In an era when blockbusters regularly earn over $1 billion worldwide, movie studios are quick to laud the success of their productions. On the flip side, the price tags of these box office behemoths are often closely guarded secrets, with Hollywood reluctant to disclose the cost of bringing their cinematic spectacles to life.

So which films have arrived with the biggest bills? Read on to discover the 12 most expensive movies ever made.

All dollar amounts in US dollars

To compile the list, we’ve focused solely on production costs, excluding marketing budgets and other expenses, and adjusted them for inflation. Only movies with an inflation-adjusted cost of over $400 million (£297m) make the list. 

We’ve also excluded films where production budgets have not been confirmed, and movies that were shot back-to-back, so the likes of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame miss out, despite having a combined production budget of around $1 billion. Now, onto the countdown…

In May 2024, Forbes journalist Caroline Reid revealed that 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had a price tag of almost $351 million. Analysis of tax filings revealed an actual total spend of $414 million, which was softened by a reimbursement from the UK government for filming a large chunk of the movie there. To qualify for the rebate, production companies must publicly file financial statements, and Multiverse isn’t the only movie on this list whose budget has been confirmed in that way.

The Sam Raimi-directed sequel was certainly lavish, with thousands of visual effects and a host of stars making (likely) well-paid cameos. Filming was delayed by the pandemic, which almost certainly added to costs too. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie grossed over $950 million worldwide, making a profit of between $100 million and $200 million.

The 10th instalment of the Fast & Furious franchise was also partly filmed in the UK and had a confirmed price tag of $379 million. The movie boasted a very expensive ensemble cast, a host of exotic locations and the wildly over-the-top vehicular carnage fans had come to expect.

The 2023 movie grossed $705 million globally, according to Box Office Mojo, with Universal’s share coming in under the total production budget. However, factoring in streaming revenue and home video sales, it’s thought the studio made a modest profit.

It's rare for studios to reveal their actual spending on movies willingly, but that’s exactly what Sony did when it confirmed a $258 million production budget for Spider-Man 3. That said, many in the industry have suggested the actual price tag may have been north of $300 million. Either way, it was the most expensive movie ever made at the time.

The movie’s visual effects budget was believed to be substantially higher than that of its 2004 predecessor, not entirely surprising given the film’s lengthy cast of villains. While it was the least well-received of the Sam Raimi trilogy, it was certainly the highest-grossing, generating $885 million worldwide.

Titanic’s $200 million price tag is well documented, not least by James Cameron himself in a Time Magazine article where he angrily shot down some of the myths surrounding the movie’s production. In recent years, he’s been a little more relaxed on the subject, even suggesting Titanic came in 75% over budget. At the time, Fox executives were far from relaxed, as elaborate sets, including scale models of parts of the doomed vessel, and painful delays made Titanic the most expensive film ever made at the time. 

Released at the end of 1997, by March of the following year it had become the first movie to earn more than $1 billion worldwide, eventually grossing over $1.8 billion by the end of its original run. Uniquely, Titanic is the only movie in our round-up that was released in the last century and is not part of a franchise.

Deadpool & Wolverine is another movie to benefit from UK government tax breaks, but Disney still spent a phenomenal $429 million on the long-anticipated superhero team-up. Filming was heavily delayed by the 2023 writer’s strikes, adding to the production costs, while the salaries of its leading stars and a host of A-list cameos undoubtedly came at a significant price.

The movie was released at a time when Marvel was experiencing a box office rough patch, but Deadpool’s entry into the MCU arrested the slide, grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide. It became the highest-grossing R-rated movie ever, achieving the feat in just 23 days.

The first Star Wars movie on this list, but not the last, The Last Jedi’s $343 million price tag was revealed courtesy of UK-filed financial statements. The second instalment in the Star Wars sequel trilogy was largely filmed at Pinewood Studios, with 125 sets created across 14 sound stages. The film also reportedly featured more practical effects than any Star Wars film to date.

While Rian Johnson’s only Star Wars outing divided fans, the movie still racked up $1.3 billion worldwide, generating a profit of over $400 million according to Deadline Hollywood. It became the highest-grossing movie of 2017 in a year of strong competition, with three other films – Beauty and the Beast, The Fate of the Furious and Despicable Me 3 – also breaching the $1 billion mark.

Largely filmed at Shepperton Studios in England, and qualifying for that all-important tax break, Age of Ultron had a sizeable net production budget of $365 million. Assembling a cast of Avengers is inevitably an expensive business, and the salaries of the returning MCU superheroes were only going in one direction: Jeremy Renner and Chris Evans earned over $6 million each, Scarlett Johansson commanded $20 million, and Robert Downey Jr. banked a phenomenal $40 million.

The movie got off to a flying start, eventually pulling in over $1.4 billion worldwide and becoming the fifth highest-grossing film ever at the time. It was also the third MCU movie to pass the $1 billion mark, after The Avengers and Iron Man 3.

Released in 2011, On Stranger Tides’ $379 million price tag wasn’t disclosed until 2014, with UK financial filings revealing it to be the most expensive movie ever made at the time. The fourth instalment of the swashbuckler series saw Johnny Depp return as Captain Jack Sparrow, picking up a $55 million paycheque for his efforts. The film was shot almost entirely in 3D and featured over 1,000 CGI shots, adding ballast to an already large budget.

Despite a critical mauling in some quarters, On Stranger Tides sailed to a $1 billion worldwide gross, becoming the fifth fastest film at the time to achieve the landmark.

The third movie in Universal’s Jurassic World series, Dominion was filmed in England at the height of the pandemic, with the studio shelling out for costly safety protocols during production. Beset by months of delays, the price tag skyrocketed, with Universal forced to pay for sets and equipment during downtime and the movie’s A-list stars reportedly quarantining in costly luxury hotels. A $127 million reimbursement from the UK government softened the total production spend to $531 million.

Eventually released in 2022, Dominion raked in just over $1 billion worldwide and was the third highest-grossing movie of the year, behind only Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water. Despite its troubled production and escalating costs, Deadline Hollywood calculated the film’s profit at well over $200 million. 

Dominion’s 2018 predecessor, Fallen Kingdom, came in cheaper at $465 million but ranks higher thanks to its adjusted cost. As well as extensive filming in Hawaii, the movie was largely shot at Pinewood Studios, where an outdoor roller coaster track and a specially constructed water tank were built for the breathtaking Gyrosphere scene. Filming in the tank reportedly lasted for five days and required a team of 85 people.

One of the most eagerly anticipated movies of 2018, Fallen Kingdom enjoyed a stellar $148 million opening weekend on its way to a worldwide gross of over $1.3 billion. Factoring in the marketing budget and other costs, the film made a profit of at least $200 million.

While all Star Wars movies generally come with a hefty price tag, the conclusion of the Skywalker saga was beset with problems that did little to help its bottom line. After spending several years developing a version of the film, director Colin Trevorrow departed the project over creative differences, prompting J. J. Abrams's return and a new vision for the movie, with millions lost before filming had even begun.

Carrie Fisher’s death led to some painstaking and costly visual trickery to incorporate footage from The Force Awakens, while constant rewrites became a mainstay of the production. Add in pricey practical sets, extensive CGI and increased salaries for the returning stars, and it's little wonder the film ultimately cost Disney just shy of $500 million.

The Rise of Skywalker eventually earned almost $1.1 billion worldwide, but it was the lowest-grossing movie in the sequel trilogy and was ultimately viewed by Disney as a box office disappointment.

After spending over $4 billion to acquire Lucasfilm, Disney needed a surefire hit, and the studio threw the kitchen sink at the production in hopes of guaranteeing success. The Force Awakens was conceived and produced on the grandest of scales, marrying the look and feel of the original trilogy with groundbreaking visual effects.

Millions were spent on physical sets, including a full-scale Millennium Falcon, with huge action sequences, extensive location shooting and the salaries of the original trilogy’s returning stars all adding to the staggering $536 million budget – making it the most expensive movie ever made.

The gamble paid off handsomely, with The Force Awakens rocketing to a worldwide gross of $1 billion in just 12 days, before earning close to $2.1 billion by the end of its original theatrical run. Even after accounting for the significant marketing budget and other costs, Deadline Hollywood estimated the movie’s total profit at an out-of-this-world $780 million.  

Now discover where every Christopher Nolan movie ranks by box office success