Discussion What do you think the budget for Episode VII will be?

After the budget for The Lone Ranger went over 200 million, Disney tried to reign it in.
Production value does not really equal high budget. Say what you will about Avatar, but the technology in that was innovative, has become another visual effects tool, and will likely be used in new Episodes. There are a lot of factors, like the cost of renting studio space or doing location shooting, costs associated with research and development of new technologies, star salaries. All those names at the end of a movie have to get paid. Also we don't yet know how the trilogy will get filmed and how much of the budget will be shared with the other two movies.

 

I didn't know LR went over 200. That's scary since ITS A WESTERN.

 

The thing about SW movies is you don't need any 'A' list actor to open it up so they usually save 20-25 million in that respect. It will be interesting what they are paying Harrison Ford as that will probably tell us how big or limited his role is. I would go with 150 million for the Episode 7 budget.

 

That's a good point, in a way. The BIG 3 will cause a big dent in the budget. But after 7 the Big 3 may not be in the rest of the movie in which case the new (presumably unknowns) will take over and keep the acting budget down. LOL

 

Here's an article from a year ago about The Lone Ranger's budget problems:
http://collider.com/lone-ranger-budget-overruns-behind-schedule-rewrites/
It's harder to make a western adventure movie with trains and a full production on location than it was years ago, and as it looks, Disney seems to have thrown everything into it to make this seemingly dead property like a Pirates of the Caribbean epic.

 

One thing hasn't changed... because Lucas Film owns the best F/X company in the world in ILM, and they are in-house, Lucas Film has always been able to make movies cheaper than their competition. Sure, Lucas Film is now owned by Disney, but that doesn't change the fact that ILM is still a subsidiary of Lucas Film in the overall chain. That means Lucas Film can STILL make movies cheaper than the rest and come out at equal or in most cases higher quality in terms of effects.

It will not take $200mil to make Episode VII... if they splurge... it will be $150mil TOPS. I'm guessing it will end up somehwere between $120-140mil.

 

That, is why you fail.

 

eleventy trillion dollars

 

Remember guys, when Legendary Pictures wants ILM to do F/X work for them, they contract with ILM so ILM can make profit on top of paying their employees and paying for resources.

When Lucas Film wants ILM to do F/X work they do not contract at all, they are the same company, ILM profits are not needed, thus they get the work at cost... ie the cost to pay the employees and for the resources only. The profit comes for the parent company later when the film makes money.

Actually they get the same for Sound F/X as well with Skywalker Sound being in house. Thus both Special FX and Sound FX are done at cost, something no other Studio can do.

 

$200 million is the absolute minimum budget.

Just look at the budget's of some of Disney's other big blockbuster sequels;

The Avengers: $220 Million
Pirates of the Carribean 3: $300 million
POTC 4: $250 million
Narnia 2: $225 million

Star Wars is the single biggest acquisition Disney has ever made. It is not only producing a film with Ep.7, it is creating a new era for a franchise that it hopes to be a cash cow for decades to come. They have already made plans for 5 films, which will undoubtedly be joined by countless tie-in products. They need this to be absolutely huge. I'd expect that Disney will be disappointed if Ep.7 is not the most popular film of the year, and it's going head to head with the $2.8 Billion grossing juggernaut Avatar's sequel.

My prediction, $300-$325 million dollar budget, most of which will go towards the most advanced special effects ever created.

 

Considering how many of the fans seem to want smaller, character-driven stories and old-style practical FX, I don't see why it should cost all that much

 

I think the first one will be about $200 same as Iron Man 2 and 10 million more than Star Trek. Even though they put out 4 BILLION - really 2 Billion and some stock - they wont want to short change the fan base. The stand alone's I think may sit at 90-120 - lower budget but still make 600 globally.

I dont actually see Star Wars making Avengers/Iron Man 3 money, does anyone know how much it cost Disney to get Marvel? Marvel was 4 Billion also.

 

What gmoney8869 said ....
And not only that, the technical level of this movie will be such that new kinds of theatres will be made,
specifically for Episode 7 -- domed screens, 7-channel surround THX, etc., etc.
Who knows -- maybe some rudimentary holography thrown in for good measure!
The level of expertise & experiment levelled at this movie will be an absolute orgy of beyond SOTA movietech porn,
that no-talent, unimaginative hack Jar Jar Abrams's involvement notwithstanding.
Especially if Doug Trumball's called in.
And he should be.

And yes -- Hamill, Ford & Fischer all deserve a HUGE payday.
Why not?
It's not like Disney can't afford it.
Between Mickey, The Avengers, Toy Story & Star Wars, Disney freely & indiscriminately prints money.

By the way, I don't buy into that "If ya spend $1, ya gotta make $2 to break even." Hollywood
voodoo economics horsespit, either.

 

My prediction is 150 - 200 million for the production. Initially I thought it would be 200-250 million, perhaps even closer to 300 million, but reading this thread has convinced me that, with ILM being in-house from Lucasfilm's standpoint, SFX costs will be substantially lower than they would be for another blockbuster movie. Also, it could be *crossing fingers* that the ST won't be quite as SFX-heavy as the prequel trilogy, hopefully lowering costs that way as well.

However, I also believe that the marketing campaign will cost at least 100 million. Episode VII isn't just meant to be a new Star Wars movie, it's meant to revitalize the whole franchise. Thus, making every effort to reach out to as many potential viewers and convincing them that this will be The Movie Event of the Decade You Don't Want to Miss is logical.

Yes, a lot of the people who'll go to see the movie are already full aware of it and will need no reminder of its opening date. But effective marketing will bring heightened anticipation, especially in children who don't know Star Wars... and heightened spending afterward on all sorts of Ep VII-related merchandise by their parents. Even if Disney spends, say, a full 150 million in marketing, if that marketing is effective at selling tons of merchandise and bringing in break-out-the-champagne profits, then that money can be seen as a well-spent loss leader.

 

Sounds about right.

 

Budget for Star Trek Into Darkness was 190 million, anyone really think Abrams is gonna accept making Ep. 7 for less than Star Trek?

250 mil. Calling it now.

 

I've always wanted to know this, so please -- anyone feel free to chime in ....
How do these movies cost 2 & 3 hundred million dollars?!?
So Episode VII will cost, all told, let us say, $250 million.
Let me see an itemized list for that figure.
I mean, how much can a farm of MacPros with a couple dozen copies of "Maya" possibly cost?!?

 

Probably around 200-250 million.

 

These sums are making my head spin.

 

Jabba the Hutt muppet cost $1 million in 1982 about 1/30th of the budget for Return Of The Jedi. Do people in Hollywood still have that expertise and experience with practical effects? Practical effects could be damn expensive. Although interesting that Disney also own Jim Hensons company who did some work for Jedi.

Even though ILm will do the effects it will still go through the book so probably more than just cost price. Does America have any rules on this type of in house buisness?

$275m filming budget, $100m promotion budget. It will kick Avengers and Iron Man 3's box office in the dirt.

The next budget for VIII will reflect on the box office of this episode.

 

yodasbum
Where do you come up with $375 million dollars?!?
Again, do people just pull these numbers outta thin aur?
Itemized list, puh-leeeze!

 

Seeing as how that seems to be exactly where you get all your data, I don't know if you have room to criticize anyone else for it.

I mean, "domed screens, 7-channel surround THX," and "maybe some rudimentary holography thrown in for good measure?" Good grief...

 

Here ya go > http://douglastrumbull.com/

And don't avoid the point: I still want to see an itemized list for a $375 million dollar budget!

 

Seeing as how I wasn't the one who brought it up, maybe you should do something as bright as asking for it from the one who did.

And frankly, for all the fantastic work that Doug Trumbull has done in his absolutely sterling career (and I mean that in the highest degree of seriousness), when's the last time Trumbull was truly relevant in the effects industry? The man is seventy-one years old. The last film I remember him doing was a couple sequences in Terry Malick's The Tree of Life, an arthouse film that was aesthetically beautiful and got major critical attention but barely got any major box office attention. He did a simulator ride in the Luxor hotel/casino in Las Vegas that I rode - and profoundly disliked for its cheesiness (this from Trumbull, of all people?). Now he works out of his home in Massachussets (which is far removed from the centers of the filmaking industry and, ironically, doesn't even have any high-speed internet connection), loaded to the gills with bitterness, and is spearheading a project to better photograph UFOs. How can a man so removed from the center of the industry have a proper idea of the future trends of the filmgoing experience? The man's just saying what he WANTS to see happen, not what's GOING to happen. And frankly, his attitude stinks of sour grapes. As skilled and talented as he is, he's not now the man anyone's going to turn to for Episode VII or any other Episode.