In terms of cost and box office, the movie industry has never been bigger.
In 2023 alone, two movies - Barbie and The Super Mario Bros. Movie - have eclipsed the $1 billion mark at the box office.
But, with that increased box office comes an increased expense in making movies, whether that be on the production itself, the salary of the stars or the subsequent marketing campaign to promote the film.
Currently, the most expensive movie of all time is Star Wars: The Force Awakens which was released in 2015. That cost an astonishing $447 million, with Disney banking on the passionate fanbase flocking to the cinema to make sure that money was made back easily. In the end, the movie grossed $2.07bn, so mission accomplished.
The Star Wars prequel series is prominent on our list as The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker make the top 10 also, costing $300m and $416m respectively.
In total, the trilogy cost $1.16bn to produce.
The second most expensive movie is Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom, which cost $432 million. Even though it received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, that movie grossed $1.3bn.
Every single movie in the top 10 is part of a franchise, with The Avengers, Pirates of the Caribbean, Avatar and Fast and Furious also represented.
James Cameron is responsible for the first $100m movie - True Lies - and the first $200m movie - Titanic. The first movie to cost over a million dollars to produce was Foolish Wives in 1922.
Some other major movies that were the most expensive in history at the time of its release were Ben-Hur, Cleopatra, Superman, Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Total Recall.
Which movies cost the most to make?
Movie
|
Cost
|
Star Wars: The Force Awakens |
$447m |
Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom |
$432m |
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker |
$416m |
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides |
$379m |
Avengers: Age of Ultron |
$365m |
Avengers: Endgame |
$356m |
Avatar: The Way of Water |
$350m |
Fast X |
$340m |
Avengers: Infinity War |
$325m |
Star Wars: The Last Jedi |
$300m |
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