How much does movie dubbing cost?

Cost is driven by four things: runtime, the number of speaking roles, the level of sync required, and how many languages you need. Full lip-sync on a feature with a large cast sits at the top end; UN-style voice over on a documentary sits well below it. Send us the runtime, a cast breakdown and your target territories and we will quote precisely.

What is the difference between dubbing and subtitling?

Subtitling adds translated text on screen while the original audio plays. Dubbing replaces the audio entirely with a performance in the target language. Dubbing costs considerably more and takes longer, but it reaches audiences who cannot or will not read subtitles, and it is the expected format in markets such as Germany, Spain, Italy and France. Many releases use both, and we produce both in-house.

What is the difference between lip-sync and phrase-sync dubbing?

Lip-sync dubbing matches the translated dialogue to the actual mouth movements of the actor on screen, which requires the script to be adapted phonetically as well as linguistically. Phrase-sync matches only the start and end of each line. Lip-sync is the standard for theatrical features and premium drama; phrase-sync is faster and cheaper, and works well for factual content or scenes where the speaker is off-camera.

Do you need the M&E track to dub a film?

Yes — a music-and-effects track with the original dialogue removed is what allows new voices to be dropped into the mix cleanly. If no M&E exists, it can be reconstructed, but that is a separate piece of work and should be scoped at the outset. Tell us what audio materials you hold and we will confirm what is needed before quoting.

How long does it take to dub a film?

For a single language on a feature-length film with picture locked, a realistic window is three to six weeks, covering adaptation, casting, recording, sync and QA. Multiple languages run in parallel rather than in sequence, so a multi-territory release does not multiply the timeline — though it does need longer for casting approvals at the start.

Can you dub a film into multiple languages?

Yes. Multilingual releases are a core part of our work: native casts in each market, in-house adaptation and localisation, and central management keeping every version faithful to the original film and delivering to one schedule.

Dubbing actor recording film dialogue to picture in a London studio

Movie dubbing services

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Professional movie dubbing services

For most of a film's international audience, the dub *is* the film. They will never hear the original performances — only the ones you commission. That makes dubbing less a translation task than a second casting of the picture, and it is why a weak dub can undo years of work on the original.

At GoLocalise, we provide movie dubbing for feature films, documentaries and series — casting native talent to the performances already on screen, directing to the original intent, and delivering mix-ready audio for every territory in your release.

Voices cast against the original performance, matched for age, register and character rather than picked from a demo
Lip-sync, phrase-sync and UN-style voice over — the right technique for the format and budget
Directed sessions with a voice director working to the original film, not just a script
Every language managed centrally, so all territory versions stay faithful to the same film

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Voice actor performing a dubbed film scene in a recording booth

Explore some examples of our Movie Dubbing Artists

A dub is judged on whether the audience forgets it is a dub. That depends less on the individual voice than on how it sits against the face, the scene and the rest of the cast.

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Types of movie dubbing we produce

Not every project needs full lip-sync, and paying for it where it is not required is one of the most common ways film localisation budgets get spent badly. These are the four approaches we work in.

Lip-sync dubbing

The full craft: translated dialogue adapted so it matches the mouth movements, timing and emotional beats of the actor on screen. Standard for theatrical features and premium series in major dubbing markets. The most demanding and most expensive option — and the only one that makes a film feel native.

Phrase-sync dubbing

Dialogue matched to the start and end of each line rather than to individual mouth movements. Considerably faster and cheaper than full lip-sync, and often indistinguishable in scenes where the speaker is off-camera or in wide shot. Common for documentaries, factual series and streaming catalogue titles.

UN-style voice over

The original audio is lowered rather than replaced, with the translated voice laid over the top. Standard for documentary interviews, news and factual content, where audiences expect to hear traces of the original speaker and authenticity matters more than seamlessness.

ADR and voice replacement

Re-recording dialogue in the original language — to fix production audio, replace a line, or adjust a performance after the shoot. Recorded to picture in our London studios, matched to the original take so it drops invisibly into the existing mix.

How our movie dubbing process works

Dubbing a film is the most involved work we do. Script adaptation, casting, direction, recording, sync and mix all have to align, usually across several languages at once, and a decision made badly at the start surfaces expensively at the mix. Every project runs through a dedicated project manager:

Script & picture review

Translation & adaptation

Lip-sync detection

Voice casting per role

Directed dubbing sessions

Sync editing & mixing

Linguistic & technical QA

Mix-ready delivery

Adaptation, casting, direction, recording and QA all sit inside one workflow — which is how a dubbed film arrives in sync, in character and ready for the final mix.

Why choose professional movie dubbing?

Dubbing is acting, not reading. A performer has to hit another actor's timing, match their emotional register, and stay inside the movement of a mouth they cannot control — all at once, and usually without having seen the film before that morning. Very few voices can do it convincingly, which is why we cast dubbing separately from every other kind of voice work.

A bad dub is more damaging than no dub. Audiences forgive subtitles. They do not forgive a voice that does not fit the face, dialogue that lands a beat late, or a performance that flattens a scene the original played carefully. In markets where dubbing is the norm, the dub is the only version most viewers will ever see — and it is the version they will judge the film on.

Films live a long time and travel far. A title moves from theatrical to streaming to broadcast to home formats, often for years and across dozens of territories. The dub travels with it the whole way, and redoing it later costs several times what doing it properly once would have.

Consistency across languages is a production problem, not a linguistic one. Split a release across local suppliers in each market and the versions drift — different casting logic, different direction, different technical specs. Managing every language through one team is what keeps a film recognisably the same film wherever it plays.

How to plan a movie dubbing project

Decide the dubbing technique before you budget. Full lip-sync, phrase-sync and UN-style voice over differ in cost by a wide margin, and the right choice depends on the content and the market rather than on ambition. A documentary rarely needs lip-sync; a theatrical feature in Germany or Spain almost always does.

Lock picture before you start, if at all possible. Dubbing is timed to the frame, so a re-cut after recording means re-adapting the script, re-recording the affected lines and re-syncing the mix. Late picture changes are the single most common cause of dubbing budgets running over.

Supply the M&E stems early. Dubbing needs a music-and-effects track with the original dialogue removed in order to drop new voices into the mix cleanly. If no M&E exists, it has to be reconstructed — which is a real piece of work and should be scoped at the start rather than discovered mid-project.

When we scope film dubbing at GoLocalise, these are the four areas we resolve first

Dubbing technique and sync level

Character casting and voice matching

M&E stems and mix requirements

Territories, formats and delivery specs

Movie dubbing pricing & project options

Dubbing is quoted on runtime, cast size, sync level and language count — four variables that move largely independently. A 40-minute documentary with two narrators and phrase-sync is a different job from a 110-minute feature with twelve speaking roles in full lip-sync, even in the same language. That is why we scope per project. The tiers below are reference points showing how film dubbing projects typically come together:

Bronze

For factual content in one language, using UN-style voice over or phrase-sync. Includes:

Script translation by native linguists
Professional dubbing voice recording
Sync editing and audio clean-up
Delivery in the format your mix requires

Select plan

Silver

For drama and premium content in one language, with directed lip-sync. Includes:

Translation and lip-sync script adaptation
Character casting with your sign-off
Directed dubbing sessions to picture
Sync editing, mixing and linguistic QA

Select plan

Gold

For international releases dubbed across multiple territories. Includes:

Adaptation and casting managed per market
Directed sessions in every language
Central linguistic and technical QA
Mix-ready delivery plus subtitles in SRT

Select plan

Custom dubbing projects

A feature dubbed into a dozen languages with lip-sync throughout? A documentary series with one narrator across every episode? A back catalogue being localised for a streaming launch? Most film dubbing looks like this, so tell us the runtime, the cast and the territories and we will quote around it.

Get a tailored quote for your project

Movie dubbing for multilingual and global releases

A film released across many territories is not one dubbing project but a dozen running in parallel, each with its own cast, director, schedule and delivery spec — all of which have to produce versions that feel like the same film.

GoLocalise runs that from the centre. One brief and one project manager cover every language, with casting, direction and QA held to a single standard from the original language outward.

Native dubbing casts for every market

Audiences forgive a lot, but rarely a voice that does not fit the face on screen. Age, register, accent and delivery all read differently from one market to the next, and the wrong casting breaks the illusion the whole dub depends on.

For each language we shortlist native dubbing actors who suit the character and the local audience, and you sign off every principal voice before sessions begin.

The result is a film that plays as though it were made for each market it reaches.

Dubbing actor recording dialogue to a film scene on a studio screen

One film, one performance across languages

Viewers in each market only ever hear their own version, but the production has to answer for all of them together. Versions that drift in tone slowly pull the film out of shape across territories.

We direct every language against the original performance and a shared set of references, keeping intent, energy and characterisation aligned from one version to the next.

Watch the versions back to back and they should feel like the same film — that is the standard we work to.

Voice director guiding a dubbing session against the original film

Centralised production and quality control

Multi-language dubbing multiplies deadlines, technical specs and approval rounds, and splitting it across local suppliers multiplies the risk of one version going wrong unnoticed.

We keep the whole release inside one workflow, with every version passing linguistic and technical QA — including sync and levels against picture — before delivery.

You receive mix-ready files for every market, consistent, cleared and on the agreed schedule.

Engineer syncing dubbed dialogue to picture in a film mixing suite

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Other movie voice over services

Dubbing is one part of releasing a film internationally. If your project needs more than a dub, these are the two places to look next.

Movie voice over

The hub for all our film voice work — narration, documentary and off-screen voices, with guidance on which service a project actually needs.

Find out more

Movie trailer voice over

Epic, dramatic and comedic trailer reads for theatrical trailers, teasers and TV spots, mixed to campaign spec.

Find out more

Subtitling services

Broadcast-standard subtitles and captions in SRT, VTT, STL and TTML — often commissioned alongside a dub for the same release.

Find out more

FAQs

Movie dubbing is the process of replacing a film's original dialogue with a performance in another language, recorded to match the timing and, where required, the lip movements of the actors on screen. It involves translating and adapting the script so it fits the picture, casting voices against the original performances, directing the sessions, then syncing and mixing the result into the film's final audio.