Hollywood has always been entranced by spectacle, investing millions into creating blockbusters that aim to amuse and delight audiences even if just by scale alone. Almost since Hollywood’s conception, filmmakers have been spending big bucks to make big films; beginning with Golden Age films like Gone With the Wind, movie audiences fell for the charm of a big-budget production.
In the 1970s, blockbusters began to dominate the big screen. Films like Steven Spielberg’s Jaws and George Lucas’ Star Wars: A New Hope captivated audiences worldwide and going to the movies started to feel like even more of a phenomenon; those same filmmakers would go on to make franchises like Indiana Jones and Star Wars popular. Sequels had existed in prior years, but franchises were just starting to come into the mainstream, leading to our current movie climate where nearly every studio-backed film is part of a franchise.
These films justify their high budgets by generating profits that can be as high as billions of dollars, and while big-budget films are frequent now, some still stand out for just how insanely expensive they are. That said, as new movies come out every day, you might notice some of the usual suspects are absent from this list (Titanic surprisingly didn’t make the cut, coming in at number 11). Here are the 10 most expensive films made so far.
10. Fast X (2023)
Budget: $340 million
Box Office: $722.8 million
Starting off our list is the latest installment in the Fast and Furious film franchise, which comes in with a budget of $340 million. The newest film in the franchise is actually the first half of the finale and with a budget like that, what a grand finale it is. Like most Fast and Furious movies, Fast X is a wild ride but it is a fun one. As the series of films starring Vin Diesel comes to an end (though with nearly unlimited potential for spin-offs, it’s unlikely this is truly the end), sit back and enjoy the spectacle.
9. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Budget: $350 million
Box Office: $2.32 billion
The sequel to the immensely profitable 2009 film Avatar was first announced in 2010 but faced delays due to the film’s unprecedented nature; the crew literally had to develop new technology in order to film motion capture scenes underwater and wouldn’t begin shooting until 2017. All those delays, as well as the number of visual effects needed to pull off a film of this magnitude, means Avatar: The Way of Water was a pricey movie to make — and some reports estimate the budget was as high as $450 million. Either way, the film was an absolute smash at the box office and continues to do numbers on streaming. See you when the next one comes out in ten years!
8. Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Budget: $325 million ($379 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $2.052 billion
The first of many Disney movies on this list (spoiler: they make up most of the top spots), Avengers: Infinity War was an incredibly ambitious project, bringing together every protagonist from the entire MCU in one big blockbuster of a film. The movie is truly a spectacle, filled with action and so many moving pieces that it’s easy to get lost in it all. As one would expect of such a gigantic film, the budget for this was bonkers — and with so many big names attached, I wouldn’t be surprised if a sizable chunk of that budget was just for the actors’ paychecks.
7. Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Budget: $356 million ($407 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $2.799 billion
The second half of Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame was released a year after the prior film, likely in order to prevent people from imploding after that ending (“Mr. Stark, I don’t feel so good” still brings a tear to my eye). This film is even bigger and crazier than Infinity War, so it makes sense that it would have an even higher budget. There are a lot of moving parts in a movie this big and the finale of the first decade of MCU films was an expensive one. Endgame signified the end of an era for Marvel Studios (specifically the end of the Infinity Saga), with several of the MCU’s main heroes ending their tenure as part of the Avengers. While there have been some hits, the following Phases have lacked the writing of this earlier era — and evidently, the budgets.
6. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007)
Budget: $300 million ($423 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $961.6 million
The third film — originally intended to be the last — in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End was the most expensive film ever made at the time. After the success of The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney contracted the cast and crew for two sequels. The first two films were both largely popular with critics and general audiences, but At World’s End was a bit more polarizing. Despite mixed reviews and lower audience turnout in the North American market, the film still went on to be the highest-grossing film of 2007, thanks to its success internationally.
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Budget: $365 million ($451 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $1.403 billion
Initially, I was surprised that this film has a higher budget than both Infinity War and Endgame, but then I remembered Ultron literally lifted an entire city into the air with the goal of causing a mass extinction event and I feel like making that look real cost a ton of money. Similarly to the other films, there’s a lot of crossover and new characters being introduced here, add in all the different locations and extensive visual effects post-production, you’ll understand why Age of Ultron cost a pretty penny.
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Budget: $416 million ($476 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $1.077 billion
Hollywood loves a trilogy; so when the new Star Wars film came out in 2015, I knew it was only time before more (specifically two) followed. The Rise of Skywalker was the final film of the trilogy and despite mixed reviews, it went on to gross over $1 billion, which was still somehow less than the other two films. Having different writers and directors per each film made this a confusing trilogy, but it’s fun to look at!
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Budget: $416 million ($492 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $1.406 billion
Wow, this movie made a lot of money. This is definitely a good thing for the people behind it because the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film also cost an almost unfathomable amount of money to make. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides focuses more on Jack Sparrow with a new story and was criticized for its plot and action sequences.
That being said, critical success doesn’t necessarily relate to commercial success and the film went on to gross a ton of money in foreign markets. While the Pirates of the Caribbean films don’t seem to do as well in the U.S., their continued success internationally led to a fifth (and slightly less expensive) film.
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)
Budget: $432 million ($503 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $1.31 billion
Every theatrical film in the Jurassic Park universe is a blockbuster but this one cost the most to make. After 2015’s Jurassic World proved itself a hit, there was only one thing for the studio to do: make another one (and then another one…). Critics began to get franchise fatigue with this one but audiences were still showing up in theater suits to the tune of $1.3 billion. Was it Chris Pratt (possibly)? Was it the dinosaurs (likely)? Was it Bryce Dallas Howard (probably, she’s an angel). Whatever it is, this is one franchise that just won’t go extinct.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Budget: $447 million ($552 million in 2023 dollars)
Box Office: $2.071 billion
After the polarizing prequel trilogy, fans were a little burnt out on Star Wars. Lucasfilm’s answer was to wait ten years and introduce new characters while bringing back old favorites in an attempt to capture the nostalgia of watching Star Wars for the first time. Given the astounding box office gross, it’s safe to say the attempt worked.
Following Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, the production company began working on a new film in order to capture the hearts of new and existing fans alike. Whether the trilogy lives up to its promise is up to you, but with a profit like that, the film was fortunately worth the hefty investment. To this day, The Force Awakens is the most expensive film ever made.
