"Evan Almighty" budget: $175,000,000 ... WTF?

E. Honda · 07-28-07, 12:50 AM

I just discovered that Evan Almighty cost $175,000,000 to make. The same amount they spent on Waterworld, and $25 million short of Titanic. Is this why ticket prices are so high? Is CGI animation that expensive?

Brent L · 07-28-07, 01:11 AM

Well, at least it got great reviews and did great at the box office.

wilky61 · 07-28-07, 01:17 AM

As of now, Evan Almighty has only grossed (approximately) $98m internationally. Ouch.

CKMorpheus · 07-28-07, 02:26 AM

I haven't seen it, and I'm sure there were a bunch of FX shots, but I'd really like to see where most of that budget went.

Michael Corvin · 07-28-07, 02:32 AM

It'll make it back on DVD.

hardercore · 07-28-07, 04:49 AM

Whoa. I'm perplexed too. How much is Carrell worth, per movie? I'm sure he wasn't that big a star.

DthRdrX · 07-28-07, 05:43 AM

The budget still perplexes me as well.

nateman · 07-28-07, 09:14 AM

I'm very curious why this movie had such a huge budget as well. Hell Ocean's 13 only had a budget of $85,000,000 & Clooney, Pitt & Damon are pretty much bigger stars than the whole Evan Almighty cast put together. Evan Almighty had John Goodman but he wouldn't be that pricy would he?
I wouldn't think CGI would cost that much. This is one of the few movies that I don't think will make the money back on DVD sales.

Jason · 07-28-07, 10:04 AM

Maybe Jim Carrey had a "Play or pay" deal that drove the cost up, but $175 million still seems ridiculously high.

chris_sc77 · 07-28-07, 10:57 AM

Actually i believe the budget went over $250 million and then you have to add at least $50 million more for advertising/marketing.

SonOfAStu · 07-28-07, 11:50 AM

Yeah? Well I heard it cost over $400 million!!!11! Plus catering cost!

Jericho · 07-28-07, 12:08 PM

If you didn't know how much this movie cost to make, it actually did okay all things consider. Basically making $100 million domestically (it hasn't been released many places overseas), even though the reviews were mediocre at best and its a sequel to a mediocre film.

Obviously spending that much on a comedy is pretty foolish, and in the end it was doomed by delays and such. But it should end up being a manageable fiasco for Universal.

movieking · 07-28-07, 12:09 PM

Can you imagine what it cost to have all of the animal trainers to get all of those animals to line up two by two? And how much they had to pay to replace animals when the higher up the food chain animals would eat the lower down the food chain animals? I am surprised it was only $6.2 billion.

zombiezilla · 07-28-07, 02:33 PM

I can't believe that no one's touched upon the fact that it's a comedy based on a Christian biblical story, and much of the country is beginning to lean away from the religious right; and that those who are religious might not want to see Noah depicted in such a way. To say nothing of much of the rest of the world not being Christian, and those folks wouldn't know shit about the story background, as opposed to the Jim Carrey movie, which basically was a story about a man getting deity-like-powers, which is a rather universally understandable thing.

Aside from that, it just might be stupid/unfunny/poorly written. I wouldn't know, I didn't see it; I wouldn't waste my time because (see first paragraph) the subject matter doesn't mean shit to me.

reubs82 · 07-28-07, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombiezilla

I can't believe that no one's touched upon the fact that it's a comedy based on a Christian biblical story, and much of the country is beginning to lean away from the religious right; and that those who are religious might not want to see Moses depicted in such a way. To say nothing of much of the rest of the world not being Christian, and those folks wouldn't know shit about the story background, as opposed to the Jim Carrey movie, which basically was a story about a man getting deity-like-powers, which is a rather universally understandable thing.

Aside from that, it just might be stupid/unfunny/poorly written. I wouldn't know, I didn't see it; I wouldn't waste my time because (see first paragraph) the subject matter doesn't mean shit to me.

Never have I hoped in my whole life that a post was sarcastic...because this is one of the more ill-informed posts I've ever read. Before dismantling, please verify that it's a joke...thanks.

duluthdemon · 07-28-07, 03:02 PM

Massive delays in filming due to weather. When it $500,000+ per day to shoot, it adds up fast.

Mr. Cinema · 07-28-07, 03:15 PM

Knocked Up's huge success and massive profits doesn't make Universal look completely foolish. DVD pretty much guarantees a movie will make some profit for the studio. I think a movie with a Biblical storyline, being released on dvd at Christmas time will likely translate into sales.

DthRdrX · 07-28-07, 03:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

Knocked Up's huge success and massive profits doesn't make Universal look completely foolish. DVD pretty much guarantees a movie will make some profit for the studio. I think a movie with a Biblical storyline, being released on dvd at Christmas time will likely translate into sales.

Yea, Knocked Up pretty much picked up the slack for this film anyway to Universal.

zombiezilla · 07-28-07, 10:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubs82

Never have I hoped in my whole life that a post was sarcastic...because this is one of the more ill-informed posts I've ever read. Before dismantling, please verify that it's a joke...thanks.

Dismantle away, be my guest. Doesn't make it any less true from the POV of someone who doesn't (like much of the rest of this planet, shown by ticket sales to this pigshit flop) subscribe to these religious beliefs.

Puzznic · 07-28-07, 11:25 PM

I think it was just a misunderstanding of what made 40 Year Old Virgin such a hit. It's almost like they thought that if they got the same star and added a bunch of CGI that it would make twice as much as 40 Year Old Virgin

discostu1337 · 07-29-07, 12:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombiezilla

Dismantle away, be my guest. Doesn't make it any less true from the POV of someone who doesn't (like much of the rest of this planet, shown by ticket sales to this pigshit flop) subscribe to these religious beliefs.

amen brotha!

Anubis2005X · 07-29-07, 12:11 AM

Those who aren't religious probably didn't have a whole lot of interest. Those who are religious probably thought it looked sacrilicious. You can't please everybody all the time...

Sierra Disc · 07-29-07, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anubis2005X

Those who aren't religious probably didn't have a whole lot of interest. Those who are religious probably thought it looked sacrilicious. You can't please everybody all the time...

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Mmm... sacrilicious....

reubs82 · 07-29-07, 12:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombiezilla

Dismantle away, be my guest. Doesn't make it any less true from the POV of someone who doesn't (like much of the rest of this planet, shown by ticket sales to this pigshit flop) subscribe to these religious beliefs.

First of all, if you're going to bash a film for it's "religious" connections, you need to realize that the Flood story isn't a "Christian" story. It's straight out of the book of Genesis, which would make it a Jewish story first and foremost. This, coupled with the other stories of epic destruction by flood, completely negates your simplistic dismissal of the story as "Christian". If anything, the story is universal because of the number of religions that contain some sort of myth. Therefore, the movie's failure has nothing to do with the fact that America is leaning away from the religious right.

Secondly, Moses has nothing...not jack shit...to do with the flood story. That's all that needs to be said about that.

Finally, the reason the damn film costs so much to make (to go along with all of the other crazy reasons...) is that buying the rights to a story in a best-selling book is never going to be cheap, especially when no one really knows who the story originated with.

But nice try.

SonOfAStu · 07-29-07, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reubs82

First of all, if you're going to bash a film for it's "religious" connections, you need to realize that the Flood story isn't a "Christian" story. It's straight out of the book of Genesis, which would make it a Jewish story first and foremost. This, coupled with the other stories of epic destruction by flood, completely negates your simplistic dismissal of the story as "Christian". If anything, the story is universal because of the number of religions that contain some sort of myth. Therefore, the movie's failure has nothing to do with the fact that America is leaning away from the religious right.

Secondly, Moses has nothing...not jack shit...to do with the flood story. That's all that needs to be said about that.

Finally, the reason the damn film costs so much to make (to go along with all of the other crazy reasons...) is that buying the rights to a story in a best-selling book is never going to be cheap, especially when no one really knows who the story originated with.

But nice try.

That was almost too easy. And you barely beat me to it. Moses?

It's extremely silly to believe that this country is leaning away from organized religion. I would agree that the minority of non-religious folk have become much louder, but that's all you're seeing. Of course, I'm sure if them close their eyes real tight and concentrate, they can make themselves believe any kind of nonsense they want.

07-28-07, 12:50 AM	#1
E. Honda Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 742	"Evan Almighty" budget: $175,000,000 ... WTF? I just discovered that Evan Almighty cost $175,000,000 to make. The same amount they spent on Waterworld, and $25 million short of Titanic. Is this why ticket prices are so high? Is CGI animation that expensive?

07-28-07, 01:11 AM	#2
Brent L DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Upstate, SC Posts: 11,115	Well, at least it got great reviews and did great at the box office. __________________ "Would I rather be feared or loved? Ummm, easy, both. I want people to be afraid of how much they love me."

07-28-07, 01:17 AM	#3
wilky61 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 599	As of now, Evan Almighty has only grossed (approximately) $98m internationally. Ouch. __________________ Wilky's DVD Collection, 295 titles as of 11/12/08

07-28-07, 02:26 AM	#4
CKMorpheus DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: New York, NY Posts: 7,302	I haven't seen it, and I'm sure there were a bunch of FX shots, but I'd really like to see where most of that budget went. __________________ And death shall have no dominion... Xbox 360 Tag: ChainsawPup My Countdown Counting down to: iPhone 3GS Mmm! Apple!

07-28-07, 02:32 AM	#5
Michael Corvin DVD Talk Hero Join Date: May 1999 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 32,120	It'll make it back on DVD. __________________ Xbox Live: Sith Draven / PSN: SithDraven / Wii: 3497 1324 7344 6386 Now Playing: Overlord \| Recently Finished: Ghostbusters \| On Deck: Lego Rock Band Video Game Report Card: 2007 \| 2008 \| 2009 If the RIAA had their way, listening to music at all would be illegal. -Suprmallet

07-28-07, 04:49 AM	#6
hardercore DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Berkeley, CA Posts: 1,500	Whoa. I'm perplexed too. How much is Carrell worth, per movie? I'm sure he wasn't that big a star. __________________ Top 10 Films of 2009 \| 1. Inglourious Basterds \| 2. Up \| 3. (500) Days of Summer \| 4. The Class \| 5. The Hurt Locker 6. Funny People \| 7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince \| 8. District 9 \| 9. I Love You, Man \| 10. The Hangover

07-28-07, 05:43 AM	#7
DthRdrX DVD Talk Limited Edition Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Pa Posts: 5,027	The budget still perplexes me as well.

07-28-07, 09:14 AM	#8
nateman DVD Talk Ultimate Edition Join Date: May 2006 Location: Winnipeg, MB, Canada Posts: 4,246	I'm very curious why this movie had such a huge budget as well. Hell Ocean's 13 only had a budget of $85,000,000 & Clooney, Pitt & Damon are pretty much bigger stars than the whole Evan Almighty cast put together. Evan Almighty had John Goodman but he wouldn't be that pricy would he? I wouldn't think CGI would cost that much. This is one of the few movies that I don't think will make the money back on DVD sales.

07-28-07, 10:04 AM	#9
Jason DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Aug 1999 Location: Lower Gum Curve Posts: 11,249	Maybe Jim Carrey had a "Play or pay" deal that drove the cost up, but $175 million still seems ridiculously high. __________________ There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs and a magic ring.

07-28-07, 10:57 AM	#10
chris_sc77 Suspended Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bellefontaine, Ohio Posts: 5,628	Actually i believe the budget went over $250 million and then you have to add at least $50 million more for advertising/marketing.

07-28-07, 11:50 AM	#11
SonOfAStu DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Saint Paul Posts: 2,456	Yeah? Well I heard it cost over $400 million!!!11! Plus catering cost!

07-28-07, 12:08 PM	#12
Jericho DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Columbia, MD, USA Posts: 10,736	If you didn't know how much this movie cost to make, it actually did okay all things consider. Basically making $100 million domestically (it hasn't been released many places overseas), even though the reviews were mediocre at best and its a sequel to a mediocre film. Obviously spending that much on a comedy is pretty foolish, and in the end it was doomed by delays and such. But it should end up being a manageable fiasco for Universal. __________________ I can't believe I ate the whole thing

07-28-07, 12:09 PM	#13
movieking DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 11,684	Can you imagine what it cost to have all of the animal trainers to get all of those animals to line up two by two? And how much they had to pay to replace animals when the higher up the food chain animals would eat the lower down the food chain animals? I am surprised it was only $6.2 billion. __________________ Books I've Read So Far This Year Part One Books I've Read So Far This Year Part Two Books I've Read So Far This Year Part Three

07-28-07, 02:33 PM	#14
zombiezilla Banned Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: teXXXas Posts: 1,389	I can't believe that no one's touched upon the fact that it's a comedy based on a Christian biblical story, and much of the country is beginning to lean away from the religious right; and that those who are religious might not want to see Noah depicted in such a way. To say nothing of much of the rest of the world not being Christian, and those folks wouldn't know shit about the story background, as opposed to the Jim Carrey movie, which basically was a story about a man getting deity-like-powers, which is a rather universally understandable thing. Aside from that, it just might be stupid/unfunny/poorly written. I wouldn't know, I didn't see it; I wouldn't waste my time because (see first paragraph) the subject matter doesn't mean shit to me. Last edited by zombiezilla; 07-29-07 at 09:42 AM.

07-28-07, 03:02 PM	#16
duluthdemon Member Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 61	Massive delays in filming due to weather. When it $500,000+ per day to shoot, it adds up fast.

07-28-07, 03:15 PM	#17
Mr. Cinema Guest Join Date: Oct 1999 Posts: 11,950	Knocked Up's huge success and massive profits doesn't make Universal look completely foolish. DVD pretty much guarantees a movie will make some profit for the studio. I think a movie with a Biblical storyline, being released on dvd at Christmas time will likely translate into sales.

07-28-07, 11:25 PM	#20
Puzznic DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Sep 2002 Posts: 1,199	I think it was just a misunderstanding of what made 40 Year Old Virgin such a hit. It's almost like they thought that if they got the same star and added a bunch of CGI that it would make twice as much as 40 Year Old Virgin

07-29-07, 12:11 AM	#22
Anubis2005X DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2,512	Those who aren't religious probably didn't have a whole lot of interest. Those who are religious probably thought it looked sacrilicious. You can't please everybody all the time...