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1-Film Budget Evaluation

By Luca Salmasi
 (2019):Avengers Endgame-Major
Film Summary:
After Thanos vanquished half of life on earth as well as the superheroes fighting against him Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and
Captain America alongside the remaining superheroes must find a way to defeat Thanos and find a way to bring back people that
have vanished.
Budget: $356,000,000:
The main reason for this budget being so large is because the production values very high with the equipment and technology they
use to film but also it is due to the high value celebrities such as Robert Downey Junior and Scarlett Johannsson and the fact that it
is filmed in many different locations across the world.
How The Budget Was Spent:
One main reason that the budget was so big is because it has high profile celebrities such as Robert Downey Junior who has been in
successful franchises such as Sherlock Holmes and by having him in the cast this will mean that a presale audience who like his
portrayal of Sherlock Holmes would be willing to see the film just because he is in it and also his character of Tony Stark has slight
similarities to his previous character which means that it is easier for him to adapt to this role as Iron Man and because of his
success in other movies the have to pay him a high amount as they know that he can perform well and help films be successful.
An additional reason why they budget would be so high is because it is directed by the Russo Brothers who are very well-known
directors and they have knowledge in the marvel cinematic universe as they have directed the last Avengers film as well as the 2nd
and 3rd Captain America film and by keeping the two brothers in production means that marvels continuity of films will be
consistent and will make the story telling of the film easier for the audience to understand, perhaps this was one way the film would
have been successful as the audience are familiar with their narrative style.
Another reason why the budget was so large and why the film was successful is because they have used three high quality filming
cameras and lenses Arri Alexa 65 IMAX, Panavision Sphero 65 & APO Panatar Lenses this is because these are expensive to buy and
rent but they are being backed by Disney and Marvel so they have enough money to use them and they would use these as they are
effective for the action sequences that are very frequent in all of the MCU.
For the sound of the film they have used different forms of Dolby Digital sound and this is because most modern day films are
formatted in with Dolby sounds and when transferring the film to cinemas it makes it easier to show this meant that they could
branch out and show the film to more countries and therefore create a large amount of revenue.
Opening Weekend U.S.A: $357,115,007
In the films opening weekend the film managed to make a gross of $357,115,007 and one reason why it may have done so well is
the fact that at the end of the previous film there were many cliff-hangers as it was unclear where the superheroes and half of life
on earth went and because of the good story telling by the Russo brothers this gave the film a presale audience from Avengers
Infinity War as they would want to know the reasons left out of the previous film. As well as this it was also backed by Disney which
means that they have the financial means to pull off such a high grossing film as they have done with most disney6 films and so
have marvel with the MCU and because of this joint success will make people want to go and see Endgame
Cumulative Worldwide Gross:$2,742,491,359
The film cost $356,000,000 to make and made and overall gross of $2,742,491,359 the film made approximately 7x the budget of
the actual film and a reason for this film being so successful is the fact that it is the 22 nd and final film in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe (MCU) which started with Captain America: The First Avenger in 2011 and since then all the films have been closely linked
to one another and this means that since then they have built up a large following of fans who have either grown up with these
films and therefor feel a more personal connection to the superheroes which means that they are not likely to miss out seeing this
film. A reason why marvel would publish this film world wide is because by doing this it gives them a wider target audience to show
them film to and by doing this they know that they will see a large return on their investment into this film.
 (1985): Back To The Future-Mini Major
Film Summary:
Marty McFly is sent back into the 1950s when an experiment by his eccentric scientist friend Doc Brown) goes wrong. He travels through
time in a modified DeLorean car, Marty encounters young versions of his parents and must make sure that they fall in love or he will
cease to exist. Furthermore, Marty has to return to his own time and save the life of Doc Brown.
Budget: $20,000,000
The main reasons for this being a mid-budget film is the lack of high profile celebrities but also it is a large as it is mainly because of the
influence and experience that Steven Spielberg has making award winning and successful Blockbusters. The film was the first of its kind
with it being a sc-fi action film that was relatable for many audience members- it follows the themes of relationship and growing up,
themes that audiences can relate to. Arguably the lack of high profile celebrities however made the film more successful as the film felt
more realistic and endearing to the audience than if they were celebrities.
How the budget was spent:
One reason for being a mid-budget film is that in each timeline they visit it is the same town but with minor changes to make it seem
futuristic or older than it is and limited their filming to universal studios as well as Los Angeles and small towns such as Pasadena and
Santa Clarita close to Los Angeles to keep the logistics of film a equipment cheap and to a minimum. A small town matched the narrative
as stereotypically not a lot happens in small towns and by it being set in a small town which is a countertype to what usually occurs.
Another reason for this being a mini major budgeted film is the fact that the did not have many high value and well known actors and
actresses and the only two main well-known actors were Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd who had both had previous experience in
mostly television programmes but also the occasional film as for example before this film Michael J Fox had his main experience as a
lead character in Palmerstown U.S.A (1980-81) and a TV Movie “Letters From Frank”(1979) and Christopher Lloyd had also had
experience prior to Back To The Future in Television programmes such as starring in Taxi (1978-1983) and a role in Star Trek 3: The
search For Spock (1984). These castings where important as they were well known actors at the time and had a lot of acting experience
in comparison to the other actors and actresses in the film.
The cameras they used to film was the modern technology of the time and was the VistaVision VistaFlex
and Panavision Panaflex and the reason for using the vista vision was compact and it allowed the crew to film from Steadicams,
remotes and aerial platforms and the reason for using the Panavision Panaflex was because it is similar and lightweight , can be filmed in
similar ways to the VistaVision but allows for a clear picture. The use of SFX in this film gave it a more futuristic setting when they
travelled to 2015 and this allowed them to create a lot of 3d animations such as the Jaws hologram that eats people as they walk by and
this was done to give the audience a stereotypical preview into what they beloved the future would be like at the time of filming.

Another reason for the budget being this size is the fact that Steven Spielberg directed the film and this impacted the budget as he is a
well known director and had filmed many successful films and television programmes before filming back to the future such as E.T THE
Extra Terrestrial (1982), Gremlins (1984) and The Goonies (1985) and because of this as well as spending a lot of the budget on Michael
J Fox’s and Christopher Lloyd's budget they would also have to pay Steven Spielberg as he is such a successful director. Both Back to
The Future and ET were funded by Universal Pictures and therefore by Universal working with Spielberg in the past, it would encourage
success for the new Back to The Future film as they know he is an excellent director and would want to work with him again.
Opening Weekend USA: $11,332,134
The film had done very well in its first weekend is the fact that the year before Back to the future came out the first Terminator film hit
cinemas and it is based around time travel just like Back to the future and what this may have done is that it may have attracted a
presale audience from Terminator to see the film and a large percent of these sales could have been from that target audience.
Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $381,109,762
The film cost $20,000,00 to make and made and overall gross of $381,109,762 the film made around 19 times the original budget
spent on the film and a main reason for this being so successful is the fact that it was directed by Steven Spielberg and why this lead to
its success is the fact that he had previous in creating successful blockbusters such as E.T(1982) and The Goonies (1985) and by
choosing him to direct this film would have brought in a presale audience of fans that like his previous films and would want to see this
film in anticipation that it would be as well produced as his previous work
 (2007): Paranormal Activity-Small Scale
Film Summary:
Soon after moving into a suburban tract home, Katie and Micah become increasingly disturbed by what appears to be a
supernatural presence. Hoping to capture evidence of it on film, they set up video cameras in the house but are not
prepared for the terrifying events that follow.
Budget: $15,000:
A main reason for the budget being so small is the fact this it was Oren Peli’s first ever attempt to make a blockbuster
film and because of the fact that it was only filmed in one location and that they utilized different areas of the house to
film in and they casted people with not much acting experience as it made the found footage filming more realistic and
also by doing this they did not want to spend a lot of money on casting as this was his first film and most likely did not
think it would be as successful as it was..
How The Budget Was Spent
One reason for this budget being limited is that the actors involved are not well known as for example as for Katie
Featherstone and Micah Sloat this was their first proper role in a film so it would make sense that they are paid a low
amount of money as this is because they had started out and did not have a reputation in major blockbusters before
this film a reason for this helping with the films success is that because the director did not know how well they acted
this means that it could make the footage of them in a horror film more realistic. As well as this it was Oren Peli’s first
major film that he had created and because of this he most likely could not find the people to help finance it but also
most likely he did not have a large amount of money himself and did not feel that it would be the success that it is
today and he used this to his advantage as by keeping everything basic it means that the audience could develop a
deeper and more impactful relationship towards the characters and then when there is a jumpscare scene then
because of the closer relationship this would make the scene scarier to the audience.
Another reason for this budget being limited is the fact that they used a handheld camera a Sony HDR-FX1 and is a
cheap camera in terms of this specific budget but the camera has good quality film and with the Zeiss lense gave the
camera improved detail and by using this one camera it would be easier to film for such a low budget film and a reason
for using this camera for the film is the fact that it has detail picture but is also portable which means that they can give
the audience the idea that it is all being filmed on a phone and make it more personal to the audience.

In addition to these another reason they did not have to spend so much on this film is the fact that it is all filmed in two
locations one on a suburban street and another inside one particular house and for a film of this budget this makes
sense as it is a paranormal film so having a lot of different locations would not make sense logistically especially with
such a small cast list . This meant that there was less overall equipment did not have to be moved far to film the movie
and can be kept in one secure place which means that costs are down on overall logistics.

Opening Weekend USA: $77,873,

The film may have done very well on the opening weekend as this was one of the first found-footage films since Balir
Witch Porject and what most likely happened is that a presale audience of fans from Balir Witch and other paranormal
based films went to see this film as the are fans of this genre of film and this means that they would expect it to live up
to other successful horror films and that it did by doing so.
Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $193,355,800
The film cost $15,000 and made and overall gross of $193,355,800 the film was so successful as it was a found-footage
film and when creating films like this it gives the audience a more realistic viewing of the film and makes the film
scarier than it is and before this film there where not many similar to this and the only really successful found footage
film was the Blair Witch Project (1999).