A24’s live-action adaptation of FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is reportedly one of the studio’s most expensive projects to date, with The Wall Street Journal reporting a production budget close to $200 million.
The project is written and directed by Alex Garland, whose previous films include Ex Machina and Annihilation. Bandai Namco Entertainment co-announced the adaptation with A24, and multiple news outlets reporting on the Journal’s coverage say the film was shot for IMAX. A release date of March 3, 2028, has been reported by outlets covering the production.
scope, cast and production context
Reported casting includes Kit Connor, Ben Whishaw, Cailee Spaeny, Tom Burke, Havana Rose Liu, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonathan Pryce, Ruby Cruz, Nick Offerman, John Hodgkinson, Jefferson Hall, Emma Laird and Peter Serafinowicz. No specific roles have been announced in the reporting compiled by outlets that cited the Journal.
Multiple reports note that the figure, if accurate, would mark a major departure from A24’s historical spending patterns. The studio’s prior most expensive projects were cited at roughly $70 million for Marty Supreme and about $50 million for Civil War, both far below the reported Elden Ring expenditure.
- Director: Alex Garland
- Reported budget: close to $200 million (reported by The Wall Street Journal)
- Reported release date: March 3, 2028 (reporting from outlets citing the production)
- Shot for IMAX, per reporting
Tech and entertainment outlets that relayed the Journal’s reporting noted that cameras began rolling in the U.K. earlier in 2026 and that filming wrapped in July, leaving an extended post-production window for visual effects and finishing work on a film adapted from a video game noted for large-scale environments and creature design.
why the budget matters for an RPG adaptation
FromSoftware’s Elden Ring is known for its expansive open world, large-scale boss encounters and distinctive creature and environment design. Reported spending at the scale named in Journal coverage places the film in a budget range typically associated with major franchise blockbusters rather than the smaller-scale, auteur-driven films A24 is best known for. The film’s reported IMAX shoot also aligns with that scale of presentation.
Bandai Namco and A24 co-announced the adaptation previously; the companies and A24 have not publicly confirmed the Journal’s budget figure in the reporting cited by entertainment outlets. The Journal’s coverage attributes the figure to people familiar with the matter.
The film’s reported cast and the involvement of Garland, who previously worked with A24, were included in the production coverage across outlets that cited the Journal and subsequent reporting. Distribution and box office expectations for a film with this budget will depend on official announcements from the studio and its partners as the project moves through post-production toward its reported 2028 release.
