("Napoleon Dynamite," "Super Size Me" and "Paranormal Activity" are all low-budget examples.) Related:20 Times Actors Were Injured On Film Sets. Predator with $11,279 per theatre. "[35] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [3] Filming was done at Preston High School, and in different areas in Franklin County, Idaho, in the summer of 2003. 2004 | Maturity rating: 12 | Comedies. How much money did Jon Heder make from Napoleon Dynamite? Napolean's constant, open-mouth, blank stare says, "I'm only tolerating this monotonous existence because I've got nothing better to do." [15] Much of the technology in the film is also archaic; Napoleon uses a VCR and Walkman cassette player, Kip connects to the Internet via a pay-per-minute dial-up connection and Uncle Rico drives a 1975 Dodge Tradesman. So is True Detective: Season One on DVD or Blu-ray. Synopsis In small-town Preston, Idaho, awkward teen Napoleon Dynamite has trouble fitting in. Napoleon Dynamite was released on VHS and DVD on December 21, 2004, by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in North America and by Paramount Home Entertainment in all other territories. This week's list of new DVD and Blu-rays includes a couple of first run releases, but neither are really must haves. If youre watching it, Im writing about it, and having a great time doing so. Director Jared Hess Writers Jared Hess Jerusha Hess Stars Jon Heder Efren Ramirez Jon Gries See production, box office & company info Watch on HBO Max [28] On November 28, 2012, a 74-page decision sided with Fox on 9 of the 11 issues. "I was like, 'Oh, crap!' With the Fall box office stumbling, 2004's lead over 2003 is shrinking. So even if Jon Heder agreed to getting paid $1,000 for acting in Napoleon dynamite, he definitely earned more than the measly $1,000 that is being discussed. Even though the film did wind up being a success at the box office, Heder himself barely made enough money to cover some basic bills. See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records. The character had been developed by Heder and Hess, while the two attended Brigham Young University together, according to Rolling Stone, and first appeared in the 2001 short film Peluca. [52], In January 2023, Heder stated that he believed a sequel was "inevitable" and reiterated his interest in displaying a darker tone for the sequel. Napoleon Dynamite is a 2004 comedy film co-written and directed by Jared Hess and Jerusha Hess, starring Jon Heder in the role of the title character. The love/hate reactions I've seen do not surprise me at all. The co-director, Jared Hess, knew that Jon Heder liked to dance in real life so he asked him to come up with the moves himself. Fans loved the film so much that it even sparked an annual festival in Preston, Idaho, the small town where it is set. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. But it's definitely not for everyone you have to back off and understand the mood and general feel of the movie before you have the context to find the actions of the characters funny. Heder remembers it like this: The whole production was one of the last things we shot, so I thought, Well, maybe Ill plan something. I kept putting it off. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Audiences at test screenings were confused about when the film was set. Rolling Stone placed it at number 22 of the 25 Top DVDs of 2004.[47]. For example: Tetherball Tournament, Tater Tot Eating Contest, Moon Boot Dance, Impersonation, Look-A-Like Contest, Football Throwing Contest and more. This helped the box office remain relatively flat from last weekend, down just 1.3% from last weekend, hardly worth noting. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Worldwide Gross - $46,140,956. [4] On the movie review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, [5] Napoleon Dynamite received a score of 71% fresh (based on 171 reviews). Pedro encourages an upset Napoleon to find a date for himself, and he picks a popular classmate, Trisha, from the school yearbook. And quite painful for that first week. Coming out on top was The Hunting of the President with $11,649 per theatre in its two theatres. So we danced to three different songs. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Kips braces: Aaron Ruell, who played Napoleons nerdy older brother Kip, actually had to wear real braces for the 22 day shoot. For the television series based on the film, see. Trisha goes to the dance with Napoleon but soon abandons him, causing Pedro to let Deb dance with Napoleon. The two factions put up flyers and hand out trinkets to students to attract voters. Between drawing ligers and practicing his sweet dance moves, quirky teen Napoleon makes the most out of high school and life with his eccentric family. In fact, even 16 years later . To increase their respect by demonstrating "skills," Napoleon and Pedro enter a Future Farmers of America competition, grading milk and cow udders. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". marketing done on its behalf and I saw only a couple previews on television for it when it was in the theaters - but Napoleon Dynamite is a great example . We shot it in 23 days, so we were moving very, very fast; I just didn't have a lot of film to be able to do a lot of takes. Any other film would have gotten a choreographer to work with me, Heder said. See production, box office & company info, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. And I think that was half our budget.. The film's budget was only $400,000. It's impossible not to admire the commitment involved in making Napoleon Dynamite. It can be hard to predict just what combination of acting talents, plot development, and special effects are going to make a film click for viewers, and sometimes there are real surprise hits even in B-list movies that no one expected to do well. Writer and director Jared Hess managed to craft an endearing film on a minimal budget. So I just winged it. To that song and another Jamiroquai song, Little L. We danced to Michael Jackson, something off of Off the Wall. Heder, clearly the star of the show, initially only got paid $1,000 for his participation. Budget - $400,000. Eventually, after the film's success, he would become an iconic actor. (Source: Looper). How much was the budget for Napoleon Dynamite? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Napoleon Dynamite This 2004 cult classic may have the smallest budget of any film on our list, costing filmmakers only $400,000. The movie starred Kevin Costner as a sort of evolved fish man who helps save a kidnapped girl named Enola, played by Majorino, who had a mysterious tattoo on her back that, for some unexplained. Instead, Ruell is a talented commercial director, as well as dabbling in small films. When speaking with SAG Indie, Jon Heder would open up about the process of making the film and how he wound up landingthe role of Napoleon. A despondent Pedro gives an unimpressive speech after discovering he is also required to perform a skit. The Film; Napoleon Dynamite completed their production with an estimated budget of $400,000 only. 46.1million USD While Tae Guik Gi: The Brotherhood of War missed $10,000 over the 3-day weekend, it managed $12,532 per theatre once Monday was taken into account. [23][24][25], Costello believes that Hess got the name from him, whether directly or indirectly. The film was originally made without opening titles. Paranormal Activity. And I think that was half our budget. The film world is full of carefully-planned projects with enormous budgets and sometimes they still flop. Thats exactly what happened with the Napoleon Dynamite. 9. What was the budget for Napoleon Dynamite? Ms. Dynamite/Full name. Shot on a meager budget in Preston, Idaho, the hometown of director Jared Hess (who co-wrote the film with his . It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2004. I liked to mess around sometimes in front of friends and dance. And then when Im throwing food at the llama, I was just laughing, I was actually throwing food at the llama, and we cut that out because there was not a clean shot.. Our solid understanding of the challenges our customers face allow us to provide a customized service that gives every client the products they need for a successful operation. Aaron Ruell (Kip) didn't continue as a professional actor for too much longer after his hit performance as Napoleon's brother. When the film rights were sold to a, In 2005, the film itself an MTV Films production won three, The 2004 Film Discovery Jury Award for Best Feature, April 2005, the Idaho Legislature approved a resolution commending the filmmakers for producing, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 02:16. "[19], The dance was spontaneously improvised by Heder, with some choreography help from Tina Majorino, and additional moves taken from Saturday Night Fever, Michael Jackson, and Soul Train. Once he was paired up with Will Ferrellin the film Blades of Glory, however, things were able to turn around a little bit for the actor. It is no secret that Napoleon Dynamite was shot for just about as little money as possible $400,000, according to Box Office Mojo. 3 How much money did Napoleon Dynamite gross at the box office? Critchlow said his role in the film elevated him to celebrity status as. Most of the situations in the movie are loosely based on the life of Jared Hess. Heder confirmed in an interview, that it was an initial payment. "Napoleon Dynamite" was first. It was an independent film with a tiny budget of an estimated $400,000, according to IMDb. They only had one roll of film (approximately 10.5 minutes) left to shoot. Next:Jon Heder First Got Paid $1000 For Napoleon Dynamite, Now Hes An Iconic Actor. [57], The term "The Napoleon Dynamite Problem" has been used to describe the phenomenon where "quirky" films such as Napoleon Dynamite, Lost in Translation and I Heart Huckabees prove difficult for researchers to create algorithms that are able to predict whether or not a particular viewer will like the film based on their ratings of previously viewed films. [53], In April 2010, Fox announced that an animated series was in development, with the original cast reprising their roles. More Every week films get a second chance at success from the home market; or, in some cases, a first chance at success. What Was Napoleon Dynamite About? Everything leads up to this. Budget: $15,000. Since it was unclear if that was what he was paid in total. It's really bothering me, can we re-shoot some of those? [11] Heder was paid $1,000 for starring in the film, but successfully negotiated to receive more after the film became a runaway success. The tagline was "It's Gonna Be a Dynamite Summer." I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines! While Heder has never opted to discuss what his final earnings for Napoleon Dynamite were, he was without any doubt paid a great deal more for the projects he landed later. Eight months after the film was completed, the title sequence was filmed in cinematographer Munn Powell's basement. Then there was 2009's Gentlemen Broncos, which was an awful misfire that received rotten reviews and didn't even earn $200,000 from its semi-modest $10 million budget. This, of course, was my first interaction with a studio at all, so they flew out a hand model a couple weeks later, who had great hands but was five or six shades darker than Jon Heder. #NapoleonDynamite star Jon Heder and writer-director Jared Hess have had sequel talks: "We've thought about it. Ramirez improvised a script for a sequel in which Pedro is married to Summer Wheatley, has five kids and owns a bakery. A listless and alienated teenager decides to help his new friend win the class presidency in their small western high school, while he must deal with his bizarre family life back home. [59] Many of the featured festival themes related to events occurring during the film. Now that were diving in, lets take a look and see exactly how this project came together and the reason why Heder was only able to pull down $1000 for filming the movie that went on to be a global success. Box office Records Dynamite completed their production with an estimated $ 400,000 teen Napoleon Dynamite at! Trisha goes to the dance with Napoleon but soon abandons him, whether directly or indirectly placed! ; s success, he would become an iconic actor by GDPR cookie consent.! A meager budget in Preston, Idaho, awkward teen Napoleon Dynamite completed their production with an estimated $,. [ 23 ] [ 25 ], Costello believes that Hess got the name from him, causing to! 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