# Why did The Lone Ranger cost $225M to make? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592 "2013-07-15T20:33:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/41 "2013-07-17T14:57:21Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > \*But after Bruckheimer and Verbinski promised to scale back the budget to $215 million, Disney gave the go-ahead. \* > > So they had a budget that included $35,000,000 that they didn’t really need? Possibly it’s money they were planning to spend on writers. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/42 "2013-07-17T15:05:50Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Possibly it’s money they were planning to spend on writers. Train loads of coke don’t snort themselves. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/43 "2013-07-17T15:27:32Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Oddly, marketing costs are generally not included in a movie budget; it’s accounted for separately. The REAL creative talent in Hollywood are the accountants. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/44 "2013-07-17T15:37:26Z")
> [@Lips\_Obsession](#): > > I understand they built an entire western town (front) and over 2 mi of railroad track to use in the filming… > > That can’t have been cheap… They did it pretty cheaply in Blazing Saddles, so you know it can be done. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/45 "2013-07-17T16:13:20Z")
> [@](#): > > In August 2011, former Walt Disney Studios chairman Rich Ross suspended production of Lone Ranger because of concerns over the $250 million budget in the wake of box office bomb Cowboys & Aliens, also a Western. One of the writers for _Cowboys & Aliens_ was Damon Lindelof, of _Lost_ infamy. Of course it was going to be crap. _Back to the Future III_ made its money back sixfold, so it’s not like the Western setting is an automatic death sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/46 "2013-07-17T17:00:17Z")
The average marketing budget for a Hollywood theatrical release was $35.9 million in 2012. Marketing generally absorbs a third of the total production cost. The biggest variable is effects, though. If you look at [the budgets of the most expensive films in history](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_films) you’ll see nearly all of them are CGI-heavy. An almost alarming number are primarily aimed at kids, which is weird. Isn’t it supposed to be easier to suspend _their_ disbelief? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/47 "2013-07-17T18:32:34Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > I simply cannot buy the idea that period pieces can result in humongous budgets. Let’s say you need 200 extras, and they need period clothes and props. If you spend $2,000 per extra for costuming (which is very high) you’ve spent $400,000. Double that to fill in the reasonable extra props and you’ve got $800,000 - a drop in the bucket compared to $225 million. > > As an example, if you look at the Western flop ‘Heaven’s Gate’ the props were meticulously selected by an obsessive director, and every prop in that movie probably didn’t add up to a fraction of the alleged $40 million budget. ON that movie is was the time it took, small scenes that should have been wrapped up by the B unit in an hour took up the whole day. time is the enemy of movie budgets, or at least it was. > > If period pieces were so expensive because of props & costumes then HBO series like Deadwood and Rome would be prohibitively expensive to produce. Sets might cost more, mind you, as the series was ended because the sets were destroyed. > > But costuming? I expect most studios pay more for catering than they do on costumes. > > Today I suspect there is also some excessively creative accounting going on. Movie studios seem to get quite a bloat out of renting things to themselves, for example. I’m not saying that costuming and props are the most expensive things. They’re not even near the most expensive things. I’m guessing that salaries and special effects are the most expensive things. But the period costumes and sets are things that adds up. If you compare a big action movie set today and a big action movie set in the past, the one set in the past will have the added expenses of finding costumes and props that are period appropriate. I don’t know how much props and costumes compare to catering, since with the big movies there would be a lot of people to feed, but it is something. > [@interface2x](#): > > Rome pretty much _was_ canceled because it was too expensive to produce. The show was set to be canceled in [mid 2006](http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-romeendingafterseason2,0,5831913.story?coll=zap-news-headlines), over a year before the forum set caught on fire. This is true. Rome was fairly expensive. It got decent ratings, but not enough to justify it’s expense. > [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > So they had a budget that included $35,000,000 that they didn’t really need? Was it for the production drug buy perhaps? I read somewhere that Depp, Hammer, and Verbinski willingly took paycuts to help with the budget. I’m not sure how much of the $35 million that would have been, that would be part of it. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/48 "2013-07-17T19:14:39Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Oh, and the real question is why all Adam Sandler movies cost so much. Did you know Jack and Jill cost $79 million and looks like a $10 million movie? Adam Sandler takes a huge upfront salary instead of a mix of salary and backend that most big stars take. He also produces everything through his own company (Happy Madison) which means he has lots of control over the budget, and can hire whomever he wants. Most of his projects have been financially successful in spite of their poor reviews. ---
**Author:** ![phreesh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@phreesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phreesh)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/49 "2013-07-17T19:59:17Z")
The Sahara movie budget was revealed in a court case. It makes for [interesting reading](http://articles.latimes.com/2007/apr/15/business/fi-movie15). Below are details from the final page of the story linked above. I would think the percentage breakdown is typical of an action movie like the Lone Ranger. Final production budget: $160 million * * * General expenses: $24.4 million - Insurance: $5.4 million - Publicity: $131,723 * * * Sets and property: $24.1 million - Set construction: $5.8 million - Wardrobe: $2.3 million - Makeup: $795,880 * * * Transportation and location costs: $20.1 million - Hotels $3 million - Customs fees $1.1 million * * * Cast and extras: $18.9 million - Matthew McConaughey: $8 million - Steve Zahn: $2.2 million - Penelope Cruz: $1.6 million - William H. Macy: $750,000 - Rainn Wilson: $45,000 - Extras (4,020): $402,569 - Other: $5.9 million * * * Story and rights: $14.1 million - Clive Cussler: $10 million - Writers: $3.8 million * * * Shooting units: $13.6 million - Marine unit: $3.9 million - Aerial unit: $1.2 million - Dive equipment: $12,600 * * * Production units: $13 million - Staff: $3.9 million - Accountants: $1.6 million * * * Postproduction: $10.3 million * * * Special effects: $7.3 million * * * Other: $14.3 million ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/50 "2013-07-17T20:01:50Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > _Back to the Future III_ made its money back sixfold, so it’s not like the Western setting is an automatic death sentence. Not to mention that _Django Unchained_ did better than quadruple. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/51 "2013-07-17T20:54:26Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > Affleck was in The Lone Ranger too? Yes he was. Using CGI to make him look like Helena Bonham Carter was _really_ expensive 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/52 "2013-07-18T02:25:08Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > I had no idea Hollywood prostitutes worked that cheap. There’s an old Hollywood story that a young actress, bored and frustrated by long delays on the set of Cecil B. DeMille’s _The Ten Commandments_, exclaimed, “Who do I have to fuck to get _off_ this picture?” ---
**Author:** ![chargerrich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chargerrich/32/5399_2.png) [@chargerrich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chargerrich)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/53 "2013-07-18T14:51:17Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Why do you want to know, copper? > > Anyway, the answer is "I dunno, but I certainly did not steal any of it, and any claims to the contrary will be [del]answered via gunshot[/del] be referred to my attorneys. No YOU didn’t but Mr Depp sure did. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/54 "2013-07-18T14:59:50Z")
do you know how hard it is to keep a white hat clean in the desert? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592/55 "2013-07-18T23:08:03Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > I simply cannot buy the idea that period pieces can result in humongous budgets. Let’s say you need 200 extras, and they need period clothes and props. If you spend $2,000 per extra for costuming (which is very high) you’ve spent $400,000. Double that to fill in the reasonable extra props and you’ve got $800,000 - a drop in the bucket compared to $225 million. > > If period pieces were so expensive because of props & costumes then HBO series like Deadwood and Rome would be prohibitively expensive to produce. Sets might cost more, mind you, as the series was ended because the sets were destroyed. > > But costuming? I expect most studios pay more for catering than they do on costumes. I agree that shooting time is the major culprit, but period pieces on TV get to amortize sets over lots of episodes, won’t use as many extras, and can do tricks to cut down on expenses, like more narrow camera angles to allow cheaper sets. Not being on location saves a bundle also. TV series also cut corners. I was on a set where Adam West got sprayed by a creamed corn cannon. The gag didn’t really work, but instead of cleaning it up and reshooting, they just showed it in slow motion. A movie couldn’t get away with that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-the-lone-ranger-cost-225m-to-make/663592.md?page=2)