Every Hollywood studio wants to make a ton of money on their releases. And, as everyone knows, sometimes you have to spend money to make money. That’s the philosophy behind the excessive budgets of these ten movies, the ten most expensive films ever made!
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
The genuinely excellent 2017 space opera Star Wars: The Last Jedi cost $300 million to make. Interestingly, that makes it the least expensive of the sequel trilogy. It also grossed an eye-watering $1.3 billion. Despite what a very vocal minority of people who hate good movies say on the internet, The Last Jedi is also the best entry in the franchise.
Avengers: Infinity War
The penultimate entry of the Infinity Saga cost $325 million to make. And that makes a lot of sense! It’s stuffed with huge group battles, over-the-top CG shots, and tons of exotic locations. It also made over $2 billion at the box office, so Disney’s big swing clearly paid off. People really like extravagant superhero movies!
Fast X
Strangely enough, Fast X cost $340 million to make. That’s a bit surprising, given the somewhat more grounded nature of the Fast and the Furious franchise when compared to the likes of Star Wars and Marvel. Still, it raked in $700 million, so it was certainly a success.
Avatar: The Way of Water
James Cameron’s extremely delayed Avatar sequel cost the studio an astonishing $350 million to make. That cost was well worth it, though, as the visually stunning movie is easily one of the best-looking sci-fi films ever made. It also earned $2.32 billion, making it the third highest-grossing movie of all time.
Avengers: Endgame
Believe it or not, Endgame cost more to make than Avatar 2. That’s got a lot to do with the fees of its A-list ensemble cast, but it also reflects the massive costs of the numerous CGI shots in the film. It also took in $2.7 billion, making it one of the most profitable movies of all time.
Avengers: Age of Ultron
It’s perhaps even more surprising that Age of Ultron cost more than Endgame than it costing more than Avatar 2. While Age of Ultron did well at the box office, it’s usually considered the weakest Avengers entry, which makes that price tag sting all the more for Disney.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
The fourth Pirates movie didn’t do what Disney wanted it to. It cost $379 million to make and only took in $241 million in the US, not even recouping its costs. It’s easy to see why the studio put the franchise on ice after that box office disaster.
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
While The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi were amazing, the third entry in the new trilogy was unfortunately a steaming pile of bantha poodoo. It cost an astonishing $416 million to make. It wasn’t a box office bomb, despite what some naysayers will claim, having earned $1 billion—but it definitely underperformed compared to Disney’s expectations.
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Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom
Fallen Kingdom is far and away the most expensive movie Universal has ever greenlit, costing a baffling $432 million to make. It was panned by critics but still managed to take home over $1 billion, just like The Rise of Skywalker. It turns out that critics and audiences don’t always agree!
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Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Even after nearly a decade, Star Wars: The Force Awakens remains the most expensive movie ever made at $533 million. And for good reason! It’s a visually stunning space opera that kicks off the new era of the long-running franchise in style. It’s a phenomenal entry in the franchise and far, far better than Sequel haters would have you believe. It also managed to bring in a truly incomprehensible $2 billion at the box office.
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