Most Expensive Films to Have Ever Been Made
When you're heading into the theater to catch a new film or settling into your couch for movie night, you probably don't think too much about how much money went into producing them. But the budget cost could surprise you. From Star Wars: The Force Awakens to Cleopatra, here are the 20 most expensive films ever produced.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the first of many films in the iconic franchise that you'll see on this list. Released in 2015 and featuring beloved stars like Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and more, this was a box office hit—and cost nearly $450 million to produce.
Agnieszka Stankiewicz on Unsplash
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
There were a lot of movies that 2018 gave us: Black Panther, Incredibles 2, Venom, Mission: Impossible – Fallout. But the most pricey one to make in that year (and landed in the top 3 of highest-grossing films of 2018) was Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which starred Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and others.
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
Despite landing third on this list, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker didn't perform as well as the studio likely thought it might. Perhaps it was the result of too much pressure, anticipation, and expectation. Though it just barely broke even, it cost roughly $416 million to produce.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
This 2011 instalment didn't score so hot domestically at the box office, either. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides cost about $380 million to make, and only earned $241 million in North America. That being said, it still did well internationally and was the third highest-grossing film of its year.
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron
When Avengers: Age of Ultron was released in 2015, it cost $365 million to produce—the most expensive of all movies in the franchise, surpassing both Infinity War and Endgame. It made $1.4 billion at the box office, making it the fourth highest-grossing film made that year.
6. Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame came out four years after Age of Ultron in 2019, and cost $356 million to make. And yet, despite being $10 million less in budget, it was a huge success at the box office, making a total of $2.8 billion worldwide.
7. Avatar: The Way of Water
Considering the first Avatar film was—and still is—the highest-grossing film of all time, it came as a surprise that its sequel took nearly 12 years to come out. Being so highly anticipated, what didn't come as a shock was Avatar: The Way of Water making a total of $2.3 billion worldwide, with only an estimated budget of around $350-460 million.
Theme Park Tourist on Wikimedia
8. Fast X
The 11th instalment of the Fast and Furious franchise, Fast X was something of a disappointment. It took the title of being the franchise's most expensive film to produce—with a budget of nearly $380 million—but its performance at the box office fell short, earning only $714 million worldwide.
9. Avengers: Infinity War
Costing around $325 million to produce, Avengers: Infinity War certainly didn't disappoint, and the epic crossover of characters from different universes was probably what intrigued many. It made a worldwide total of $2.05 billion, making it one of the highest-grossing films of all time.
10. Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Star Wars: The Last Jedi had a budget of $300 million and grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in 2017 and the ninth-highest-grossing of all time. In fact, despite having lower funds to produce, it is the second-highest-grossing movie in the franchise.
11. Justice League
The DCU (DC Universe) still can't seem to compete with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), and Justice League proved it. With a budget of $300 million and a cast that starred familiar names like Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill, it grossed only about $661 million worldwide.
12. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End cost $300 million to produce, but only grossed about $309.4 million domestically. Despite not being too well received at home, it made $654 million internationally and was the highest-grossing film of 2007.
13. The Marvels
We mentioned how popular the MCU is, and that's the main reason why movies in this universe typically have far larger budgets, as they're expected to do well at the box office. The Marvels, however, was a huge disappointment. It cost about $300 million to produce, and only grossed $206 million worldwide ($84.5 million in North America), making it the lowest-grossing film of the MCU franchise.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America on Wikimedia
14. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible franchise always makes for a thrilling watch, but Dead Reckoning fell short at the box office, despite receiving critical acclaim. It cost $291 million to produce, and grossed $571 million worldwide.
Gabriel Hutchinson Photography on Wikimedia
15. Solo: A Star Wars Story
Solo: A Star Wars Story might be the fourth Star Wars movie on this list, but this one didn't fare so well at the box office compared to its cousins. It's estimated to have had a budget of around $275 million, but only grossed $393.2 million worldwide.
William Tung from USA on Wikimedia
16. Tangled
Despite being an animated film, Tangled cost $260 million to produce, making it the most expensive animated movie ever made. The reason is because a big chunk of cash was put into the development and making everything look fluid and realistic (and by "everything," we mostly mean Rapunzel's hair). The effort, at least, paid off, grossing nearly $600 million worldwide.
17. Beauty and the Beast
Emma Watson and Dan Stevens star in Disney's live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, which cost around $254 to produce. It was a box-office success, grossing 1.26 billion worldwide. In fact, it became the highest-grossing live-action musical of all time, just 10 days after its release.
18. Titanic
Forever an iconic classic, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's Titanic may have "only" cost $200 million to make, but it was the most expensive film ever produced at the time when it came out in 1997. But it was worth the hard work and money, given how much of a worldwide success the movie became and how many awards it has won.
19. The Lion King
The 2019 remake of The Lion King is the second-most expensive animated film to have ever been made, with a budget of around $250 million—just $10 million less than Tangled. It grossed a worldwide total of nearly $1.7 billion.
20. Cleopatra
Cleopatra might have come out in 1963, but it remains iconic even now. It cost $31 million to produce at the time, which translates to about $350 million—and that estimate is from 2017. It became the number-one box office film in the US just three weeks after its release, grossing $725,000.
