Top 10 Most Expensive Movies Ever Made
If there's one model that Hollywood has learned to live by its bigger is better film historians tend to credit the one-two punch of Steven Spielberg's jaws released in the summer of 1975 and George Lucas's original 1977 smash Star Wars with ushering in the era of the big summer blockbuster and in the intervening years these blockbusters have only gotten more epic and more expensive 1991's Terminator 2 Judgment Day was the first film to cost over 100 million dollars to produce but when it comes to the costliest productions ever it's telling that it's not even in the top ten adjusted for inflation these are the blockbusters that broke the bank the ten most expensive films of all time.
10-Water worled 276M$
Win Waterworld hit screens in July of 1995 it's unfortunate reputation preceded it details of the film's production have been constantly leaking to the press during its shoot near the Hawaiian Islands and they were not encouraging the film's already exorbitant budget of 100 million dollars had ballooned out of control in various mishaps specific to a large-scale production shot entirely at sea had befallen both cast and crew star and producer Kevin Costner was nearly killed performing a stunt in which he was furiously blasted with seawater while suspended 40 feet in the air and actresses Jeanne Tripplehorn and Tina maja Reno had almost plummeted to the ocean's depths when a boat they were on simply decided to fall apart even experienced stuntman Laird Hamilton became lost at sea while commuting to work on his jet ski having to be rescued by helicopter but the troubled shoot was only the beginning of the film's problems audiences found the finished product to be a confounding and confusing mess and critics were lukewarm as well the great Roger Ebert declared it one of those marginal pictures you're not unhappy to have seen but can't quite recommend not exactly high praise for the most ambitious and expensive film production today even after more than two decades in countless high budget blockbusters Costner's epic boondoggle checks in as the tenth most expensive film ever made with a final budget of 172 million dollars equivalent to nearly 276 million in today's dollars.
9-John carter 281M$
Attempt to adapt edgar rice burroughs classic Barsoom series of pulp novels failed to get off the ground for years beginning with a proposed animated version in the early 1930s which would have been presided over by Warner Brothers legend Bob Clampett but failed to materialize during the 80s the films rights fell to Walt Disney Studios but a planned adaptation to be directed by diehard Helmer John McTiernan fell apart as the production team realized that special effects technology hadn't yet come far enough to faithfully render Burroughs vision of his Martian society but the house of mouse never gave up on the idea and finally in 2012 audiences were given John Carter based on the first novel and burro series and starring Taylor Kitsch as the titular intergalactic hero unfortunately the film fell spectacularly flat with moviegoers and critics alike director Andrew Stanton who had held the visually amazing and thematically rich animated features Finding Nemo and wall-e for Disney and Pixar was criticized for failing to deliver memorable characters in action sequences and for creating an alien world that felt thin and underdeveloped with its eye-popping budget of 263 million dollars about 281 million dollars in today's money the ninth most expensive film of all time underperformed severely enough at the box office to amount to a nearly 200 million dollar loss for Disney plans for sequels were unceremoniously scrapped and Disney even allowed the film rights to revert back to Burroughs estate.
8-Harry potter and the half blood pringe 285M$
The Harry Potter film series is as universally beloved as JK Rowling's classic novels with its child protagonists literally growing up before audiences eyes throughout its eight installments they might have begun as precocious preteens in the debut chapter Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone but just like their characters Daniel Radcliffe is Harry Rupert Grint as Ron and Emma Watson as Hermione had become angsty teenagers as the series was nearing its conclusion and the storyline had become considerably darker as well 2009's Harry Potter and the half-blood Prince based on the sixth book in the series tells a harrowing enough tale that at at times edges close to outright horror featuring the shocking death of beloved Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore the film brings its young protagonists face to face with fear and hopelessness while setting the stage for the triumphant final act Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which would be split into two films half-blood prince would become one of the best reviewed films in the sea and like the rest of them it was a decisive financial success grossing nearly a billion dollars at the worldwide box office it's a good thing too not only is it the most expensive film in the series it's the eighth most expensive film of all time with an adjusted budget of 285 million dollars
7- AVengers:age of ultron 290M$
While it's not the highest ranking film based on the Marvel property to grace our list 2015's Avengers age of Ultron the sequel to Joss Whedon's epic 2012 crossover smash The Avengers is the only film in the top 10 to be produced by Marvel Studios whose cinematic universe has captured the imaginations of audiences worldwide on the way to becoming the single highest-grossing film franchise of all time age of Ultron finds heroes Iron Man Captain America the Hulk Thor Black Widow and Hawkeye operating as an established team taking down a secret Hydra base in the film's propulsive opening sequence while hardly breaking a sweat of course no matter how expensive Marvel Studios films are the exact opposite of risky propositions Bar None every one of them has opened number one at the box office and no fewer than three have broken 1 billion dollars worldwide the most recent being this year's phenomenal black panther but after the record-breaking success of the Avengers Marvel knew that they had to go big when it came time to serve up a sequel and that they certainly did age of Ultron sports the largest budget of any single MCU films so far adjusted for inflation the team showdown with the sinister artificial intelligence of Ultron cost nearly 290 million dollars to bring to the screen.
6-Tangled 292M$
If there's one film you probably didn't expect to see on this list it would be this one released in 2010 the Animated Feature tangled is a humorous retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale part of a brief trend at the time of giving classic fairy tales the snarky animated update treatment you may be wondering how any animated film could top the budget of Marvel Studios most expensive outing but it makes a little more sense when you consider that the film was in development for six years during which time its animators constantly pushed the envelope of computer animation technology for example the production team decided early on to present the film in the style of the classical oil painting in an attempt to bring the intuitiveness and warmth of hand-drawn animation to CGI animating hair also turned out to be considerably difficult which was a major roadblock considering that this was a Rapunzel story and animators kept trying new techniques in software sweets throughout the films long development in the end tangled proved to be a critical and financial success earning praise for its spectacular animation and even inviting favorable comparison to Disney's classic works while cleaning up at the worldwide box office to the tune of nearly 600 million dollars after marketing costs however such a performance was necessary for tangled to turn any profit at all shockingly it's the sixth most expensive film ever made with an adjusted budget of a whopping 292 million dollars
5-Justice league 300M$
Warner Brothers DC extended universe was introduced with 2013's Man of Steel and was intended to serve as longtime Marvel rival DC's answer to Marvel Studios Cinematic Universe unfortunately it hasn't quite worked out that way DC's films have largely struggled to find their footing narratively and endured harsh assessments from critics with the notable exception of 2017 s Wonder Woman but they have enjoyed financial success up to a point that point being the most recent entry Justice League observers might have expected the first live action on-screen team-up of DC's flagship superhero team featuring the likes of Batman Wonder Woman the flash and Aquaman to have no trouble shattering the 1 billion dollar mark worldwide but it didn't even come close critics pointed to a disjointed story tonal and pacing problems and other fundamental issues with the film's writing that not even a last-minute course correction by Avengers director Joss Whedon who stepped in when Helmer Zack Snyder had to depart due to a family tragedy could solve Justice League struggled to a mere 657 million dollars worldwide gross on a lavish budget of 300 million dollars which with marketing and other costs considered makes it the highest grossing flop of all time all told it's speculated by industry insiders that Warner Brothers lost up to 100 million dollars on the movie and it's lukewarm reception has prompted a serious internal reappraisal of the entire series creative direction.
4- Spider man3 304M$
Along with Fox Studios x-men films Sam Raimi's original spider-man series went a long way toward establishing the look tone and storytelling conventions of the modern superhero movie its first two installments released in 2002 in 2004 were met with widespread praise and boatloads of money and for the third film in the series Raimi planned to adult in some fanservice with a plethora of new villains including Thomas Haden Church his Sandman and fan favorite venom whom starred Topher Grace left long-running sitcom that 70s show to portray unfortunately this meant that the film suffered from what is now commonly known as villain blowed critics accused it of sluggish pacing related to its attempts to shoehorn in too many characters and also noted that it lacked the humor and personality of the first two entries although the film performed respectively at the box office grossing 890 million dollars worldwide the creative stagnation was enough for Raimi to scrap plans for a fourth installment allowing the series to be rebooted with a new cast and crew for 2012's the amazing spider-man it goes to show that more money villains and storyline don't always translate to a terribly compelling film even its staggering earnings and ridiculous adjusted budget of 304 million dollars couldn't keep spider-man 3 from becoming the nail in the coffin of its series.
3- Titanc 305M$
For a dozen years after its 1997 release James Cameron's historical epic Titanic reigned as the all-time highest-grossing film it was the first movie to surpass a billion dollars at the box office eventually ending up with a worldwide Hall of 2.18 billion at 111 Oscars made a household name out of Leonardo DiCaprio and prompted Cameron to famously proclaimed himself king of the world but the iconic film was a major headache to bring to the screen as Cameron had apparently failed to learn the lessons of Waterworld maritime shoot just a couple years earlier the 138 day filming schedule ballooned to 160 as various cast and crew were stricken with illnesses and infection from all of the time spent in ice-cold water in a bizarre turn of events Cameron and several others were poisoned by an irate crew member who spiked their food with the hardcore drug PCP causing further delays 20th Century Fox executives began to panic as production costs soared near the unprecedented 200 million dollar mark and the film's runtime threatened to exceed three hours which would lead to fewer screenings through it all Cameron girly refused any and all suggestions to trim expenses or scenes and in the end the 195 minute film ended up costing well more than 1 million dollars per minute of screen time of course the suits at Fox ended up grateful they hadn't pulled the plug when Titanic proceeded to annihilate every box office record but they could be forgiven for sweating a little during production the most expensive film ever made at the time Cameron finally brought Titanic in for just over 200 million dollars or about 305 million in today's dollars.
2- Pirates of the carribean: AT worled’s end 354M$
When Pirates of the Caribbean curse of the Black Pearl was released in 2003 film goers were understandably a bit skeptical about a big-budget pirate adventure which had historically not done well in modern Hollywood based on a theme park attraction Disneyland's iconic Pirates of the Caribbean ride but director Gore Verbinski whose success with 2002's the ring had made him a hot property delivered an entertaining ride and Johnny Depp's portrayal of the wisecracking Captain Jack Sparrow made audiences fall in love with the character overnight the film was a surprise box-office smash meaning that sequels were in short order with the next two installments Dead Man's Chest and at World's End being shot back-to-back the two films were given separate budgets and although the 225 million dollars set aside for Dead Man's Chest was nothing to sneeze at at World's End became the most expensive film of all time upon its release in 2007 its 300 million dollar budget would translate to an astonishing 354 million in today's dollars but it's rain would only last for years and it would be unseated by its sequel on.
1-Pirates of the carribean on stranger tides 412M$
Stranger Tides arrived as the first Pirates of the Caribbean film not to be directed by Gore Verbinski and also absent were series regulars Orlando Bloom and here in Knightley and while critics weren't terribly impressed audiences were absolutely thrilled reviews took the film to task for serious writing problems and the absence of Verbinski's sure-handed presences director was noted but Johnny Depp's charismatic presence and the film's eye-popping spectacle won over moviegoers in spite of the film's mixed reviews on Stranger Tides shattered all kinds of box-office records upon its release and it's a good thing because it took an absurd amount of money to bring to the screen the 106 day shoot employed state-of-the-art 3d cameras similar to those used to shoot James Cameron's superior technological achievement avatar which incidentally is the highest-grossing film ever by a wide margin 10 different visual effects houses contributed to the movies 1112 CGI assisted scenes and Disney pulled out all of the stops to ensure that on Stranger Tides would be a feast for the eyes on par with Cameron's reigning box-office champ the strategy paid off on Stranger Tides raked in over a billion dollars at the worldwide box office and is currently the 25th highest grossing film of all time but it's also by far the most expensive adjusted for today's dollars it cost an unbelievable 412 million dollars to bring to the screen.
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