Why Him Budget

What Is the Budget of Why Him? (2016)?

The production budget of Why Him? was approximately $38,000,000 according to The Numbers and Box Office Mojo reporting, with Wikipedia listing the figure as $52 million when accounting for above-the-line star compensation. The picture was financed by Twentieth Century Fox alongside Red Hour Films, Shawn Levy's 21 Laps Entertainment, and Jonah Hill's Strange Weather production company.

Director John Hamburg shot the picture in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area in early 2016, working with cinematographer Kris Kachikis to capture the contrast between the daughter's minimalist Silicon Valley life and the father's Midwestern frame of reference.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

• Cast Compensation: Salaries for Bryan Cranston, James Franco, Zoey Deutch, Megan Mullally, Griffin Gluck, Keegan-Michael Key, Cedric the Entertainer, and Tangie Ambrose.
• Production Design: Stephen Lineweaver's recreation of a tech-billionaire's glass-walled Palo Alto compound, complete with elaborate gag set pieces.
• Cinematography: Kris Kachikis' photography across Bay Area exterior locations and stage builds at Fox studio facilities in Los Angeles.
• Music and Score: Theodore Shapiro's comedic orchestral score plus a heavily licensed pop and rock soundtrack centered on a recurring KISS musical motif.
• Visual Effects: Modest digital cleanup and the elaborate paperless-bathroom mechanical gag, plus a digital moose head gag set piece.
• Marketing and Distribution: A wide North American holiday-window release on December 23, 2016 with substantial print and advertising spend for the Christmas weekend.

How Does Why Him?'s Budget Compare to Similar Films?

• Meet the Parents (2000): Budget $55,000,000 | Worldwide $330,440,604. The genre touchstone at a comparable budget with vastly stronger global returns.
• I Love You Man (2009): Budget $40,000,000 | Worldwide $92,944,055. John Hamburg's prior R-rated comedy at a comparable budget with similar box office.
• The Night Before (2015): Budget $25,000,000 | Worldwide $52,433,503. A directly comparable R-rated holiday comedy released the prior Christmas with weaker returns.
• Get Hard (2015): Budget $40,000,000 | Worldwide $111,866,000. A comparable R-rated star-vehicle comedy at a similar budget with similar global box office.

Why Him? Box Office Performance

Why Him? opened to $10,775,000 across its first weekend on December 23, 2016, finishing fifth at the domestic box office behind Rogue One, Sing, Passengers, and La La Land in the crowded Christmas weekend window.

• Production Budget: $38,000,000.
• Estimated Prints & Advertising (P&A): approximately $40,000,000.
• Total Estimated Investment: approximately $78,000,000.
• Worldwide Gross: $118,102,725.
• Net Return: approximately positive $9,000,000 on theatrical after exhibitor split.
• ROI: approximately positive 12 percent on theatrical alone.

For every $1 invested, Twentieth Century Fox recouped roughly $1.12 after the exhibitor split, marking the picture as a modest holiday window success.

Domestic accounted for 51 percent of the worldwide total, with strong international holdover across the United Kingdom, Australia, and Western European markets. Home video and television have made the picture a recurring holiday-window programming title.

Why Him? Production History

Why Him? originated as a story pitch from Jonah Hill, who developed the concept of a Midwestern father confronting a foulmouthed Silicon Valley billionaire dating his daughter. Hill brought the project to John Hamburg, who had previously directed I Love You Man (2009) and co-written all three Meet the Parents pictures.

Hamburg co-wrote the screenplay with Ian Helfer and worked with producers Shawn Levy and Ben Stiller through 21 Laps and Red Hour respectively. Bryan Cranston signed on first, with James Franco joining as the tech-billionaire suitor and Zoey Deutch as the daughter caught between them.

Principal photography ran from January through April 2016 across Pasadena, Los Angeles soundstages, and Bay Area locations. The production secured a cameo from the rock band KISS, who play themselves in a key set piece that became the picture's most marketable comedy beat.

Awards and Recognition

Why Him? received People's Choice Award nominations for Favorite Comedic Movie and Favorite Comedic Movie Actor (James Franco). Zoey Deutch was nominated at the Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Actress in a Comedy. The picture appears on multiple critics' year-end lists of the strongest mainstream holiday comedies of 2016.

Critical Reception

Why Him? holds a 41 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 39. CinemaScore audiences awarded the film a B+. Owen Gleiberman of Variety described the picture as "amiably raunchy" and praised the chemistry between Cranston and Franco. A.O. Scott of The New York Times was less convinced, calling the picture "a relentlessly bro-y holiday confection." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film two and a half stars. Audience response significantly exceeded critical assessment, and the picture has performed strongly in home video and streaming holiday rotations.