'The School for Good and Evil' Showcases an Elaborate Fantastical World — What Was Its Budget?

When a movie boasts a cast including Charlize Theron, Kerry Washington, Michelle Yeoh, and Cate Blanchett, our butts are seated. Well, all of these talented beauties appear in Paul Feig's Netflix film The School for Good and Evil, which is based on Soman Chainani's New York Times bestselling hexalogy of YA fantasy books.

As detailed by the Netflix synopsis, "Best friends Sophie and Agatha find their bond put to the test when they're whisked away to a magical school for future fairytale heroes and villains." While the hopeful and giddy Sophie (Sophia Anne Caruso) is enrolled in the School for Evil, her hard-bitten bestie, Agatha (Sofia Wylie), is enrolled in the School for Good.

What was the budget for the fantastical film The School for Good and Evil?

After a bit of digging, it's clear that the budget for The School for Good and Evil is being kept under wraps. However, Paul Feig did say it was a pricy film and that everyone involved was "able to get a lot for [their] money” when filming in Northern Ireland.

Starting in April 2021, the movie was shot at Belfast Harbour Studios and Loop Studios. “At every stage it felt like we could get what we needed,” the director told Deadline. “It was set up for production that knew how to do it and it wasn’t too crowded at the time.”

"Giant sets" were built to illustrate the intricate world created by Soman Chainani. Considering he admitted the endeavor was quite costly, Deadline asked Paul Feig about the fantastical project's budget, but he declined to reveal an exact number.

Ireland's "19th-century house and garden Mount Stewart in County Down and Ulster’s conifer-clad Big Dog Forest" also acted as filming locations.

Aside from the country's natural beauty, the director favored Ireland due to its cost-efficient nature.

“Everyone there is really lovely and hard-working, and we were able to get a lot for our money," he said, adding that "[Belfast] needs more business in general."

And while that's amazing, it doesn't seem like money was ever an issue. "It’s an expensive movie. As we went along, when we realized we would need more money for this and this, [Netflix] would pony it up," Paul relayed.

"They were into the vision and they were really happy with what we were doing with it," he continued. Apparently, Netflix happily made it rain on The School for Good and Evil.

Estimating the film's budget is a tough call. Disney's 2019 film Maleficent: Mistress of Evil boasted a budget of roughly $185 million, while Hulu's 2022 film The Princess had a budget of just $26 million.

In the Harry Potter universe, HBO's 2022 film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore had a staggering budget of $200 million. However, we will point out that fantasy films belonging to an established franchise typically get bigger budgets.

As long as Paul Feig keeps his mouth shut, we may never know how much money it took to bring that beautiful castle to life.

The School for Good and Evil is currently streaming on Netflix.