THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE HOLLYWOOD MOVIES EVER MADE

THE 10 MOST EXPENSIVE HOLLYWOOD MOVIES EVER MADE

Ever wondered what is the most expensive movie ever made? Whereas the average Hollywood film costs around $100 million to produce, the expenditures of the top 10 most expensive movies exceeded a whopping $300 million, adjusted for inflation.

Producing a Hollywood blockbuster is not for the faint of heart – or the shallow of pocket. They can make billions at the box office, but production costs can quickly diminish profits. From Johnny Depp's rumored $55 million salary for his role in the Pirates of The Caribbean:

On Stranger Tides to the $40 million budget spent on special effects like computer-generated water in Titanic, it's no surprise that expenses can rapidly mount up.

But, to win big, you gotta spend big, right? For Captain Jack Sparrow to travel to the world's end to find the legendary fountain of youth, for young wizard Harry Potter to defeat the evil Lord Voldemort, or for Jack to paint Rose like one of his French girls, producers just couldn't make do with any less than $300 million.

So, what is the highest-budget movie in Hollywood? Conducting this list, we adjusted the costs to inflation to get the most accurate picture of not only the most expensive movies but the most expensive movies ever made as of 2022.

Here are the most expensive Hollywood movies ever made.

10. Avatar (2009)

Cost of production: $237 million

Box office: $2.847 billion

After a directorial run-up lasting 12 years, James Cameron took the risk with his digitally-created new world. Hiring WETA for special effects and using super-sleek 3D took the medium of cinema to the next level; it isn't surprising this movie didn't come cheap. Ninety hours went into the production of every single frame for the movie, of which there were a whopping 24 per second, creating cutting-edge CGI like never before.

Let's not forget that creating a new language and teaching it to over 100 actors, hiring big names and fantastic, well-established scriptwriters, and producing the technology for 3D glasses added to the already huge production costs. And to think that we once hyperventilated with astonishment at the realness of Jurassic Park's dinosaurs. But at least in Avatar's case.

9. Waterworld (1995)

Cost of production: $175 million

Box office: $264.2 million.

Kevin Costner lived on a trimaran in the middle of the ocean that was once Earth before all the ice caps melted, and dry land became a distant memory...Much like Hollywood blockbusters that cost less than $200 million. At the time, the Costner-starring flick of 1995 would have been at the top of the most expensive movie ever produced

Costner invested over $20 million of his personal funds into the film, for which shooting took place aboard a gigantic 400-foot diameter atoll. That was specifically built for production somewhere off the coast of Hawaii. Unfortunately, the spectacular 1000-ton floating set also swallowed much of the movie's budget – given that it required aerial filming via seaplanes and helicopters. Not to mention three huge hurricanes that sank the entire set. Whoever was on the weather lookout duty at the time failed spectacularly at their job.

8. John Carter (2012)

Cost of production: $263.7million (+ $42.9 million on tax)

Cost adjusted to inflation: $339 million

Box office: $284.1 million

The cost of John Carter was – with no better way to say it – ridiculous. It left Disney around $200 million out of pocket, making it the company's biggest flop. Rich Ross – the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios – resigned just a month after the movie was released. At the same time, Disney lost the rights to produce the rest of Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc.'s back catalog.

Furthermore, director Stanton began shooting the movie with Taylor Kitsch as the eponymous lead. But, thanks to various problems in post-production, Stanton was forced to shoot much of the movie twice – which soon made the budget spiral out of control. In fact, John Carter would've had to make around $600 million just to break even. It didn't even come close.

7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2015)

Cost of production: $250 million

Cost adjusted to inflation: $345 million

Box office: $934.5 million

It isn't surprising that Warner Bros. was willing to put up as many millions as needed to bring the Harry Potter series to the big screen. What is surprising, however, is that The Half-Blood Prince was the most expensive Harry Potter sequel. First, it was the least favored film by fans and critics alike (yep, money doesn't always make a film better). Rumor has it that director Yates initially tried some pretty experimental stuff before being forced to scale it back post-production.

Moreover, by 2009, the franchise's stars had already become huge names in Hollywood, and their salaries reflected just that. Still, $275 million for a Harry Potter film is probably one of the safest investments Warner Bros. could have made. And the results prove it: $302 million domestically and $632 million overseas worldwide totaled $934 million at the box office.

6. Tangled (2010)

Cost of production: $260 million

Cost adjusted to inflation: $353 million

Box office: $592.4 million

To be honest, I wouldn't have guessed Tangled to appear on this list of the most expensive movies ever made. And here's why - it took about ten years of multiple aborted attempts at the movie, each of which got pretty far in before they scrapped everything and started again.

First, much of the budget included redesigning versions of previously-attempted flick Rapunzel, dating back to 2000, that were never produced. Secondly, extensive research was done to develop the animation process that allowed the CGI to evoke some of the qualities of traditional hand-drawn Disney characters. Animating all of that blonde hair must've been quite the ordeal. Entertaining but rather forgettable Disney animation that in no way earned its colossal budget. Despite this, Tangled eventually bagged a profit when it was released, but it's still pretty mind-boggling how much cash they spent on this one.

5. Justice League (2017)

Cost of production: $300 million

Box office: $657.9 million

Justice League was an attempt by Warner Bros. to create their own version of The Avengers. Unfortunately, the production of the superhero genre demands a lot of cash, and for Justice League, production costs didn't outweigh the profits, partially as its production suffered several hiccups during filming.

First of all, Zack Snyder, with the primary vision for Justice League, had to step down due to the death of his daughter, August Snyder, which meant several reshoots followed. Taken over by Joss Whedon, the color temperature had to be adjusted, leading to high post-production costs. Moreover, as the studio didn't want to delay the production, everything had to be done at speed. Once released, box office earnings were disappointing, and reviews were poor.

The question of whether the original version would have been less costly or not remains unanswered, however, as a great deal of people were interested in Synder’s original version, Warner Bros. announced its re-release. So, some more editing and an extra $70 mil later, the improved Zack Snyder's Justice League, also referred to as the “Snyder Cut,” was released on HBO Max in 2021, becoming 4th most watched show on the platform.

4. Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Cost of production: $258 million

Box office: $894.9 million

When the original Spider-Man movie was released in 2002, it cost "only" $139 million to produce. After which, they just started throwing money at the franchise…with its third sequel Spiderman 3, costing nearly double that. Unfortunately, making expensive flagship superhero sequels is no small or simple feat. Production for the movie dragged on into late summer, whereas it had been scheduled to conclude in June. On top of that, there were the considerable CGI costs, web-slinging set pieces, A-lister salaries, and – of course – marketing and promotion expenses.

Spidey 2 had difficulty convincing fans that an aging superhero was still living in a single bedsit, popping round to his Aunt May's house for some home-cooking before climbing into the old red-blue Spandex. After which, the studio presumably didn't have much choice on the whopping marketing budget. And unfortunately, despite the allocation of over $250 million at the time, the critical reception just didn't pay off.

3. Titanic (1997)

Cost of production: $200 million

Box office: $2.202 billion

The cost to construct the Titanic set was somewhere between $120 to $150 million alone (in 1997 dollars), adding the $40 million for visual effects. You might feel ripped off for that amount of money with anything less than the "ship of dreams."

2. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015); Avengers: Endgame (2019); Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Cost of production: $365 million

Cost adjusted to inflation: $456 million

Box office: $1.403 billion

The American superhero film Avengers, based on the Marvel Comics by Marvel Studios, is the most expensive movie franchise ever made. Three out of four Avengers' sequels are in the top 5 most expensive movies. The production budget for the original Avengers (2012) and its three sequels Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Endgame (2019), and Avengers: Infinity War (2018), totaled a whopping 1.2 billion. Age of Ultron (2015) comes first with a budget spend of $365 million.

The costs of Age Of Ultron ballooned after the cast threatened to quit if their contractual demands (read: money) weren't met. So, if they wanted all the big names back on board for the Avengers sequel, Marvel had some serious work to do. All starring A-listers were reportedly looking for at least $5 million on the table and a cut of the post-release profits. On top, there were the far-flung international locations, drone cameras, and the CGI to make the titular villain with all the nuances that Whedon wanted to capture. Everyone knows that increased CGI is never a substitute for clean writing. But, given that Age Of Ultron brought in almost $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, breaking box office records, that doesn't seem to matter. Where there's a will, there's a way, and as one of the best movie quotes from Avengers goes, " The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011); Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

Cost of production: $379 million

Cost 

Pirates of the Caribbean film series tops the list of the most expensive Hollywood movies ever produced. Despite the very agreeable box office returns, its fourth sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), was no cheap date. Its second sequel, directed by Gore Verbinski, Dead Man's Chest (2006), and the third film, At World's End (2007), cost an estimated $225 million and $300 million, respectively. On Stranger Tides landed a slot as the most expensive long shot and the highest-budget movie in Hollywood – with Jack Sparrow and Barbossa's quest costing nearly $400 million.

Regardless of the considerable production costs (and Depp's Estimated $55 million payout…), the box office-busting franchise has been an extraordinary cash cow, pulling in more than $4.5 billion. And since the first time we saw Johnny Depp parading around with beaded dreads in 2003, the Disney execs have been wading around in gold up to their armpits. So let's see what happens with its sixth, reportedly Johnny Depp-less sequel, and if the extortionate costs will pay off also without Captain Jack Sparrow.