Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Wish Upon?

Directed by John R. Leonetti, with Joey King, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park leading the cast, Wish Upon was produced by Broad Green Pictures with a confirmed budget of $12,000,000, placing it in the low-budget category for horror films.

At $12,000,000, Wish Upon was produced on a modest budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $30,000,000.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Goon (2012): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $6,985,158 → ROI: -42% • Jobs (2013): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $42,100,000 → ROI: 251% • All That Jazz (1979): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $37,823,676 → ROI: 215% • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $71,923,560 → ROI: 499% • Wolfwalkers (2020): Budget $12,000,000 | Gross $1,310,720 → ROI: -89%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Practical Effects, Prosthetics & Makeup Horror productions invest disproportionately in practical effects — prosthetic applications, animatronics, blood and gore effects, and creature suits. A single hero creature suit can cost $50,000–200,000.

▸ Atmospheric Production Design & Cinematography Creating dread through environment is essential. Abandoned locations must be secured and dressed, lighting rigs designed for shadow and tension, and sets built to enable specific camera movements and reveals.

▸ Sound Design & Score Horror is arguably the most sound-dependent genre. Foley work, ambient textures, frequency manipulation, and jump-scare stingers require specialized sound designers working with unconventional techniques.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Joey King, Ki Hong Lee, Sydney Park, Shannon Purser, Sherilyn Fenn Key roles: Joey King as Clare Shannon; Ki Hong Lee as Ryan Hui; Sydney Park as Meredith McNeil; Shannon Purser as June Acosta

DIRECTOR: John R. Leonetti CINEMATOGRAPHY: Michael Galbraith MUSIC: Andy Milburn, Tom Hajdu EDITING: Peck Prior PRODUCTION: Broad Green Pictures, Busted Shark Productions, Orion Pictures FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Wish Upon earned $14,300,000 in worldwide box office revenue.

Break-Even Analysis

Using the industry-standard 2.5x multiplier (P&A + exhibitor shares of 40–50% + distribution fees), Wish Upon needed approximately $30,000,000 to break even. The film fell $15,700,000 short in theatrical revenue. Ancillary streams (home media, streaming, TV) may have bridged the gap.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Revenue: $14,300,000 Budget: $12,000,000 Net: $2,300,000 ROI: 19.2%

Profitability Assessment

VERDICT: Modestly Profitable

Wish Upon earned $14,300,000 against a $12,000,000 budget (19% ROI). Full profitability was likely achieved through ancillary revenue streams.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

The film is loosely based on W. W. Jacobs' short story The Monkey's Paw. The film's screenplay was voted to the 2015 Black List. Catherine Hardwicke was originally planned to direct the film, but she later was removed from the project. Afterward, producer Sherryl Clark sent a draft of the script to John R. Leonetti; he explained that while he did enjoy the script, "I didn't completely jump on at first because I had other things going on." However, another draft sent by Clark four months later caught his eye, and he took on directing duties from there. The film is produced by Sherryl Clark from her production company, Busted Shark Productions, and on November 9, 2016, Ki Hong Lee was announced to have also joined. King was Leonetti's first choice for Clare Shannon, as the two previously worked together on The Conjuring (2013); and the director wanted to feature Shannon Purser in the film after seeing her in Stranger Things. The film began production in November 2016 in Toronto. Shot on an Arri Alexa at 3.4K resolution, Wish Upon was directed by Leonetti to look natural, departing from the stylized visual aesthetics of other horror films.

▸ Marketing & Release

Broad Green Pictures granted seven fan wishes submitted via the film's official website.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

No awards data currently available for this title.

CRITICAL RECEPTION

The film received negative reviews from critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C" on an A+ to F scale.

Andrew Barker of Variety wrote, "By any normal standards, teen horror flick Wish Upon is a pretty bad movie. But its badness is of such a distinct and kooky character that it can't help but exert an inadvertent charm." The Observers Simran Hans gave it 2/5 stars, writing, "Fashioning itself as a teen horror, Wish Upon is far too tame for most actual adolescents". Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph wrote, "Wish Upon tries to put a millennial spin on the premise, but fumbles everything it sets out to do so extravagantly, the film itself feels like the result of some kind of diabolical, chimpanzee-fingered pact." He gave it 1/5 stars. The Times's Ed Potton also gave it 1/5 stars, writing, "Seldom has a teen protagonist been as annoying as the one in this high-concept high-school horror... Somewhere in here there's a message about the perils of peer pressure and the cruelty of social media, but it's submerged below all the stagey angst and telegraphed peril. By the end you're hoping that Clare gets her just deserts."

Emily Yoshida of Vulture called the film "a deeply silly midsummer lark that makes up for the fact that it's about nothing by being incredibly entertaining." The San Francisco Chronicle's Peter Hartlaub called it "a summer movie that delivers a lowest-common-denominator good time, and mostly succeeds", and gave it 2/4 stars. Red Letter Media featured the film in a spotlight episode of their series Best of the Worst, highlighting it as a modern masterpiece of "so bad it's good" cinema.