From computer-generated imagery (CGI) to expensive acting talent, creating movie magic doesn't come cheap.
From Oscar nominee Avatar: The Way of Water to the Star Wars saga, read on to discover the most expensive films of all time, why they cost so much to make, and whether their box office gross made them worth the money.
All dollar amounts in US dollars and all currency conversions reflective of the time of the film's release. Please note the cost figures only include production costs, not marketing and other post-production costs.
John Carter, starring Taylor Kitsch in the title role, turned out to be a huge flop. Its massive budget funded over 2,000 visual effects shots and, allegedly, more than one extensive reshoot. Disney received $42.9 million (£27.7m) in UK tax incentives that reduced its original bill but that wasn’t enough to cushion the blow.
The film only grossed $284.1 million (£183.4m) worldwide and, after factoring in other post-production costs, Disney actually ended up with a loss-making movie.
Elaborate battle scenes and sets damaged by wind and dust are just a couple of the reasons for this film’s exorbitant budget. In fact, production had to be shut down for budget negotiations, which ended with costly sequences being ditched and some high-profile pay cuts.
Johnny Depp, director Gore Verbinski, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer all accepted a salary reduction. But The Lone Ranger was still a box office disappointment, grossing only $260.5 million (£161.1m) worldwide.
Although this is one of the most expensive films ever made, Solo: A Star Wars Story became the lowest-grossing Star Wars film on release. In spite of a stellar cast including Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, and Donald Glover, the film only grossed $392.9 million (£290.7m) worldwide.
It’s claimed that the original directors being fired halfway through filming, leading to a three-month reshoot, was the reason for its overspend. Its lack of success led Disney to focus its efforts on developing TV shows for its streaming platform instead.
Tipped to be the next big blockbuster, Superman Returns had an eye-watering budget of $270 million (£156.8m). Brandon Routh stepped into the shoes of Clark Kent, with Kate Bosworth playing Lois Lane.
Despite opening to positive reviews, the superhero saga failed to make an impact at the box office, grossing just $391 million (£227.1m) globally. Needless to say, plans for a sequel were quickly scrapped.
Prince Caspian is the second of three films that were adapted from C.S. Lewis' popular Narnia children's book series. The cast included Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, and William Moseley.
According to the Los Angeles Times, $100 million (£49.8m) of the budget went on the film’s special effects. But despite it being the most expensive of the three films, it turned out to be the worst performer at the box office, grossing only $419.7 million (£209.1m).
On its release, this Disney version of the Rapunzel fairy tale was the most expensive 3D animated film ever made. What made it so costly was the combined use of hand-drawn animation and CGI.
The production of Tangled lasted six years, and the software used to animate Rapuzel’s hair was first created in 2005. While it wasn’t anywhere near as successful as some of the other films on this list, it still grossed $592.5 million (£365.3m).
Justice League assembled some of DC Comics’ biggest stars, including Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, and Jason Momoa as Aquaman. Director Zack Synder was originally at the helm, but had to step down during post-production.
Variety reported that the change of hands between Snyder and Joss Whedon led to expensive reshoots and rewrites, which added an additional $25 million (£20.3m) to the film’s initial budget. The film went onto gross $657.9 million (£534.4m) worldwide.
While initial reports said the budget for The Last Knight was $217 million (£176.3m), later estimates pinned it closer to $239 million (£194.1m). Either way, it was extremely expensive, partly because of the cast’s high salaries.
Mark Wahlberg famously became the world’s highest-paid actor in 2017, taking home around $40 million (£32.5m) for this film. Despite the big budget, The Last Knight was one of the worst performers of the Transformers franchise, grossing $605.4 million (£491.7m).
This sci-fi/action flick is arguably most famous for earning Will Smith an unbelievable $100 million (£64.6m). Thanks to his performance-based contract, the actor took home a large chunk of the film’s $624 million (£402.8m) gross.
Unusually, Men in Black 3’s extravagant budget was in fact down to production starting before the script was finished, which created a disorganised, and expensive, studio schedule.
Man of Steel marked Henry Cavill’s debut as DC Comics’ Superman, alongside Amy Adams and Michael Shannon. The film grossed $668 million (£425.5m), which is considered modest by some, especially after factoring in its budget.
Its sizeable production budget is thought to have been due to the use of complex special effects.
Thor: Love and Thunder is the most expensive Thor instalment. A star-studded cast including Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, and Christian Bale, eye-popping special effects, and epic battle scenes all contributed to the mammoth budget.
Despite mixed reviews, the superhero saga, which premiered in July 2022, was still a box office success. It grossed a respectable $760.9 million (£564.5m).
No Time to Die marked Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as agent 007 – and no expense was spared to make sure he had a proper send-off. The movie boasted an estimated production budget of at least $250 million (£183.2m), with Craig alone reportedly banking a cool $25 million (£18.3m) to reprise his role one last time.
Following several delays due to the pandemic, the spy thriller finally hit cinemas in October 2021, grossing just over $774 million (£567m).
Sadly, this film’s A-list cast, again led by Johnny Depp, received an underwhelming box office reception. It grossed $794.9 million (£645.6m), producing the lowest US numbers of the five-film series. It wasn’t short on controversy either.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, production was shut down for two weeks following a drug-fuelled argument between Depp and his ex-wife that left his finger injured. This cost the studio $350,000 (£284.3k) per day on top of his $40 million (£32.5m) paycheque.
Star Wars veterans Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford returned for the beginning of a hugely-anticipated new Star Wars franchise in 2015.
Recent filings have revealed that the movie is the most expensive ever made, with a total budget of $533.2 million (£446.3m). Special effects and salaries for the all-star cast accounted for the sky-high costs. As expected from the franchise, it did well at the box office, grossing $1.1 billion (£710m) worldwide.
Fronted by Letitia Wright, Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is the most expensive film of all time featuring a Black lead. Pulse-racing action sequences and expensive CGI contributed to the superhero saga’s astronomical $250 million (£208.5m) budget.
The hotly-anticipated sequel hit the silver screen in November 2022 and has grossed an impressive $832 million (£683m) to date.
In 2008, one of the Spider-Man franchise's producers confirmed that the series’ visual effects budget had increased by 30% for the third instalment, mainly because there were more action sequences.
It was also confirmed that the cast, including Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, and James Franco, were paid more for each successive film. And with a worldwide gross of $849.9 million (£433.3m), it’s fair to say the pay rise was well-deserved.
With its star-studded cast, from Ben Affleck to Gal Gadot, it’s no surprise that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice made it onto this list. Metro reported that the elaborate sets and a lengthened production schedule were also responsible for its high price tag.
Luckily, it turned out to be worth the money, as it brought in $873.6 million (£588.9m) from worldwide box office ticket sales.
Topping the list of most expensive movies ever made is the fourth instalment in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, with an eye-watering budget that has made it the priciest movie in history for over a decade. Johnny Depp reportedly earned $55 million (£35.4m) for reprising the role of Captain Jack Sparrow.
After totting up salaries, the cost of hiring 895 members of staff for production, and shooting almost exclusively on 3D cameras, the film's $1 billion (£644.2m) box office gross was surely a very welcome result.
Daniel Craig reprised his role as James Bond for the fourth time in Spectre, this time alongside the likes of Léa Seydoux and Christoph Waltz. The Bond movie made an incredible $880 million (£564.5m) globally at the box office, which is good news considering how much it cost to make.
Along with Craig’s generous salary, which was estimated at $39 million (£25m), the cost of the Aston Martins that crashed and exploded during filming totalled $34 million (£21.8m).
At the time of its box office release, At World’s End was the most expensive film ever made, and today it’s still not far from the top spot. Its sky-high budget was thanks to the cost of special effects, location changes, and its usual high-profile cast.
The pirate saga grossed an impressive $961 million (£490m) worldwide though.
The sixth film in the Harry Potter series was given a big budget for its expensive special effects. It was the most expensive of the franchise, but still wasn’t the highest earner, although a gross of $934.3 million (£639.5m) isn’t bad.
International Business Times reported that the face of the franchise, Daniel Radcliffe, made $24 million (£16.4m) playing Harry Potter in this film alone. The salaries of other stars, such as Emma Watson and Helena Bonham Carter, haven’t been publicised.
Needless to say, bringing a behemoth fantasy battle to life on the silver screen isn’t cheap. Therefore, the budget for the final instalment of the Hobbit trilogy was the biggest yet, clocking in at an eye-watering $250 million (£151.3m).
Fortunately, like its predecessors, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was a huge hit, grossing $962.2 million (£581.7m) globally.
It's not surprising that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug cost a fortune to make. The A-list cast included Orlando Bloom, Martin Freeman, and Benedict Cumberbatch, not to mention legendary director Peter Jackson behind the camera.
Then there was a CGI dragon and pulse-racing action sequences, which certainly didn't come cheap. Ultimately, though, the big budget paid off, and the fantasy blockbuster banked an impressive $959 million (£593.2m) globally.
The final part of the latest Star Wars trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker was released to mixed reviews but still managed to bring in $1.1 billion (£860m) at the box office.
Actors' salaries reportedly weren’t very high, but, in addition to the expensive costume and set designs that Star Wars is known for, Forbes reported that the untimely passing of Carrie Fisher in 2016 resulted in reshoots and rewrites that would have impacted the budget.
For the final instalment in the three-part Dark Knight trilogy, producers definitely pulled out all the stops. Its original budget was said to be $250 million (£161.4m) but it’s reported that tax credits brought that figure down slightly.
As with most of the superhero movies on this list, its cast list offers plenty of big names, including Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, and Tom Hardy. It made a heroic profit at the box office, grossing $1.1 billion (£710m) worldwide.
This Pirates of the Caribbean instalment featured Hollywood stars Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley and Johnny Depp, who is said to have earned $21.2 million (£12.3m) for his role.
With reports of a $2 million (£1.2m) budget just for on-set snacks, producers were likely thrilled when the film was a roaring success, grossing $1.1 billion (£640m).
Even though Civil War was officially the third Captain America film, it brought in several of the other Avengers. As this list shows, assembling the Marvel superheroes makes for a very expensive production.
Fronted by Chris Evans, stars including Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson were also part of a superhero film that grossed $1.15 billion (£780m) worldwide.
The eighth Fast & Furious was the series’ most expensive production to date. The action-film franchise is known for its Hollywood line-up, including Dwayne Johnson, and Vin Diesel, who pocketed $20 million (£16.2m) for his appearance.
One of the biggest expenses was the infamous car crash scene filmed in New York City. Real cars were crashed and others were dropped from a parking garage six storeys up. Thankfully, the destruction was worthwhile – the film grossed $1.2 billion (£970m) worldwide.
The second instalment in the latest Star Wars trilogy had a cast list featuring most of the regulars, including Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, and newer names such as John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran.
As ever, it was an expensive production. That said, it grossed $1.3 billion (£1bn) at the box office, beating its predecessor, The Force Awakens.
This live-action remake of the animated film was considered a huge risk for Disney, but it was one that paid off handsomely, as it went on to gross $1.3 billion (£1bn) worldwide.
The cast was led by Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, and the film was praised for its intricate, and expensive, production design.
Age of Ultron is one of the highest-grossing superhero films ever, earning $1.4 billion (£900m). Its exact budget has been much debated, though most reports claim that it was $250 million (£160.4m).
The star-studded cast half explains the expenditure, as it’s reported that Robert Downey Jr. raked in $40 million (£25.7m) and Scarlett Johansson made $20 million (£12.8m) for their performances. Production was also heavily reliant on CGI, and scenes were filmed in six different countries.
Although Disney remained tight-lipped about its remake of The Lion King’s official budget and cast compensation, The Hollywood Reporter said in 2019 that it roughly totalled $250 million (£195.3m). Relatively small change compared to the $1.7 billion (£1.3bn) it grossed.
The film relied entirely on costly CGI and had an all-star cast, with Beyoncé as the voice behind Nala, alongside Seth Rogan and Donald Glover.
There are some conflicting reports on the exact budget for this film, but based on the most recent figures citing $325 million (£240.4m), it was extremely pricey. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, and Chadwick Boseman all had starring roles, and those actors didn't come cheap, along with the various special effects and an expensive post-production marketing campaign.
However, the film returned a whopping $2 billion (£1.5bn) in ticket sales.
James Cameron's hotly-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water finally dropped in December 2022. New technology had to be developed to capture the film’s cutting-edge underwater scenes. This contributed to the hefty production budget, which was reportedly $250 million (£211.3m).
At the time of writing, the movie has earned almost $2.3 billion (£1.9bn) at the global box office, making it the third highest-grossing movie of all time.
Avengers: Endgame is arguably best-known for its epic final battle scene, which featured 30+ Marvel characters in combat all at once.
With salaries – it’s reported that Robert Downey Jr. alone took home $75 million (£58.6m) for his role – costly CGI effects and additional production costs combined, producers were likely thrilled that the film grossed $2.8 billion (£2.2bn) at the box office.
Avatar broke several records after its release, including surpassing Titanic to become the highest-grossing movie ever. Since its 2009 debut, the sci-fi epic has earned over $2.9 billion (£2bn) in ticket sales.
No wonder so many sequels are in the pipeline. Most of the budget went towards creating its detailed graphics.