The cost of producing a film isn't usually cheap. All the expenses of building sets, constructing props, creating special effects, and paying the salaries of actors, directors, producers, and crew quickly add up. Other aspects also included in the production cost are the costs of lodging, transportation, and food for everyone involved in the project.

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Movies made with a small budget can sometimes be a huge success. For example, the 1979 film Mad Max cost only $400,000 to produce but ended up earning $100 million at the box office. Movies with high production cost either flop and make less than their budget, or turn out to be incredibly successful.

Updated on December 20th, 2022 by Mayra García: Amidst expensive and long franchises, cinema has changed plenty in the last few years, especially when it comes to budget. Recently, with the premiere of Avatar: The Way of Water, the status quo of most expensive films has changed, as it became the fourth most expensive movie ever.

15 The Force Awakens Completely Multiplied Its Budget

$259 Million

Rey Skywalker In Star Wars looking determined in a desert

The first installment of Star Wars' third trilogy, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens sets the ground for Rey's adventures in the Skywalker Saga. The film, set 30 years after Return of the Jedi, cost around $259 million but grossed $2 billion worldwide.

It isn't really surprising that The Force Awakens got as much money as it did. The film was the first Skywalker Saga film in many years, which had the fans completely hyped for the film. In fact, the film sold a record-breaking $6.5 million worth of pre-sale tickets in a single day.

14 A Great Deal Of The Lion King's Budget Went To VFX Production

$260 Million

Simba and Mufasa in the Lion King (2019)

Directed by Jon Favreau, The Lion King is a new version of Disney's 1994 classic that stars Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, and Chiwetel Ejiofor, among others. Like the original film, it follows Simba as he becomes the new leader of his pride. According to official Disney records, The Lion King's overall budget was $260 million.

The Lion King's main budget concern was its visual effects. Since the film is a live-action version of a previously animated film with no humans, it obviously depended mainly on its CGI. Of course, Disney didn't disappoint. The film has an incredibly realistic vibe thanks to its VFX team.

13 Tangled Is The Most Expensive Animated Film Ever Made

$260 Million

Flynn Rider and Rapunzel watching the lanterns, Tangled

Based on Rapunzel, Tangled stands out from other animated films thanks to its combination of CGI and 2D animation, together with non-photorealistic rendering. This mixed technique gives it a beautiful aesthetic, which looks a lot like a painting.

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Tangled, which spent six years in production before finally arriving in theaters, had a budget of $260 million. This amount makes it the most expensive animated film ever made. The film managed to double its budget. It made $592 million at the box office all over the world.

12 Mark Hamill Made Around $2 Million For His Role In The Last Jedi

$262 Million

Luke Skywalker dies peacefully in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi is the eighth installment of the Skywalker Saga. The film, in which Rey looks for Luke Skywalker so he can return to the Resistance, was directed by Rian Johnson. It made $1.3 billion worldwide, which made it the highest-grossing movie of 2017.

Out of its $262 million budget, The Last Jedi used only around $2 million to pay Mark Hamill, who reprised his role as Luke Skywalker. This is considerably less than Harrison Ford got for the previous film, which was between $10 and $20 million, before bonuses.

11 Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice Makes Superhero History

$263 Million

Batman Charges At Superman In Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice made history, as it's the first live-action film to feature Batman and Superman simultaneously. It is also the first instance of a live-action portrayal of Wonder Woman, who is played by Gal Gadot. Dawn Of Justice's production cost was around $300 million, and it earned almost $900 million at the box office.

Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice had a strong opening weekend, but it quickly went downhill from there. Despite its history-making concepts, this film, unfortunately, garnered negative reviews from critics. As of 2022, neither Cavill nor Affleck are set to reprise their roles after the DCEU revamp.

10 John Carter Is One Of The Biggest Box Office Failures

$264 Million

Taylor Kitsch as John Carter and Lynn Collins as Dejah Thoris in 2012's John Carter.

Disney's 2012 sci-fi action film, titled John Carter, is one of the biggest bombs in box office history. John Carter cost Disney around $300 million to make, and it only earned $284 million at the box office. While the musical score and some visuals of John Carter appeal to viewers, the film lacks a clear plotline.

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The film adaptation of John Carter, a fictional veteran of the American Civil War and space explorer, had been in the works since the 1930s, but it never came to fruition until 2012. It's no wonder Disney canceled plans for a sequel and even a trilogy, considering how badly John Carter failed.

9 Star Wars: Rise Of The Skywalker Is Lowest-Grossing From Disney Trilogy

$275 Million

Rey and Kylo Ren with their lightsabers in promotionals for Star Wars: Rise Of The Skywalker

Star Wars: Rise Of The Skywalker holds the position for the lowest-grossing Star Wars film in the Disney trilogy. Rise Of The Skywalker made $1.078 billion at the box office with a $275 million budget. Its earnings fall behind The Last Jedi at $1.3 billion and the Force Awakens at $2.06 billion.

Rise Of The Skywalker was only the seventh highest-grossing film of 2019, behind films like Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, and Frozen II. Despite being a box office failure, Rise Of The Skywalker was still nominated for three Academy Awards.

8 The Reshoots Of Solo: A Star Wars Story Cost A Ton

$275 Million

Alden Ehrenreish as Han Solo piloting a ship in Solo: A Star Wars Story

Solo: A Star Wars Story closely follows the backstory of Han Solo 10 years before the events of the original Star Wars trilogy. Solo remains the most expensive Star Wars film ever made, but unfortunately the lowest-grossing. The budget of almost $300 million is largely due to the firing of original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller for their creative differences with Lucasfilm.

Ron Howard was hired after their termination, and he reshot over 80% of what the production crew under Lord and Miller had already filmed. Solo only earned almost $400 million at the box office and was deemed a failure.

7 Justice League Didn't Make Much Of Their Budget Back

$300 Million

The Flash, Superman, Cyborg, Wonder Woman, Batman, and Aquaman in the original Justice League film

The 2017 Justice League, proved that not only Marvel superhero films cost a fortune to produce. Justice League cost around $300 million to produce, with $25 million of the cost being the reshoots Joss Whedon did when he hopped into the production team. Zack Snyder exited as the director of Justice League after his daughter tragically passed away in 2017, which led to his replacement with Whedon.

Snyder still received the director credit, and his version of Justice League was released on HBO Max in March 2021. Justice League didn't do so hot at the box office and earned mixed reviews from critics.

6 Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End Earned Depp Another $55 Million

$300 Million

Keira Knightley, Johnny Deep and Orlando Bloom in promotionals for Pirates of the Caribbean At World's End

Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End was the priciest movie ever made at the time of its release in 2007. It is the third installment in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, which follows the pirate crew of the Black Pearl. Despite its record-breaking budget, At World's End was the highest-grossing film in 2007, making around $900 million at the box office.

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Depp's reprisal of Captain Jack Sparrow earned him around $55 million for At World's End alone. His total earnings for the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise total over $300 million. "Basically, if they're going to pay me the stupid money right now, I'm going to take it. I have to. I mean, it's not for me. It's for my kids," reveals Depp in a November 2011 issue of Vanity Fair.

5 The Simultaneous Filming Of Avengers: Infinity War And Avengers: Endgame Cost $450,000 A Day

$325 Million

Chris Evans as Captain America in Wakanda in Avengers: Infinity War

Avengers: Infinity War held the record for the highest-grossing superhero film until the release of Avengers: Endgame. It raked in $2.048 billion at the box office, but not without a price. The Russo brothers revealed in an interview with Sway's Universe that the daily cost to produce Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame simultaneously was around $450,000 a day.

However, their combined total at the box office was around $4 billion. Production costs again include the salaries of several A-list actors, along with paying the production team for numerous CGI shots for Infinity War.

4 Avatar: The Way Of Water Was Filmed At The Same Time As Avatar 3

$350 Million

Avatar: The Way of Water: Jake Sully and Neytiri in a huddle with their children.

13 years after Avatar broke records, Avatar: The Way Of Water follows the lives of Jake Sully and Neytiri a decade after the end of the first movie. Cameron's work has been known for its extreme budgets. After Titanic and Avatar, The Way Of Water is his most expensive film yet with a budget of at least $350 million.

The film was filmed simultaneously with its unnamed sequel, which explains its cost. But, additionally, it makes sense considering Avatar's franchise nature. Not only its mostly filmed through performance capture, but the crew developed new technology so they could do the same underwater. Cameron is clearly interested in putting this franchise in the history books.

3 Robert Downey Jr. Earned $75 Million For Avengers: Endgame

$356 Million

The female Avengers' run at Thanos, emphasis on Nebula and Gamora

If fans thought RBJ's salary was astronomical in Age Of Ultron, he was paid an enormous $75 million in Marvel's Avengers: Endgame. His superhero co-stars, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, and Chris Evans, earned around $15 million each for their roles in Endgame.

The CGI shots also led to Endgame's expensive budget, and viewers see the hard work by the amount of detail put in for Thanos. Avengers: Endgame has been at war for the highest-grossing film position with Avatar since its 2019 release. It earned $2.797 billion at the box office, taking the record until the rerelease of Avatar in China in March 2021. After a whole new MCU Phase, Endgame remains the best MCU film so far.

2 The Final Battle Scene Of Avengers: Age Of Ultron Cost Millions

$365 Million

The OG Avengers In A Age Of Ultron Promotional

It's no surprise that a superhero movie or two would land a spot on the most expensive film production costs in history. Avengers: Age Of Ultron is the 2015 sequel to Marvel's 2012 The Avengers film. Robert Downey Jr.'s net worth is pretty close to Tony Stark's, as he was paid $40 million to reprise his role as Iron Man in Age Of Ultron alone.

RDJ is often one of the highest-paid actors in Marvel films, but his salary isn't the only reason why the film's budget skyrocketed. The CGI robots and the CGI for the final battle scene of Age Of Ultron took a great chunk of this money, as they cost millions.

1 Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Is The Most Expensive Film In History

$410 Million

Promotional for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides including Johnny Deep, Penelope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush and Ian McShane

Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides holds the highest film production cost in history. This is the fourth film in the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise, which stars Johnny Depp in his familiar role as the drunken pirate, for which he received around $55 million.

On Strangers Tides had a production crew of almost 1,000 people, partly due to the recruitment of 10 visual effect companies for 1,112 CGI shots throughout the film. Given the CGI work together with the salary of its cast, the film's budget ascended during filming.

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