Production Budget Analysis

What was the production budget for Woman of the Hour?

Directed by Anna Kendrick, with Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson leading the cast, Woman of the Hour was produced by BoulderLight Pictures with a confirmed budget of $836,057, placing it in the ultra-low-budget category for crime films.

At $836,057, Woman of the Hour was produced on a lean budget. Lower-budget films benefit from reduced break-even thresholds, with profitability achievable at approximately $2,090,142.

Budget Comparison — Similar Productions

• Citizen Kane (1941): Budget $839,727 | Gross $23,218,000 → ROI: 2665% • Touch of Evil (1958): Budget $829,000 | Gross $2,247,500 → ROI: 171% • Mirror (1975): Budget $825,000 | Gross $124,367 → ROI: -85% • 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007): Budget $852,510 | Gross $1,185,783 → ROI: 39% • Dumbo (1941): Budget $812,000 | Gross $1,600,000 → ROI: 97%

Key Budget Allocation Categories

▸ Talent & Director Compensation Thrillers depend on compelling lead performances to sustain tension, making cast compensation a primary budget concern. Directors with proven thriller credentials command premium fees.

▸ Cinematography & Location Photography Thriller aesthetics demand specific visual languages — surveillance-style photography, claustrophobic framing, or expansive location work across multiple cities or countries.

▸ Editorial & Sound Post-Production Precision editing — controlling information flow, building suspense through pacing, and orchestrating reveals — requires extended post-production schedules.

Key Production Personnel

CAST: Anna Kendrick, Daniel Zovatto, Nicolette Robinson, Jedidiah Goodacre, Autumn Best Key roles: Anna Kendrick as Sheryl Bradshaw; Daniel Zovatto as Rodney Alcala; Nicolette Robinson as Laura; Jedidiah Goodacre as Bachelor #2

DIRECTOR: Anna Kendrick CINEMATOGRAPHY: Zach Kuperstein MUSIC: Mike Tuccillo, Dan Romer EDITING: Andy Canny PRODUCTION: BoulderLight Pictures, Vertigo Entertainment, AGC Studios, BondIt Media Capital FILMED IN: United States of America

Box Office Performance

Theatrical box office data is not publicly available for Woman of the Hour (2024). This may indicate a limited release, direct-to-streaming, or a release predating modern box office tracking.

Profitability Assessment

Insufficient publicly available data to assess profitability.

INDUSTRY IMPACT

PRODUCTION NOTES

▸ Production

In December 2017, Ian MacAllister McDonald's screenplay Rodney and Sheryl was featured on the Black List, an annual survey of the most popular scripts yet to be produced. In May 2021, Netflix announced it had bought a package around McDonald's script with Chloe Okuno on board as director and Anna Kendrick attached to star.

In April 2022, with Netflix no longer attached, the film was sold at the Cannes Film Festival. Kendrick was now on board as director and producer, as well as appearing as Sheryl Bradshaw. The working title of the project was The Dating Game. Kendrick donated her pay to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and the National Center for Victims of Crime so that she did not profit from accounts of sexual violence victims. In December 2022, a producer sued another producer for alleged fraud and breach of contract; The Dating Game was one of three films mentioned in the lawsuit.

Principal photography took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, with Zach Kuperstein as cinematographer and Paul Barbeau as Executive Producer from October to December 2022.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Summary: 8 wins & 10 nominations total

! scope="row" |Palm Springs International Film Festival

! rowspan="2" scope="row" |Australian Screen Editors Awards

! scope="row" |Astra Film Awards

! scope="row" |San Diego Film Critics Society Awards

! scope="row" |Las Vegas Film Critics Society

! scope="row" |St. Louis Film Critics Association

! scope="row" |Toronto Film Critics Association

! scope="row" |DiscussingFilm Global Critic Award

! scope="row" |Online Film Critics Society

! scope="row" |Golden Trailer Awards

! rowspan="2" scope="row" |Leo Awards

CRITICAL RECEPTION

Marya E. Gates of RogerEbert.com rated the film 4 out of 4 stars, praising Kendrick's "typically intelligent and spunky performance" as Sheryl, and her "keen curiosity about the power of the gaze, both cinematic and human" as the film's director. The Observer Wendy Ide gave the film 4 out of 5 stars. She praised Kendrick's ability to capture period details that extend beyond aesthetics and fashion, and highlights her exploration of the deeply rooted sexism in the entertainment industry and broader culture of the era.

Benjamin Lee of The Guardian rated the film 4 out of 5 stars, calling it a "fascinating and frightening stranger-than-fiction tale" and noting its unusual choice for Kendrick’s directorial debut. He acknowledges the script is blunt at times but appreciates its ability to create a "believably discomfitting world for women at the time, when nakedly misogynistic behaviour was even more commonplace".

Writing for Vulture, Bilge Ebiri critiqued the film, finding it less compelling than expected. He states the film ultimately feels "a bit too careful: composed but also more than a little academic" and that it "winds up existing mostly as a series of well-staged scenes all wrapped up in a bow that tells us the world is not safe out there" without offering significant new insight.

The New York Timess Alissa Wilkinson praises the "competently handled" directorial debut's smooth storytelling as well as Kendrick’s performance.