Blockbuster movies take a tremendous amount of time, work and, most of all, money. When it comes to cash, the following movies had no expense spared. Here are the 10 most expensive movies ever made.
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides – $378.5 Million
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was the fourth instalment of the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. It might have cost an incredible $37.8 million, but it created a whopping $1.046 billion at the box office!
Why was it so expensive? It was the first film in the series to be released in both Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D formats. Ten companies were also involved is the movie’s digital format. Inflated production costs therefore resulted in the movie becoming the most expensive film ever made to date.
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $300 Million
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was the most successful film of 2007, and despite the production cost of $300 million, it took home $960 million worldwide at the box office. At the time of its release, it was the most expensive film ever made, until it was overtaken by the series’ fourth instalment, mentioned above.
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron – $279.9 Million
With a cast that comprises of Robert Downey Jr., Mark Ruffalo and Scarlett Johansson, Avengers: Age of Ultron was bound to be an expensive movie. Following on from the huge success of The Avengers, the sequel, and eleventh instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), was bound to be bigger and better than any of superhero movies in film.
Costing $279.9 million, making it the third most expensive movie ever, it was a box office smash, grossing $633 million worldwide. That’s a pretty fantastic return on an investment!
4. John Carter – $263.7 Million
John Carter has been hailed as one of the biggest movie flops of all time. Not just because it was a pretty terrible movie, but because it cost a $263.7 million and only grossed $284.1 million – and that doesn’t even include the $350 million in marketing costs.
Paul Dergarabedian, the president of Hollywood.com, commented: “John Carter’s bloated budget would have required it to generate worldwide ticket sales of $600 million to break even – a height reached by only 63 films in the history of movie making”.
5. Tangled – $260 Million
Tangled, based on the Walt Disney Pictures animation based on the German fairytale ‘Rapunzel’, spent six years in production ans so cost an estimated $260 million to make.
It is therefore the most expensive animation movie of all time, and the fourth most expensive film ever. After its release in 2010, the film went onto make $591 million in box office revenue.
6. Spider-Man 3 – $258 Million
Many have criticised Spider-Man 3, viewing it as the worst movie in the trilogy. Despite its mixed reviews, the film grossed $890.8 million at the box office and is therefore the most successful film in the series.
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – $250 Million
The wonderful world of Harry Potter captured minds, imagination and, more importantly, plenty of pocket money across the globe. Adored by millions of people across the world, it made millions at the box office, grossing an estimated $934.4 million – and so it is the 28th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide.
8. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – $250 Million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince might have made a ton of money at the box office, but The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies took a whole lot more – and cost the same amount to make! The third and final instalment of the epic fantasy film made $955.1 million, and so surpassed The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers – and it is therefore the 26th highest grossing film of all time.
9. Avatar – $237 Million
James Cameron doesn’t do things by halves, so you just know Avatar cost a significant amount of money. A massive $237 million, to be exact. The film, which was supposed to head into production after Cameron’s 1997 movie Titanic, was halted as the technology necessary to create the sci-fi movie did not exist, and so Cameron would not be able to achieve his vision for the movie.
The screenplay was written back in 2006 and is estimated to have cost $237 million, but other estimates have placed production costs between $280 million and $310 million. It also cost $150 million in marketing.
The production cost paid off, as the movie grossed an estimated $2,788 billion at the box office. That’s right, we said billion! It therefore broke several box office records and easily became the highest grossing film of all time – surpassing Cameron’s Titanic. It was also the first film in the world to gross over $2 billion. Sheesh!
10. The Dark Knight Rises – $230 Million
The Dark Knight Rises received critical acclaim upon its release, with many stating it as one of the best movies of 2012. With underground prisons, batplanes and batcopters, it was bound to cost a lot – and so many won’t be surprised it cost $230 million to make.
Just like The Dark Knight, the movie grossed over $1 billion – in fact, it made a total of 1.084 billion. It is now the 12th highest grossing film of all time, and the third highest-grossing superhero movie ever.
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