‘Dynamic Duo’ Budget Revealed: DC Studios’ Ambitious Robin Movie Is Reportedly a Very Expensive Bet

Animated superhero films have quietly become one of the most exciting corners of DC Studios’ expanding slate, and few upcoming projects have generated as much curiosity as ‘Dynamic Duo.’ The film marks a genuine departure from the studio’s live-action output, blending an unconventional visual style with a story rooted in one of DC’s most enduring sidekick legacies.

Set to explore the early friendship between Dick Grayson and Jason Todd, both of whom take up the Robin mantle at different points in DC lore, ‘Dynamic Duo’ has been positioned as something of a passion project for the studio. It comes from Swaybox Studios, a New Orleans-based animation house making its feature film debut, working alongside Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and Matt Reeves’ 6th and Idaho production company.

Now, a new report is putting a number on just how much DC Studios and its partners are investing in that ambition. According to The Hollywood Reporter, ‘Dynamic Duo’ is estimated to carry a production budget of $90 million, a figure that surfaced as part of coverage of a recent unionization effort among the film’s crew.

That number comes from workers at Swaybox Studios, who voted to unionize with IATSE during what the union described as one of the largest organizing drives in film and television production it has undertaken in recent years. The $90 million figure was cited by IATSE itself as the budget tied to the project during that campaign, offering a rare data point on a film that has otherwise stayed fairly guarded about its financials.

Part of what makes that budget notable is the unusual production method behind ‘Dynamic Duo.’ The film is being made using a combination of computer animation, physical models, and large-scale puppetry, a hybrid approach that gives the characters and their world a look unlike anything else currently in the superhero animation space.

Director Arthur Mintz, who co-founded Swaybox, has described the technique as something built specifically to make Gotham City feel tactile and lived-in rather than purely digital. Early footage shown at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival highlighted that distinctive style, including a sequence built around Jason Todd’s transformation into the Red Hood, a moment meant to visually separate how Grayson and Todd each see themselves reflected in the character’s helmet.

The story itself centers on Grayson and Todd as orphaned teenagers who form a bond as self-styled thieves calling themselves the Dynamic Duo, only for that friendship to fracture as their visions for the future begin to diverge. The film exists as an Elseworlds project, meaning it sits outside both Robert Pattinson’s Batman universe and James Gunn’s mainline DCU continuity, giving the filmmakers room to tell a more standalone coming-of-age story.

Given the scale of the puppetry and animation work involved, along with the resources required to build out Swaybox’s version of Gotham from scratch, a budget in that range isn’t entirely surprising for a studio’s first theatrical feature. It also signals just how seriously Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and DC Studios are treating this project, especially with James Gunn himself producing alongside Reeves.

‘Dynamic Duo’ is currently set for release on June 30, 2028, giving Swaybox plenty of runway to fine-tune its ambitious visual approach before the film reaches theaters. With DC Studios juggling a packed slate that includes ‘Supergirl,’ ‘Clayface,’ and the sequel to ‘The Batman,’ the studio’s willingness to commit a nine-figure budget to an animated passion project says a lot about where ‘Dynamic Duo’ fits into its broader plans.

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