Most Expensive Movies Ever Made

Summary

• Movie budgets have skyrocketed, reaching hundreds of millions due to new tech and high expectations.
• Expensive films include Marvel’s Doctor Strange, Star Wars, and Pirates franchise.
• Major factors driving costs are CGI, star salaries, and extensive marketing efforts.

The movie industry has evolved greatly over the past few decades as new faces hit the screens and an endless list of stories unfold in cinemas in wild and magical ways. With every movie production comes a budget, and the budget of a movie is decided by a long list of factors such as animation, actor salary, rights, and so on. Some of the most expensive movies ever made come from a long line of smash box-office hits like the Star Wars and Marvel franchises and require absurd amounts of cash to pull off the cinematic sequences that appear in virtually every scene.

As time has gone on, budgets have only gone up and up, entering the 200, 300, and now 400 million dollar ranges, thanks to increased expectations and possibilities with new technology and techniques. There really seems to be no limit for a movie budget, and companies are quite happy to throw billions at these enormous projects as the returns are just as insane as the budgets themselves, with some netting multiple billions at the end of their run.

8

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness

The Marvel Train That Never Stops

• Estimated Net Budget: $351 Million

Doctor Strange is a very well-loved and appreciated character and has been revered as one of the best on-screen heroes ever since his debut. His first solo movie gave viewers a glimpse into the realm of possibilities with his powers and potential villains, but The Multiverse of Madness shattered all expectations and delivered one of the most visually stunning and compelling narratives the Marvel universe has produced to date.

It says it all on the tin really. Just absolute madness from start to finish, with every action sequence looking like a museum-caliber painting and every minute detail perfected to create breathtaking shots and mind-bending visuals. With plenty of cameos and additional characters being brought into the main series, the budget was only going to keep going up, Marvel is no stranger to breaking records both with their successes and the costs that go with them.

7

Avengers: Endgame

The Perfect Finish To A Perfect Era

• Estimated Net Budget: $356 Million

It’s been a while since it was released, but the tears are still shedding. Endgame brought an end to the decade-long saga that started with Iron Man, culminating in some of the most emotional, intense, and awe-inspiring fight sequences that are hard to match with any other movie. With the stakes being so high, it’s no wonder that millions of fans flocked to the theatres to catch the final chapter in the first Marvel saga.

In terms of costs, it is pretty easy to see where the numbers come from. With some of Hollywood’s biggest stars all on-screen at the same time, insane CGI requirements throughout, and a marketing budget that would rival political propaganda, it’s no wonder the movie cost as much as it did, and it was more than worth the spend for everyone involved, grossing nearly $3 billion dollars in all and stealing the record from Avatar, before it was taken back a few years later.

6

Avengers: Age Of Ultron

Turns Out An Entire Floating City Is Pretty Expensive

• Estimated Net Budget: $365 Million

As if one Avengers film wasn’t enough, Marvel pumped out expensive hit after expensive hit, with Age of Ultron being at the top of the list. The biggest factor governing the higher cost than the other titles in the series was the filming locations and the costs associated with having entire production teams on location for great periods of time.

Obviously, the bulk of the budget went to getting the big names and big characters back into the theaters for a second team-up movie, with the main six members returning and mesmerizing viewers with some insane fights and awesome combat scenes. While the movie may have been received slightly worse than some of the others in the series, it delivered a lot on the visuals and emotional elements and is an absolute treat for the eyes even today.

5

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

An Ocean-sized Budget Indeed

While the majority of the movies topping the expensive list come from other worlds full of aliens and spaceships, the Pirates franchise manages to keep up with equally if not better visuals and amazing storylines without needing to leave the planet. The fourth installment in the franchise, the budget’s high number is partly due to the always amazing effects but also for keeping Johnny Depp around for another go as the infamous Jack Sparrow.

His salary alone across all five movies, could finance an entirely new movie in the series, but even without his costs factored in, having enormous oceanic sequences and sea battles with vicious under-sea creatures, it makes perfect sense why the movie cost as much as it did, and with another movie on the cards, it will be interesting to see how much a more modern take will cost Disney this time.

4

Fast X

Cars, Explosions, Guns, And More Cars

• Estimated Net Budget: $379 Million

Testosterone-filled, tire-screeching goodness, the Fast franchise has been delighting viewers for over two decades and has continued to push the boundaries of what’s possible in a movie that’s basically about big dudes driving fast cars. It never fails to disappoint, and Fast X keeps the tyres spinning with an even larger cast of stars and an even crazier set of scenarios for Dom and the crew to tackle.

The budget is pretty simple to break down. Getting 100s of cars to drive around and blow up comes with a hefty price tag. Having some huge names like Vin Diesel as the poster child for the entire franchise comes with its own costs as well. As each title continues to smash expectations as the box office and deliver insane returns, it’s no wonder they have entered double digits in the series and who knows how long it will continue after that.

3

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker

It All Comes Down To This

• Estimated Net Budget: $416 Million

If there is any series of movies that can be considered cinema royalty, then it has to be Star Wars. With over 10 mainline movies, countless spin-off shows and animations, video games, and more, it is a titan of pop culture and comes with just as titanic budgets for its movies. As one of the most widely recognized movie series, the franchise has been bringing in fans and money for nearly 50 years and shows no signs of slowing down.

The budget, like always, is pretty much all tied to production and CGI. With entire space sequences with planets exploding, spaceships darting around all over, and hand-to-hand combat sequences that involve laser weapons and mind-control abilities, it would almost be expected to have a bigger budget, given how insane the final product turned out.

2

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

Fit For The Giants

• Estimated Net Cost: $432 Million

If it isn’t spaceships, cars, or undersea creatures, then prehistoric beasts of all shapes and sizes are certainly on the list of costly expenses in movie budgets. The Jurassic Park franchise has been constantly testing the waters for decades now for what’s possible when bringing iconic and terrifying reptiles onto the big screens, and with each new title in the series, the costs just seem to have no limit.

Aside from building giant sets full of both animatronic and CGI dinosaurs, having the main man be Marvel veteran Chris Pratt comes with a large price tag, along with the rest of the cast of returning characters and blockbuster giants. It is nice to see older franchises continue to have success, and it is clear that if the budgets can be made back, then the investors will keep pumping the money in.

1

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

The New Saga Begins

• Estimated Next Cost: $447 Million

One of the biggest franchises in all of cinema being revived after over a decade was sure to bring some insane costs and require budgets previously unheard of. The Force Awakens sets a new ceiling for what a movie can cost, and it is hard to see what kind of movie could possibly break the record it has set, aside from a new entry into the Marvel canon or another Star Wars entry further down the line.

With such a large fan base and a long lineage of successes in the past, it was clear that Disney wanted to come back with a bang and chose to throw as much as they could at bringing back some of the best and most loved characters in the series, whilst introducing a new set to carry forward the Jedi legacy. Despite many movies being released in the Marvel universe and a few coming close, none are yet to take the crown away from The Force Awakens, and only time will tell whether it will ever be dethroned.