It's no secret that superhero blockbusters are the buck-bringers of cinema. Four out of the ten highest-grossing films of all time are comic book movies—each bringing in billions of dollars at the box office. But where ticket sales lead, a big production budget usually follows.
While the size of a film's budget isn't necessarily indicative of its success, it can at least afford a greater chance of providing the intended experience for its dedicated audience. And as the demand for comic book movies grows, whether it be from Marvel or DC or somewhere similar, it's no wonder these types of films cost a fortune to produce.
5 'Spider-Man 3' Used To Be The Most Expensive Film Ever Made
Sam Raimi's final Spider-Man film was made on an estimated production budget of $258 million—which, at the time of its release in 2007—was the most expensive budget for any film ever made. Spider-Man 3 also set the single-day record for 'fastest-grossing film' at the box office on its first Friday, breaking that record again on Saturday to earn $104 million and $117 million, respectively.
Up until 2019, Spider-Man 3 was also the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie ever made, bringing in $895 million at the box office—overtaken only by Far From Home, which accumulated over $1 billion during its theatrical run.
4 'Batman v Superman' Set Multiple Records At The Box Office
Directed by Zack Snyder, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice accumulated $873 million at the box office against a production budget of $263 million. The first live-action film to feature both Batman and Superman, as well as the first cinematic portrayal of Wonder Woman, Dawn of Justice premiered in Mexico City on March 19, 2016.
At the time of its release, Dawn of Justice was the fifth-biggest movie of all time—grossing $422 million worldwide during its first weekend, which made it the fourth film to cross a global opening of $400 million. During its second weekend, Dawn of Justice experienced a "historic" box-office drop, declining by 81.2% and making it one of the biggest Friday-to-Friday drops of all time.
3 'Justice League' Barely Broke Even At The Box Office
A direct follow-up to Batman v Superman, Joss Whedon's poor attempt to reconstruct Zack Snyder's Justice League cost an estimated $300 million to produce, making it the fifth most expensive film ever made—shared in place by Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy-finisher, At World's End. Against a break-even point of $750 million, Justice League grossed $657 million worldwide, losing $60 million for Warner Bros. and subsequently becoming a 'box office bomb'.
The film debuted on November 17, 2017 with a worldwide opening total of $278 million (after being projected to gross $325–355 million, globally). In 2018, Forbes credited Justice League's failure at the box office to Joss Whedon, whose direction and post-production management saught to 'undo' Zack Snyder's vision in an attempt to reach a higher demographic—which, in turn, subsequently alienated its own established core audience. In the wake of its release, fans began to push for a 'Snyder Cut,' which was eventually released on HBO Max in March of 2021.
2 'Infinity War' & 'Endgame' Share The Largest Collective Production Budget
Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame are the 19th and 22nd chapters of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Employing the use of new camera technology forwarded by The Arri Group, Infinity War and Endgame are the first feature films to be shot entirely in digital IMAX. Both movies are directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, who previously helmed the second and third installments of Captain America—The Winter Soldier (2014) and Civil War (2016).
Infinity War and Endgame were shot back-to-back beginning on January 23, 2017, breaking in July, resuming in August, and concluding on January 11, 2018. Cumulatively, they share the largest production budget of any [two-part] movie ever made, costing $681 million in total with singular production budgets of $325 million and $356 million for Infinity War and Endgame, respectively. Between May 4, 2019, and March 13, 2021, Endgame held the title for 'highest-grossing film of all time' with a worldwide total of $2.798 billion. This would be latterly superseded and 'reclaimed' by the previous highest-grosser, Avatar, after a re-release in Chinese territories.
1 'Avengers: Age Of Ultron' Is The Most Expensive Comic Book Movie Ever Made
Releasing on May 1, 2015, Avengers: Age of Ultron amassed $1.4 billion at the box office against a production budget of $365 million. This made it the most expensive comic book movie ever made and the second most expensive film ever made—right behind Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' production budget of $379 million.
At the time of its release, Age of Ultron was the fifth highest-grossing film of all time since dropping to twelfth place as of March 2022, behind Frozen II and Furious 7. Premiering on April 13, 2015, Age of Ultron served as the second last film in Phase Two of the MCU, receiving generally positive reviews from critics and audiences alike.