Bet You Didn’t Know: Secrets Behind The Making Of “The Wiz”
The Budget
Originally the movie was going to be made with the help of 20th Century Fox, but they backed out and Universal required the rights to make the movie. They were so sure that it would be a hit that they didn’t originally establish a budget for the film. It ended up costing them $24 million, making it the most expensive musical of the time. But they certainly overspent because it only grossed $13.6 million at the box office. The movie ended up losing Motown and Universal about $10.4 million dollars.