Something to look forward to: A24 built its reputation on making a lot out of very little. Its biggest hit to date, Backrooms, cost about $10 million to make and has since earned more than $350 million worldwide. But for its next big swing, the studio is sparing no expense. Alex Garland's Elden Ring movie now reportedly has a budget of nearly $200 million. That's by far the most money the studio has ever put into a single film.
When cameras started rolling in the UK back in April, Elden Ring's budget was reported at well over $100 million, with filming expected to last roughly 100 days. By June, in its coverage of Google's $75 million investment in the studio, The Wall Street Journal put it at $175 million. Now, one source has told the paper that Elden Ring carries the kind of budget usually reserved for a Marvel movie.
Much of that bet rests on Garland, whose last two films, Civil War and Warfare, were both A24 releases. He chased this one himself, too, writing a 160-page script on spec – plus 40 pages of visuals – and flying to Japan to win over FromSoftware's Hidetaka Miyazaki before the deal came together.
Until now, A24's priciest film was Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme, which cost around $70 million. Before that, the record belonged to Garland's own Civil War at roughly $50 million. Elden Ring's reported budget is almost three times Marty Supreme's, and that's before a single trailer or billboard has been paid for.
Filming wrapped in July, but the movie won't reach theaters until March 3, 2028. That leaves well over a year for post-production, and in a world packed with dragons, giants, and crumbling castles, much of that time will probably go into visual effects. The film was also shot for IMAX.
That means the movie will need to do serious business. By the usual Hollywood rule of thumb, a film has to gross about two and a half times its budget to break even. For Elden Ring, that means somewhere around $500 million worldwide.
Game adaptations have cleared that bar before – The Super Mario Bros. Movie made $1.36 billion, and A Minecraft Movie got close to $1 billion – though both were bright, family-friendly outings. Elden Ring has sold more than 30 million copies, but it's a grim fantasy built around a game famous for repeatedly killing its players.