Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” will be released on December 23rd. There’s already plenty of anticipation for this film, a demented mix of “Fellini’s Satyricon,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”
We had originally reported that the film had an estimated budget of around $100-$110 million. You can’t imagine the amount of emails I’ve gotten since then — people pointing to a Variety piece stating it’s actually $80 million.
Regardless, IndieWire’s Anne Thompson has put all of that to rest now, she writes the budget is said to be a little more than $100 million. On a side note: I am very tempted to include “Babylon” on my ten best list, despite the flaws, it has some of the most hypnotic moments of any movie this year.
“Whiplash” cost $3 million. “La La Land” had a budget of $30 million. “First Man” was around $60 million. The 185-minute “Babylon” has a lot riding on it, I don’t necessarily believe the polarizing reviews will affect its box-office prospects that much, hell, maybe it’ll further pique interest — current projections have it opening at around $18 million next weekend.