Inglourious Basterds Budget

What is the budget of Inglourious Basterds?

"Inglourious Basterds," a drama released in 2009, was directed by Quentin Tarantino and stars Brad Pitt, Mélanie Laurent. The production budget was $70,000,000, placing it in the high-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.
• Casting: Tarantino originally sought Leonardo DiCaprio to be cast as Hans Landa, before deciding to have the character played by a native German-speaking actor.

What were the major cost factors in Inglourious Basterds?

Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "Inglourious Basterds."

• 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 Inglourious Basterds's Budget Compare to Similar Films?

At $70,000,000, Inglourious Basterds sits in the high-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:

• A Civil Action (1998): Budget $70,000,000, Worldwide Gross $56,709,981
• Babylon A.D. (2008): Budget $70,000,000, Worldwide Gross $72,109,200
• Beowulf (2007): Budget $70,000,000, Worldwide Gross $195,735,876
• Couples Retreat (2009): Budget $70,000,000, Worldwide Gross $171,844,840
• Dudley Do-Right (1999): Budget $70,000,000, Worldwide Gross $10,000,000

The median budget for wide-release drama films in the 2000s ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.

Inglourious Basterds Box Office Performance

"Inglourious Basterds" earned $120,540,719 domestically and $321,457,747 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $70,000,000, 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 "Inglourious Basterds," that break-even threshold was roughly $140,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $321,457,747, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.

• Production Budget: $70,000,000
• Worldwide Gross: $321,457,747
• Net Return: $251,457,747
• ROI: approximately 359.2%

At 359.2%, "Inglourious Basterds" earned roughly $4.59 for every $1 invested in production.

Inglourious Basterds Production History

Tarantino originally sought Leonardo DiCaprio to be cast as Hans Landa, before deciding to have the character played by a native German-speaking actor. The role ultimately went to Austrian Christoph Waltz who, according to Tarantino, "gave me my movie" as he feared the part was "unplayable". Brad Pitt and Tarantino had wanted to work together for a number of years, but they were waiting for the right project.

Tarantino teamed with the Weinstein Company to prepare what he planned to be his film for production. In July 2008, Tarantino and executive producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein set up an accelerated production schedule to be completed for release at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009, where the film would compete for the Palme d'Or. The Weinstein Company co-financed the film and distributed it in the United States, and signed a deal with Universal Pictures to finance the rest of the film and distribute it internationally.

Tarantino originally wanted Ennio Morricone to compose the film's soundtrack. However, Tarantino did use eight tracks composed by Morricone in the film, with four of them included on the CD. The opening theme is taken from the pseudo-folk ballad "The Green Leaves of Summer", which was composed by Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster for the opening of the 1960 film The Alamo.

Awards and Recognition

Won 1 Oscar. 134 wins & 173 nominations total

• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz (82nd Academy Awards)
• National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Critical Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 89% of 332 critics have given the film a positive review, with a rating average of 7.8/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "A classic Tarantino genre-blending thrill ride, Inglourious Basterds is violent, unrestrained, and thoroughly entertaining." Metacritic, which assigns a rating on reviews, gives the film a weighted average score of 69 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.