre.

Awards and Recognition

1 win & 26 nominations total

Critical Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 167 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Thoroughbreds juggles genres with panache, delivering a well-written and refreshingly unpredictable entry in the teen thriller genre." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".