The live-action Elden Ring film would cost nearly $200 million, according to a Wall Street Journal report covered on October 24, 2026. If the figure holds, it would by far be the most expensive production in A24's history.
The figure cited by the newspaper comes from people familiar with the matter, not from an official A24 announcement. It should therefore be read as a report — not as a budget confirmed by the studio.
What the report says
For comparison, A24's previous record was Marty Supreme, at around $70 million, followed by Civil War, at around $50 million. In other words, the Elden Ring film would cost almost three times the studio's current record.
The jump is also large compared with the first estimates: when filming began in April, reports pointed to a budget well above $100 million. The new figure, close to $200 million, almost doubles that early estimate.
Why the figure matters
The case says a lot about A24's change of scale: a studio built on independent, auteur-driven films is now betting its largest budget on one of the most popular game franchises of the decade. The risk is proportional — a film of this size needs box office far above the studio's historical standard to break even.
The Wall Street Journal report also places the film at a moment when A24 has become a model other major studios try to copy, with bidding wars over internet-born horror properties. In that context, Elden Ring is the company's biggest bet — and the one most dependent on a broad audience, not just the studio's traditional audience.
What is already known about the film
Alex Garland writes and directs the adaptation of the FromSoftware game, released in February 2022 with world-building by George R. R. Martin. The game has sold more than 36 million copies and is known for its challenging open world.
The announced cast includes Kit Connor, Cailee Spaeny, Ben Whishaw, Nick Offerman, Jonathan Pryce, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Emma Laird and Peter Serafinowicz. The release is scheduled for March 3, 2028, with IMAX screenings.
Sources: Insider Gaming, ScreenRant, Twisted Voxel and MovieWeb, all covering the Wall Street Journal report.
Read also on Geekiki: Elden Ring passes 36.4 million copies and $2 billion, Alinea estimates.
Image credit: artwork from the Elden Ring game, via Insider Gaming / FromSoftware. The image shows the game, not the film.
Transparency: this text was produced with the help of artificial intelligence, based on cross-checking public sources on the internet. The budget figure is a journalistic report, not an official confirmation from A24, and readers should consult the original sources listed below.
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