15 most expensive films ever made

Over the last decade, budgets for the most expensive films have reached unbelievable levels. It’s not uncommon to see a film eclipse $200 million these days, something almost unheard of just a few years ago. These big budgets show that studios bet big on franchise films that they know are sure to make a lot of money at the box office. However, some films with huge budgets end up being huge failures.

Different sources offer different figures for a film’s budget, so it can sometimes be difficult to determine exactly how much a particular film costs. Industry experts can make educated guesses, but tax incentives, accounting tricks, and conflicting stories mean that most movie budgets aren’t accurate. However, bigger budgets attract more attention, so people can be pretty confident when analyzing the most expensive film of all time. Some studios bet big and lose, but most films with budgets greater than $200 million or $300 million become big hits.

15

The Wonders (2023)

US$274.8 million

The MCU has consistently made some of the most expensive films in the world for years, but it has such an immense global fanbase that these big budgets are completely justified. Despite their high prices, Marvel films can generally be trusted to generate a healthy profit, but The wonders is a rare exception to this rule, and raised just US$199.7 million. There are many theories as to why The wonders suffered at the box office, from the SAG-AFTRA strikes that hampered promotion to the lack of A-list superheroes on display.

14

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

US$275 million

Just like the MCU, the Star Wars the franchise also spends money, knowing that it will typically get a healthy return on investment. Majority Star Wars films perform well at the box office and The Rise of Skywalker It was no different, grossing US$1.07 billion at the box office. This enormous commercial success is hampered by the mediocre reception that The Rise of Skywalker received from critics and fans of the franchise. After The Last Jedi took things in a controversial new direction, The Rise of Skywalker it seemed to go backwards without creating any interesting original ideas.

13

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

US$280.2 million

Disney’s first standalone Star Wars the film expanded the franchise in new ways and was a huge critical and commercial success. Its $1.05 billion box office returns and its 84% ​​score on Rotten Tomatoes illustrates its appeal. Almost a decade later, it’s still arguably the best Star Wars Disney-era film. Rogue One follows a group of rebels, all characters never seen before on the big screen, as they attempt to infiltrate an Imperial base to extract schematics for the Death Star. This entertaining heist story leads directly to A New Hopeand also fixes one of the franchise’s biggest plot holes in the process.

12

Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

US$290 million

THE Mission: Impossible the franchise has gotten better and better over the years. Tom Cruise performed more daring stunts, the action scenes became more creative and the stakes consistently increased. This culminated in the most expensive film in the franchise Reckoning, part one. THE US$566 million gross box office would be a huge success for most films, but was a slight disappointment for Mission: Impossible. Part of its poor performance can be attributed to the fact that it faced so much Barbie and Oppenheimer at the summer box office. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning it will likely have a similar or even larger budget.

11

Justice League (2017)

US$300 million

DC movies rarely have budgets as big as the MCU, so Justice League is a rare exception. However, Justice Leaguebox office gross of US$665.9 million shows that DC still can’t compete with the MCU in terms of profit. While the film offered the chance to see DC’s biggest heroes come together, it was marred by negative reviews, and a 39% score on Rotten Tomatoes may have turned off potential audiences. Soon calls began for the release of the so-called “Snyder Cut”, an extended version of the Justice League which was released in 2021 to a more positive response.

10

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

US$300 million

Avengers: Infinity War has been famously labeled as the most ambitious crossover event in cinematic history. The MCU’s most prestigious superhero team was joined by dozens of other popular characters, including the Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man, and Black Panther. Marvel bet everything Infinity Warand this bet yielded US$2.05 billion. This makes it one of the highest-grossing films of all time and it also received positive reviews from critics. Infinity War It’s everything a big-budget blockbuster should be. It offers enjoyable entertainment and eye-popping spectacle.

9

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)

US$300 million

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End is something of an exception among the most expensive films ever made because it is the only film near the top that was made before 2010. It set a new record for the biggest budget of all time by a considerable margin, but At the end of the world grossed US$961 million at the box officeshowing that Disney was wise to support him. After two equally popular films in the franchise, At the end of the world He was always expected to do well. Its lackluster critical reception continued the franchise’s downward trajectory, but had little impact on how audiences responded to it.

8

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

US$330.4 million

Solo: A Star Wars Story was famously plagued by behind-the-scenes problems, with Ron Howard replacing Phil Lord and Christopher Miller as director midway through production. Soil also struggled at the box office, earning just $393 millionwhich represents a detrimental loss when marketing and distribution costs are considered. It’s Disney’s lowest-grossing film Star Wars film from some distance, and forced the studio to reevaluate the future of the Star Wars franchise. Several projects have been shelved or turned into TV shows for Disney+. The franchise is preparing to return to theaters once again.

7

Fast X (2023)

US$340 million

THE Fast and Furious The franchise has consistently generated huge profits for decades, and as a result, budgets have been steadily increasing. Fast came with the franchise’s biggest budget yet, but its Box office return of US$714.5 million It was a kind of disappointment. For comparison purposes, the last film in the franchise before the pandemic, The fate of the furious, made over $1.2 billion on a much smaller budget. With Fast and Furious 11 arriving in 2025, the budget will likely be similar to that of Fast X, with many renowned actors and explosive stunts to pay off.

6

Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

US$365 million

The second Avengers the film had a much larger budget than the first, although it grossed slightly less at the box office. Age of Ultron earned a healthy US$1.4 billionproving that 2012 The Avengers it wasn’t by chance. Age of Ultron It also took a slight step down with critics, though its 76% Rotten Tomatoes score is nothing to be ashamed of. Much worse films have made more money at the box office, so it wouldn’t be entirely sensible to attribute the drop in profit to the drop in quality. However, Age of Ultron stands out as a relatively low point in the Avengers franchise.

5

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

US$379 million

After Pirates of the Caribbean broke the record for most expensive film of all time with 2007 In the world‘to send, the franchise did the same once again in 2011 In strange tides. Once again, the film was met with a huge box office and mediocre critical response. On strange tides continued the franchise’s downward spiral with critics, and is also the first Pirates of the Caribbean have a bad audience score on Rotten tomatoes. This did not greatly harm the film’s commercial prospects, as On strange tides earned US$ 1.05 billion at the global box office.

4

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

US$400 million

After Infinity War made a lot of money with a big budget, End of the game upped the ante once again. The most expensive Marvel movie of all time was a huge box office success, grossing $2.75 billion. This may have set the bar too high for the MCU, as recent comments about “superhero fatigue” have invariably compared box office numbers to the studio’s biggest hits before the pandemic. End of the game it was $400 million well spent for Disney, although considering the history of the MCU, it was hardly a gamble.

3

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

US$402.3 million

Indiana Jones and the Fate Dial was the first film in the franchise in 15 years, so it was a bold gamble to give it a budget twice as big as Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Still, Disney could reasonably expect Fate Display perform much better at the box office than before, as grossed just $383.9 millionwhich is about half of what Kingdom of the Crystal Skull done. Fate Display is set much later than others Indiana Jones films, but retreads the same territory, with Indy fighting the Nazis for a powerful ancient artifact. With its lack of originality, some bland action scenes and gratuitous use of CGI de-aging, Fate Display It ended up being an expensive mess.

2

Avatar: The Path of Water (2022)

US$460 million

After the first avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time, it’s a little surprising that it took so long for a sequel to appear. James Cameron has been one of the most consistently successful directors in terms of box office revenue, and Avatar: The Path of Water continued this trend with a seismic fundraising of US$2.3 billion. The next Avatar: Fire and Ash may have a final budget of around $250 million, according to reports, but it has a reasonable chance of earning the same amount. There are a total of three avatar films currently in development.

1

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

US$533.2 million

Disney ushered in the new era of Star Wars franchise with the most expensive film of all time, and it could be a long time before that record is broken. The Force Awakens It’s a triumphant return for many loved ones Star Wars characters, and the plot also recalls elements from the original trilogy, with a masked villain and a planet-destroying weapon. However, The Force Awakens it also introduces the new characters that carry the franchise into the future. The Force Awakens combined nostalgia with some cutting edge effects to spectacular effect, earning US$2.05 billion at the box office. It remains the highest grossing Star Wars film from afar.