The Last Duel Budget

What is the budget of The Last Duel?

"The Last Duel," a history released in 2021, was directed by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon, Adam Driver. The production budget was $100,000,000, placing it in the high-budget range for history productions of its era.

Key Budget Allocation Categories

While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a history 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.
• Music & Score: Harry Gregson-Williams composed the film score, in his third collaboration with Scott as a composer after Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and The Martian (2015).

What were the major cost factors in The Last Duel?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "The Last Duel."

• Above-the-Line Talent: Above-the-Line Talent is one of the primary cost drivers in history productions of this scale.
• Location Filming: Location Filming & Period Production Design is one of the primary cost drivers in history productions of this scale.
• Post-Production: Post-Production, Color Grading & Score is one of the primary cost drivers in history productions of this scale.

How Does The Last Duel's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $100,000,000, The Last Duel sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• 1917 (2019): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $446,064,352
• American Gangster (2007): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $269,755,430
• Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024): Budget $100,000,000 , Gross $404,547,819
• Batman Forever (1995): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $336,529,144
• Bicentennial Man (1999): Budget $100,000,000, Worldwide Gross $87,423,861

The median budget for wide-release history films in the 2020s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

The Last Duel Box Office Performance

"The Last Duel" earned $10,853,945 domestically and $30,552,111 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $100,000,000, 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 "The Last Duel," that break-even threshold was roughly $200,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $30,552,111, the film did not reach break-even in theatrical release.

• Production Budget: $100,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $30,552,111
• Net Return: −$69,447,889
• ROI: approximately -69.4%

At -69.4%, "The Last Duel" did not recoup its production budget through theatrical release alone.

The Last Duel Production History

Harry Gregson-Williams composed the film score, in his third collaboration with Scott as a composer after Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and The Martian (2015). The score was released by Hollywood Records on October 15, 2021, which consisted of vocal elements, from the British a cappella group Voces8 led by Grace Davidson (who performed one of the tracks) as well as orchestral elements, with the use of medieval and contemporary instrumentation indicated to highlight the three main characters and the events that led to the titular duel..

Awards and Recognition

5 wins & 44 nominations total

Critical Reception

The website's critics consensus reads: "The Last Duels critique of systemic misogyny isn't as effective as it might have been, but it remains a well-acted and thought-provoking drama infused with epic grandeur." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 based on 50 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it a 72% positive score.