Rebel Moon's Budget Explained: How Much Netflix's Two-Part Movie Cost To Make

Summary Rebel Moon had a $166 million budget for two parts, making it Netflix's priciest 2023 movie.

Rebel Moon is Snyder's most costly non-DCEU project and features a remarkable ensemble cast.

Despite mediocre reviews, Rebel Moon's financial success relies on Netflix streams for budget recovery.

Zack Snyder's original sci-fi epic Rebel Moon landed in the hands of Netflix and was made with a hefty cost. The epic space opera was split into two parts — Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, which shared the budget. Both films have debuted Netflix, but the first one was given a limited theatrical release before its premiere on the streaming service. A lot of time and money went into bringing Snyder's Star Wars-inspired vision to life, and could lead to a grander Rebel Moon franchise with more sequels.

Rebel Moon parts 1 & 2 are now streaming on Netflix.

The Rebel Moon ensemble cast, which includes Sofia Boutella as Kora, Djimon Hounsou as Titus, Charlie Hunnam as Kai, Michiel Huisman as Gunnar, Ed Skrein as Atticus Noble, Fra Fee as Regent Balisarius, and Anthony Hopkins as Jimmy, filmed the two parts back-to-back, starting in April 2022 and ending in December of the same year. The nature (and the length) of the story meant that principal photography was a long and grueling process and that Netflix had to funnel a lot of money into the two movies.

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Rebel Moon Cost $166 Million To Make (For Both Parts)

The Combined Budget For Rebel Moon Parts 1 & 2 Was $166 Million

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According to Forbes, the budget for Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver was reportedly around $166 million, which is actually surprisingly low compared to other films in its genre. Of course, more expensive movies have been made before, but $166 million is a lot for Netflix. However, given Zack Snyder's reputation and the resurgence of epic space operas (like Star Wars and Dune) in recent years, it makes sense that Netflix would bet it all on the Rebel Moon franchise.

Before directing and co-writing Rebel Moon, Snyder was known for Justice League — a film he directed before parting from the project during post-production. After the film's theatrical release, swarms of fans joined together online to fight for Snyder's original vision to be restored. Eventually, four years following the DC film's premiere, Snyder released his director's cut (Zack Snyder's Justice League), which was received much better than the original. It's no wonder Netflix gave the filmmaker a massive budget for Rebel Moon, given the attention surrounding the director.

Related 10 Changes Rebel Moon 3 Needs To Make To Redeem Zack Snyder's 21% & 17% Rotten Tomatoes Misfires Zack Snyder hopes to continue the Rebel Moon franchise with a third installment. Here's what he and Netflix can do to get things back on track.

Why Rebel Moon Cost So Much To Make

Sci-Fi Epics Are An Enormously Expensive Genre To Fund, Relying Heavily On CGI

Bae Doona and Michiel Huisman in Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire

Aside from believing in Zack Snyder's vision (and his passionate fanbase), Netflix had to give Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver a budget of $166 million because it's an epic space opera. The two movies take place on planets in a galaxy far (far) away that looks nothing like Earth. So, the producers had to ensure that the sets were believable in the context of the story. Plus, the bill for all the special effects work in the films could not have been minuscule, to say the least.

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Netflix also had to set aside money to market Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. If studios don't advertise their movies, then there's no point in making them in the first place because people won't see them. Fortunately for them, it wasn't difficult to draw attention to Snyder's two-part epic space opera. Firstly, it has Zack Snyder's name attached to it. Splitting the story into two parts is also a unique attention-grabber, along with the movie's notable similarities to Star Wars.

How Rebel Moon's Budget Compares To Zack Snyder's Other Movies

Rebel Moon Is Zack Snyder's Most Expensive Non-DCEU Project

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Zack Snyder has been making blockbuster movies practically his whole career, and he's worked with enormous budgets on major superhero projects like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Snyder's debut film, Dawn of the Dead, saw his lowest budget, but still a generous price tag for a first time director, with $28M. His subsequent films saw a steady increase, with his superhero movies standing out as having the highest costs aside from Rebel Moon. Zack Snyder's Justice League was his most expensive film to date, with a whopping $370 million, making it one of the most expensive movies ever made.

Zack Snyder's Movies Budget Dawn of the Dead $28M 300 $60M Watchmen $120M Legend of the Guardians $80M Sucker Punch $82M Man of Steel $225M Batman v Superman $250M Justice League $300M Zack Snyder's Justice League $370M Army of the Dead $90M Rebel Moon (1 & 2) $166M

The Snyder Cut's budget has unique reasoning for its overinflation, as $300 million was spent on the original theatrical release. Then, Snyder utilized an extra $70 million to complete his director's cut for Warner Bros. years later. Army of the Dead, his only other Netflix movie, had a higher budget than one Rebel Moon film. However, the sci-fi epic has seen him with his most significant total resources from the streaming service, making Rebel Moon his most expensive movie budget outside the DCEU.

Rebel Moon Is 2023's Most Expensive Netflix Movie

Rebel Moon's Budget Was Netflix's Biggest Production In 2023, But Not Their Biggest Of All Time

It should come as no surprise that Rebel Moon is Netflix's most expensive film out of all the 2023 movies on the streaming service. However, Zack Snyder's two-part series is not Netflix's most expensive film of all time. It is in the top five (if the reported budget of $166 million is correct), though, and takes the cake for 2023.

Meanwhile, The Gray Man, which premiered in 2022, and Red Notice, released in 2021, both had budgets of $200 million. It's also important to note that the $166 million budget for Snyder's project was split between two movies — Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire and Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver. So, the epic space opera didn't cost as much to make as the two other Netflix films, but it still accomplished the impressive feat of being 2023's most expensive movie on the streaming service.

How Rebel Moon Can Make Up Its Budget

Despite Poor Reviews, Rebel Moon's Financial Success Is Still Possible

Unfortunately, Rebel Moon's reviews haven't been kind to either part. Rebel Moon 1 currently holds a 20 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, and Rebel Moon 2 is even worse with 15%. However, critics' opinions of a movie might not matter much in the grand scheme for Rebel Moon. Movies released on Netflix typically have a chance of attaining viewership numbers even if they aren't critically acclaimed, as the process of selecting a movie on streaming is much less specific than for a movie playing in theaters.

the movie's streams on Netflix will be the main contributor to making up its $166 million budget.

Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire had a limited theatrical release on December 15, which undoubtedly helped its profits. However, the movie's streams on Netflix will be the main contributor to making up its $166 million budget. Netflix's unique algorithm for determining a project's financial success isn't exactly clear to the public, but there are complex metrics based around a title's viewership and their total subscriber numbers. Rebel Moon also received better audience reviews, so it's possible it has a significant, dedicated fan base.

Source: Forbes, Rotten Tomatoes