Brady Corbet didn’t get rich making “The Brutalist.”

The Oscar-nominated film has earned just $31 million globally, and the writer/director claims he didn’t receive a penny for creating the drama.

Let’s put that Hollywood accounting aside.

Corbet made “The Brutalist” for roughly $10 million. That’s not necessarily impressive unless you’ve seen the film. It’s gorgeous, an epic in the old-school sense filled with stunning performances and lavish landscapes.

Corbet made every penny count. And he’s the exception to the rule.

It’s why Hollywood bears an unwelcome resemblance to The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the government division now synonymous with waste thanks to Team DOGE.

Consider “Wolf Man,” the latest attempt to revive the classic horror movie character. The January release flamed out at the box office, but a look at the film suggests it must have cost less than “The Brutalist.”

Much less.

The film is primarily set in a cabin in the woods, with other scenes taking place in the forest. The FX are minimal, to say the least, and the only “name” in the cast is Julia Garner of “Ozark” fame.

The reported budget stands at $25 million. Where did the money go?

Compare “Wolf Man” to “Godzilla Minus Zero,” 2023’s surprise box office hit. That film cost less than $15 million and has all the bells and whistles of a Hollywood blockbuster.

The same holds for “The Creator.” The 2023 box office disappointment looks as lush as any MCU film, but it carried a dirt-cheap (by Tinsel Town standards) $80 million price tag.

“I’m a bit embarrassed it was $80 million,” [director Gareth] Edwards tells Variety. “We should’ve done it for less.”

Meanwhile, critics are teeing off on the “humiliating” FX behind “Captain America: Brave New World,” a film that could have cost Disney up to $380 million after extensive reshoots.

These staggering numbers can’t help but bring USAID to mind. The federal agency, created by President John F. Kennedy to address international poverty and promote democracy across the globe, is under fire from President Donald Trump’s DOGE accountants.

The unofficial Department of Government Efficiency has pulled the USAID curtain back, and what we’re seeing isn’t pretty.

We can poke fun at extreme examples of USAID gone wild, like: “$7.9 million to a project that would teach Sri Lankan journalists to avoid “binary-gendered language.”

It’s better to focus on more concrete criticisms, like this:

As convincingly put by the president of El Salvador, “Most governments don’t want USAID funds flowing into their countries because they understand where much of that money actually ends up … At best, maybe 10 percent of the money reaches real projects that help people in need … Cutting this so-called aid isn’t just beneficial for the United States; it’s also a big win for the rest of the world.”

Both USAID and Hollywood do some good work.

The former helps people in far off lands, echoing America’s generous spirit. Millions are entertained by the best Hollywood product, from dazzling films like “Dune” to TV-based escapism (“The Bear,” “Landman” and much more).

Each must reign in their exorbitant spending and cut waste for long-term viability.

President Trump tasked Elon Musk to audit USAID and similar government programs. Perhaps Hollywood studios should hire visionaries like Corbet, Edwards and “Godzilla Minus One” director Takashi Yamazaki to do the same for them.