Uncle Drew Budget
Comedy1h 43mUpdated
Synopsis
After draining his life savings to enter a team in the Rucker Classic street ball tournament in Harlem, Dax is dealt a series of unfortunate setbacks, including losing his team to his longtime rival. Desperate to win the tournament and the cash prize, Dax stumbles upon the man, the myth, the legend Uncle Drew and convinces him to return to the court one more time. The two men embark on a road trip to round up Drew’s old basketball squad and prove that a group of septuagenarians can still win the big one.
What is the budget of Uncle Drew?
"Uncle Drew," a comedy released in 2018, was directed by Charles Stone III and stars Kyrie Irving, Lil Rel Howery. The production budget was $19,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for comedy productions of its era.
Key Budget Allocation Categories
While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a comedy production like this include:
- Talent Salaries & Producing Deals: Established comedic talent can command $15 to 20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals.
- 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.
- Production: On February 16, 2017, PepsiCo announced that it would partner Temple Hill Entertainment for the production of the film, featuring the character Uncle Drew from the Pepsi Max advertisements.
What were the major cost factors in Uncle Drew?
Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Uncle Drew."
- Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
- Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
- Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
How Does Uncle Drew's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
At $19,000,000, Uncle Drew sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:
- A Cinderella Story (2004): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $70,067,909
- A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $36,192,775
- Action Point (2018): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $5,059,608
- Arthur the King (2024): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $40,829,138
- Back to the Future (1985): Budget $19,000,000, Worldwide Gross $381,109,762
The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the 2010s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.
Uncle Drew Box Office Performance
"Uncle Drew" earned $17,700,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $19,000,000, 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 "Uncle Drew," that break-even threshold was roughly $38,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $17,700,000, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.
- Production Budget: $19,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $17,700,000
- Net Return: −$1,300,000
- ROI: approximately -6.8%
At -6.8%, "Uncle Drew" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.
Uncle Drew Production History
The film's soundtrack, Uncle Drew: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, was released by RCA Records on June 18, 2018. Many artists were featured on the album, including Wiz Khalifa, 2 Chainz, French Montana, Khalid, 21 Savage, Yo Gotti, ASAP Rocky, H.E.R., Kid Ink, Leikeli47, G-Eazy, and LunchMoney Lewis. Track listing: # "Harlem Anthem" - ASAP Ferg # "1942" - G-Eazy featuring Yo Gotti and YBN Nahmir # "New Thang" - French Montana and Remy Ma # "Cocky" - ASAP Rocky, Gucci Mane and 21 Savage featuring London on da Track # "I Can Feel It" - GoldLink featuring H.E.R.
Critical Reception
On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 62% based on reviews, and an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Kyrie Irving's crossover to comedy is amiable enough to score with basketball fans, but Uncle Drew is held back by formulaic direction and too much product placement." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did it cost to make Uncle Drew (2018)?
The production budget was $19,000,000, covering principal photography, cast and crew salaries, locations, sets, post-production, and music. Marketing and distribution (P&A) costs are estimated at an additional $9,500,000 - $15,200,000, bringing the total studio investment to approximately $28,500,000 - $34,200,000.
How much did Uncle Drew (2018) earn at the box office?
Uncle Drew grossed $17,700,000 worldwide.
Was Uncle Drew (2018) profitable?
The film did not break even theatrically, earning $17,700,000 against an estimated $47,500,000 needed. Ancillary revenue may have improved the picture.
What were the biggest costs in producing Uncle Drew?
The primary cost drivers were above-the-line talent (Kyrie Irving, Lil Rel Howery, Shaquille O'Neal); star comedian salaries, location filming, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
How does Uncle Drew's budget compare to similar comedy films?
At $19,000,000, Uncle Drew is classified as a low-budget production. The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the 2010s ranges from $30 - 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles. Comparable budgets: A Cinderella Story (2004, $19,000,000); A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011, $19,000,000); Action Point (2018, $19,000,000).
Did Uncle Drew (2018) go over budget?
There are no widely reported accounts of significant budget overruns for this production. However, studios rarely disclose precise budget overrun figures publicly. The reported production budget reflects the final estimated cost.
What was the return on investment (ROI) for Uncle Drew?
The theatrical ROI was -6.8%, calculated as ($17,700,000 − $19,000,000) ÷ $19,000,000 × 100. This measures gross revenue against production budget only - it does not account for P&A or exhibitor shares.
Who directed Uncle Drew and who were the key crew members?
Directed by Charles Stone III, written by Jay Longino, shot by Karsten 'Crash' Gopinath, with music by Christopher Lennertz, edited by Jeff Freeman, Sean Valla.
Where was Uncle Drew filmed?
Uncle Drew was filmed in United States of America. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Filmmakers
Uncle Drew
Official Trailer
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