10 Things I Hate About You Budget
ComedyRomanceDrama1h 37mUpdated
Synopsis
Adapted from William Shakespeare's play "The Taming of the Shrew," 10 Things I Hate About You starts off with Cameron, new student at Padua High, sitting in the office of the quirky guidance counselor Ms. Perky. He is then shown around the school by Michael, who will become his best friend. During his tour is when Cameron first sees Bianca Stratford, a beautiful sophomore with one problem: she isn't allowed to date. And neither is her "shrew" sister, Katarina, a senior who loves indie rock and feminist prose and hates conformity. But Kat and Bianca's father alters his house rule: now, Bianca can date... as long as Kat has a date, too. Now, in order for Cameron to date Bianca, he has to find someone to date Kat. So Michael helps him enlist the help of pretty-boy/jerk/model Joey Donner, tricking him into thinking that *he* will get to take Bianca out if he pays someone to take out Kat. His choice: Patrick Verona, a bad-boy with a mysterious reputation--some say he ate a live duck once, others that he lit a state trooper on fire, and even more claim that he had a brief porn career. Will Patrick win Kat's heart? Will Cameron win Bianca's? Or will everything hit the fan...?
What is the budget of 10 Things I Hate About You?
"10 Things I Hate About You," a comedy released in 1999, was directed by Gil Junger and stars Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles. The production budget was $16,000,000, placing it in the low-budget range for comedy productions of the 1990s.
Key Budget Allocation Categories
While specific budget breakdowns are not publicly available, typical cost drivers for a comedy production like this include:
- Talent Salaries & Producing Deals: Established comedic talent can command $15 to 20 million per film, with top-tier stars earning even more through producing credits and backend deals.
- Production & Location Filming: While comedies generally avoid the VFX costs of action films, location shooting in recognizable cities or exotic locales adds meaningful production expense.
- Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising): Comedies rely heavily on marketing to build opening-weekend momentum.
- Casting: Junger was keen to find unknown actors for the movie.
What were the major cost factors in 10 Things I Hate About You?
Several factors contributed to the overall production costs of "10 Things I Hate About You."
- Talent Salaries: Talent Salaries & Producing Deals is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
- Production: Production & Location Filming is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
- Marketing: Marketing & P&A (Prints & Advertising) is one of the primary cost drivers in comedy productions of this scale.
How Does 10 Things I Hate About You's Budget Compare to Similar Films?
At $16,000,000, 10 Things I Hate About You sits in the low-budget range. Here is how it compares to productions with a similar budget:
- Nobody (2021): Budget $16,000,000, Worldwide Gross $57,512,470
- Thelma & Louise (1991): Budget $16,000,000, Worldwide Gross $45,361,000
- Bones and All (2022): Budget $16,000,000, Worldwide Gross $15,234,907
- The Princess Bride (1987): Budget $16,000,000, Worldwide Gross $30,900,000
- When Harry Met Sally... (1989): Budget $16,000,000, Worldwide Gross $92,823,546
The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the era ranges from $30 to 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles.
10 Things I Hate About You Box Office Performance
"10 Things I Hate About You" earned $38,178,166 domestically and $53,478,166 worldwide at the box office. Against a production budget of $16,000,000, 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 "10 Things I Hate About You," that break-even threshold was roughly $32,000,000. With worldwide earnings of $53,478,166, the film cleared that threshold comfortably.
- Production Budget: $16,000,000
- Worldwide Gross: $53,478,166
- Net Return: $37,478,166
- ROI: approximately 234.2%
At 234.2%, "10 Things I Hate About You" earned roughly $3.34 for every $1 invested in production.
10 Things I Hate About You Production History
Junger was keen to find unknown actors for the movie. Josh Hartnett and Ashton Kutcher were in the running to play Patrick Verona. Eliza Dushku auditioned for the role of Kat Stratford.
Filming took place in 1998, between June 8 and August 6. Ledger's singing scene in the high-school bleachers, regarded as one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, had just three takes. The song for the scene changed numerous times, almost being "I Touch Myself" by Australian rock band Divinyls, before "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli was settled on.
The film's soundtrack album, featuring Letters to Cleo performing cover versions of Cheap Trick's "I Want You to Want Me" and Nick Lowe's "Cruel to Be Kind", stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for seven weeks, peaking at no. 52. Reviewer S. Peeples of AllMusic rated it 3 stars out of 5, calling it "one of the best modern rock soundtracks of the spring 1999 season".
Awards and Recognition
2 wins & 13 nominations total
Critical Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 71% based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critics consensus states: "Julia Stiles and Heath Ledger add strong performances to an unexpectedly clever script, elevating 10 Things (slightly) above typical teen fare." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 26 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did it cost to make 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)?
The production budget was $16,000,000, covering principal photography, cast and crew salaries, locations, sets, post-production, and music. Marketing and distribution (P&A) costs are estimated at an additional $8,000,000 - $12,800,000, bringing the total studio investment to approximately $24,000,000 - $28,800,000.
How much did 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) earn at the box office?
10 Things I Hate About You grossed $38,178,166 domestic, $15,300,000 international, totaling $53,478,166 worldwide.
Was 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) profitable?
Yes. Against a production budget of $16,000,000 and estimated total costs of ~$40,000,000, the film earned $53,478,166 theatrically - a 234% ROI on production costs alone.
What were the biggest costs in producing 10 Things I Hate About You?
The primary cost drivers were above-the-line talent (Heath Ledger, Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt); star comedian salaries, location filming, and aggressive marketing campaigns.
How does 10 Things I Hate About You's budget compare to similar comedy films?
At $16,000,000, 10 Things I Hate About You is classified as a low-budget production. The median budget for wide-release comedy films in the era ranges from $30 - 80M for mid-budget to $150M+ for tentpoles. Comparable budgets: Nobody (2021, $16,000,000); Thelma & Louise (1991, $16,000,000); Bones and All (2022, $16,000,000).
Did 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) go over budget?
There are no widely reported accounts of significant budget overruns for this production. However, studios rarely disclose precise budget overrun figures publicly. The reported production budget reflects the final estimated cost.
What was the return on investment (ROI) for 10 Things I Hate About You?
The theatrical ROI was 234.2%, calculated as ($53,478,166 − $16,000,000) ÷ $16,000,000 × 100. This measures gross revenue against production budget only - it does not account for P&A or exhibitor shares.
What awards did 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) win?
2 wins & 13 nominations total.
Who directed 10 Things I Hate About You and who were the key crew members?
Directed by Gil Junger, written by Kirsten Smith, Karen McCullah, shot by Mark Irwin, with music by Richard Gibbs, edited by O. Nicholas Brown.
Where was 10 Things I Hate About You filmed?
10 Things I Hate About You was filmed in United States of America. Filming took place in 1998, between June 8 and August 6. Ledger's singing scene in the high-school bleachers, regarded as one of the most iconic scenes of the movie, had just three takes. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Filmmakers
10 Things I Hate About You
Official Trailer
Budget Templates
Build your own production budget
Create professional budgets with industry-standard feature film templates. Real-time collaboration, no spreadsheets.
Start Budgeting Free
