30 million is very low budge these days considering the stars and director of this film. Filmmaking costs in general are ridiculous today. All these blockbusters every year at around 200 million each is crazy

This is probably a $10m-$15m movie. It has a very serious story and two of the main actors (Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman) have a penchant for working on "message" movies which I appreciate, so their cut of the profits was probably variable or far less than for a blockbuster mainstream hollywood film. Other than the top-shelf actors and book rights, there is probably nothing in this movie that would set the budget above $5M, actually.
I was especially sad to see Captain Winters (Band of Brothers) become a wife-beater in this movie And I was happy to see Robert Redford light him up at the end!

Many feature films which would normally be made in the US are now made in Canada. Many locations in Canada can easily duplicate ones in the US.
Does anyone know if Canadian film crews are less expensive to fund than US ones?
Regardless, actor and actress salaries must have made up the bulk of filming costs on this movie
E pluribus unum

Also don't forget..behind the cast is a huge unionized crew, equipment..etc..

Besides the ridiculous salaries that the actors get, the unions boost the costs with their mandatory requirements for separate people to do this or that.
I agree that studio films cost way too much these days.
This positively infantile preoccupation with bosoms!Terry-Thomas about US 1963.Hasnt changed much!

Surely the salaries took up $20 million, or so. Lopez was able to ask around $15 million a film at this time, Redford wouldn't have come cheap and Freeman isn't inexpensive, either. Maybe they worked for less here, given the nature of the project and its director. Who, again, wasn't cheap. The cast isn't huge and neither was the crew, but that all factors, too. So $20 million doesn't seen entirely unreasonable, all considered.
NOW TARZAN MAKE WAR!

It must have been all that morphine. They were all shooting up the entire movie!
But seriously, I don't know either. It would have to be salaries, because the whole movie takes place on a ranch and in a diner. What else could they spend it on?
I want the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.