It’s no secret that budgets in Hollywood have gone totally out of control. The industry has become CGI-dependent, even for non-fantasy or non-sci-fi films. Above-the-line salaries have skyrocketed. Streamers like Netflix and Amazon have normalized blank-check budgets.
That said, there is zero reason for Yorgos Lanthimos’ “Bugonia” to have a budget of $55M, which is the figure Deadline is now reporting. Lanthimos’ latest almost exclusively takes place inside a house. Was it Emma Stone’s salary that put it over the edge? The film will be damn near lucky if it matches its budget.
Furthermore, how did “Bugonia” cost $20M more than “Poor Things”? The latter used far more effects and looked much richer in its visuals. It’s honestly dumbfounding. “Poor Things” ended up making $100M worldwide, but chances are slim that “Bugonia” will make even half that. It should be noted that Stone earned $7M to star in “Poor Things,” and there’s no word yet on how much she was paid for “Bugonia.”
This past weekend, the film earned a hefty $690k on 17 screen in eight markets — translating to a whopping per theater average of $40.6k for Focus Features. It expands wide next weekend. Regardless, what looked at first to be a potential indie hit has turned into quite possibly a financial failure for Focus.
“Hope,” Na’s first film in ten years — his last one being the exemplary “The Wailing” —is a gloriously messy, blood-soaked sci-fi epic that may become a cult classic despite—or because of—its polarizing nature.