(Image credits: Bandai Namco Entertainment, LAIKA)
Hollywood is buzzing over two eye-popping production budget reports. The first involves "ELDEN RING", the video game adaptation from Ex Machina writer-director Alex Garland. The film has already wrapped production and was initially reported to cost around $100 million, but a new report from The Wall Street Journal now puts the figure at nearly $200 million. That would make it the most expensive project in A24 history by a wide margin. The film is currently scheduled to hit theaters on March 3, 2028.
That kind of spending is hardly unusual for a major Hollywood studio, but for a smaller independent company like A24, it represents an enormous gamble. Before "ELDEN RING," the studio's most expensive production was "Marty Supreme," which reportedly carried a $70 million price tag.
(Image credit: LAIKA)
The second report is even more staggering. Veteran entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider recently claimed in his subscription newsletter The InSneider that "Wildwood", the latest feature from American stop-motion powerhouse LAIKA, may have cost anywhere from $400 million to $700 million.
Previous reports generally placed the "Wildwood" budget at around $100 million, but Sneider said his sources told him the actual cost was far higher. At $400 million, "Wildwood" would rank as the most expensive animated film ever made. If the $700 million figure proves accurate, it would surpass the reported $549 million cost of "Jurassic World Dominion" to become the most expensive movie of any kind in history. Sneider expressed skepticism about the $700 million estimate, but said he was highly confident in the $400 million figure and did not consider the widely reported $100 million budget credible.
(Image credit: LAIKA)
"Wildwood" has been in development since 2011, making its journey to the screen a 15-year undertaking. Cinematographer Caleb Deschanel reportedly spent three full years on set during the film's six-year production. Sneider also reasoned that LAIKA CEO and "Wildwood" director Travis Knight, pictured above, had the resources to pour that much money into the project: His father is Nike founder Phil Knight, who is also a co-owner of LAIKA.