Manchester by the Sea Budget

What is the budget of Manchester by the Sea?

"Manchester by the Sea," a drama released in 2016, was directed by Kenneth Lonergan and stars Casey Affleck, Lucas Hedges. The production budget was $9,000,000, 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.
• Filming & Locations: Principal photography began on March 23, 2015, with scenes filmed in the town Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, and the North Shore at locations in Beverly, Essex, Gloucester, Swampscott, Lynn, Middleton, Tewksbury, and Salem.

What were the major cost factors in Manchester by the Sea?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Manchester by the Sea."

• 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 Manchester by the Sea's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $9,000,000, Manchester by the Sea sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• Memento (2000): Budget $9,000,000, Worldwide Gross $40,060,108
• 3 Idiots (2009): Budget $9,000,000, Worldwide Gross $70,000,000
• There's Still Tomorrow (2023): Budget $9,000,000, Worldwide Gross $50,121,593
• Midsommar (2019): Budget $9,000,000, Worldwide Gross $48,498,408
• The Edge of Seventeen (2016): Budget $9,000,000, Worldwide Gross $18,803,648

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

Manchester by the Sea Box Office Performance

"Manchester by the Sea" earned $47,695,371 domestically and $79,000,000 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $9,000,000, the film performed strongly at the box office.

A film typically needs to earn approximately twice its production budget to cover marketing and distribution costs. For "Manchester by the Sea," that break-even threshold was roughly $18,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $79,000,000, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $9,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $79,000,000
• Net Return: $70,000,000
• ROI: approximately 777.8%

At 777.8%, "Manchester by the Sea" earned roughly $8.78 for every $1 invested in production.

Manchester by the Sea Production History

Principal photography began on March 23, 2015, with scenes filmed in the town Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, and the North Shore at locations in Beverly, Essex, Gloucester, Swampscott, Lynn, Middleton, Tewksbury, and Salem. Filming wrapped on April 30, 2015. In October 2018, Damon said in an interview with The Bill Simmons Podcast Lonergan had originally planned to film a different ending to the film that would have been a retreating drone shot of a flashback of Affleck's and Williams' characters, their children and extended family, on his brother's boat.

Lesley Barber was selected to score the film, as she had previously worked on Lonergan's film You Can Count on Me (2000). She developed the first musical themes after reading the script. Once she established the themes, Barber worked with the orchestra to create a sound that emoted the sound of the ocean with "underlying tension" with lightness, for exterior scenes.

Awards and Recognition

Won 2 Oscars. 128 wins & 268 nominations total

• Academy Award for Best Actor: Casey Affleck (89th Academy Awards)
• National Board of Review Award for Best Film
• Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor: Casey Affleck
• Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan (89th Academy Awards)
• National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
• AACTA International Award for Best Actor: Casey Affleck (6th AACTA International Awards)
• AACTA International Award for Best Screenplay: Kenneth Lonergan (6th AACTA International Awards)

Critical Reception

Manchester by the Sea received critical acclaim and praise for Lonergan's screenplay and direction, and the performances of Affleck, Hedges, and Williams. After an early screening at the Sundance Film Festival, Rolling Stone called it the "must-see film" of 2016. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 96 out of 100 based on 53 critics,the third highest of the year,indicating "universal acclaim". According to Metacritic data, critics counted the film among the best films of 2016.