Caligula backdrop
Caligula poster
#5,221 All-time worldwide
#32 1979 releases

Movie profile

Caligula

1979 · 156 min · Penthouse Films International

Drama History
IMDb FilmDB Where to watch

Box office snapshot

Financial performance

Reference figures based on available reported data.
Worldwide gross $23.4M
Budget $17.5M
Gross minus budget $5.9M
ROI 1.34x

Domestic gross

$11.7M

Estimated from worldwide gross

International gross

$11.7M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Opening weekend

$2.1M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Ranking context

Where Caligula ranks

Positioned across the all-time chart, release year, studio, franchise and genre indexes where enough mapped data exists.
Open rankings
All-time worldwide #5,221 All-time chart position of 12,922 titles Compared with every rankable movie in the current worldwide dataset. 1979 releases #32 Release-year chart position of 94 titles Ranked against movies released in 1979. Primary genre #2,055 Drama of 5,859 titles Genre context based on the first mapped genre on this profile.

Nearby worldwide ranks

Comparable titles immediately around this movie by reported worldwide gross.

#5,218 Hoodlum 1997 · $23.5M #5,219 Jessabelle 2014 · $23.5M #5,220 Boys on the Side 1995 · $23.5M #5,227 Those Who Wish Me Dead 2021 · $23.4M #5,228 Raging Bull 1980 · $23.4M #5,229 It Follows 2015 · $23.4M

Quick answer

How did Caligula (1979) perform at the box office?

High confidence

Caligula (1979) earned a reported $23.4M worldwide against a reported $17.5M production budget. Its gross-minus-budget figure is about $5.9M. The current gross-to-budget multiple is 1.34x. In this database it currently ranks #5,221 in the current all-time worldwide chart set and #32 among 1979 releases.

Worldwide gross
$23,400,000
Budget
$17,500,000
Gross minus budget
$5,900,000
ROI
1.34x
Source: TMDb. Last updated: Jul 13, 2026. View source Gross-minus-budget is not studio net profit. It excludes marketing, distribution fees, revenue splits, tax incentives and later home/streaming revenue.

Synopsis

Story

After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.

Movie facts

Production details

Release date
Aug 14, 1979
Production
Penthouse Films International, Felix Cinematografica
Countries
IT, US

Related indexes

Browse related box office pages

Studio / production companyPenthouse Films International FranchiseCaligula Release year chart1979 box office Genre chartDrama Genre chartHistory

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AI summary

Why this movie matters

Released in 1979, Caligula is positioned in this dataset as a Drama, History title from Penthouse Films International. Its box office profile shows that available worldwide gross is $23.4M, reported production budget is $17.5M, gross-minus-budget is $5.9M, ROI is 1.34x. For comparison, it currently sits #5,221 all-time in the current chart set and #32 among 1979 releases. Streaming availability should be checked against the selected United States region because provider rights can change.

AI-generated contextual summary based on available movie, genre, ranking and box office data. It does not replace official distributor notes or financial reporting.
Data noteGross minus budget is not studio net profit. It excludes marketing, distribution fees, revenue splits, tax incentives and downstream revenue. Domestic, international and opening weekend figures marked as estimated are modelled estimates.