What is the most expensive movie ever made? Top 10 films with jaw-dropping budgets

The most expensive movie ever made is Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) at $447 million. Other high-cost films include Avatar: The Way of Water ($460 million) and Avengers: Age of Ultron ($478 million). These films have massive budgets due to the use of CGI, elaborate sets, top-tier actors, and extensive marketing.

Key takeaways

• The most expensive movie ever made is Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), with a production budget of $447 million.
• Several other films broke budget records, including Avatar: The Way of Water ($350 million), Avengers: Age of Ultron ($365 million), and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ($350.6 million).
• Marvel and Disney dominate the big-budget films list, with multiple high-budget entries including Endgame, Multiverse of Madness, and Quantumania.
• Despite high spending, most films were box office successes, with Avatar: The Way of Water earning $2.32 billion and Endgame grossing $2.799 billion globally.

The most expensive movies ever made

We compiled this list of the most expensive movies of all time using publicly available data from reputable websites like Forbes, Box Office Mojo, and IMDb. The list is in descending order, with the most costly films last.

10. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)

• Budget: $330.1 million (net), $388.4 million (gross)
• Box office: $476.1 million
• Release date: 17 February 2023 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 6.0/10

According to Forbes, Disney spent $388.4 million on Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), making it one of the costliest movies of all time. Thanks to UK tax incentives, the net budget dropped to $330.1 million. Despite its high cost, the film struggled at the box office, earning $476.07 million worldwide.

9. Fast X (2023)

• Budget: $340 million
• Box office: $714.4 million
• Release date: 19 May 2023 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 5.7/10

Fast X (2023) had a massive budget of $340 million. Several factors contributed to its high cost, including rising salaries for its star-studded cast, elaborate action sequences, and extensive filming locations. The departure of director Justin Lin also led to delays and increased expenses.

8. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

• Budget: $350 million–$460 million
• Box office: $2.32 billion
• Release date: 16 December 2022 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 7.5/10

Avatar: The Way of Water had an estimated budget between $350 million and $460 million, driven by director James Cameron's ambitious vision and cutting-edge technology. Its groundbreaking underwater motion capture, extensive visual effects, and large-scale production significantly contributed to the film's high cost.

7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

• Budget: $350.6 million (net), $414.9 million (gross)
• Box office: $955.8 million
• Release date: 6 May 2022 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 6.9/10

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had a staggering budget of $414.9 million. The high costs stemmed from extensive visual effects, large-scale production, and pandemic-related delays. Thanks to UK tax incentives, Disney reduced its net spending to $350.6 million. The iconic film grossed $955.8 million worldwide.

6. Avengers: Endgame (2019)

• Budget: $356 million–$400 million
• Box office: $2.799 billion
• Release date: 26 April 2019 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 8.4/10

Avengers: Endgame is one of Disney's most expensive movies, with a budget of between $356 million and $400 million. The cast of Endgame included A-listers like Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson, who had high salaries. Collider reports that the film has a marketing budget of $200 million.

5. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

• Budget: $365 million (net), $444 million–$495.2 million (gross)
• Box office: $1.405 billion
• Release date: 1 May 2015 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 7.3/10

Avengers: Age of Ultron had an estimated budget between $365 million and $495.2 million. The net production cost was $365 million, while the gross budget was between $444 million and $495.2 million. The high costs stemmed from extensive CGI, a star-studded cast, and the global filming locations.

4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

• Budget: $378.5 million (net), $410.6 million (gross)
• Box office: $1.046 billion
• Release date: 20 May 2011 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 6.6/10

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides had a gross budget of $410.6 million and a net budget of $378.5 million. It was the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release in 2011. The high costs stemmed from extensive visual effects, global filming locations, and the star-studded cast, including Johnny Depp.

3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

• Budget: $416 million
• Box office: $1.077 billion
• Release date: 20 December 2019 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 6.4/10

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, with a budget of $416 million, is one of the most expensive Hollywood movies ever. A significant portion of the budget was allocated to CGI and post-production, as the film featured complex space battles and digitally enhanced environments.

Despite the massive investment, The Rise of Skywalker grossed $1.077 billion worldwide, making it the lowest-grossing instalment in the sequel trilogy.

2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)

• Budget: $432 million (net), $516.1 million (gross)
• Box office: $1.31 billion
• Release date: 22 June 2018 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 6.1/10

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom had a staggering budget of $516.1 million, nearly three times its estimated $170 million production budget. The high costs stemmed from extensive CGI, large-scale production, and filming locations worldwide. It remains one of the most expensive films ever made.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

• Budget: $447 million (net), $533 million (gross)
• Box office: $2.07 billion
• Release date: 18 December 2015 (United States)
• IMDb rating: 7.8/10

Star Wars: The Force Awakens holds the title of the highest movie production budget of all time, with a total budget of $533.2 million. Disney strategically filmed in the UK to benefit from tax incentives, reducing net costs to $446.6 million.

The film's high expenses came from extensive visual effects, a star-studded cast, and large-scale production efforts. In return, the film grossed $2.1 billion worldwide. The Force Awakens rebooted the series by pairing rising stars Daisy Ridley and British actor John Boyega with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill and the late Carrie Fisher.

What is the most expensive movie scene?

According to Screen Rant, the Battle of Borodino scene in War and Peace (1966) is one of the most expensive film scenes, with an alleged budget of $100 million. The production involved 12,000 extras, real artillery, and large-scale pyrotechnics to recreate the Napoleonic battle.

What is the most expensive film ever made?

As of this writing, the most expensive film ever made is Star Wars: The Force Awakens, with a production budget of $447 million. Second is Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) with a budget of $432 million.

What film has made the most money ever?

According to Box Office Mojo, the highest-grossing film of all time is Avatar (2009), which has earned $2.92 billion worldwide. Avengers: Endgame (2019) follows with $2.79 billion, while Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) has amassed $2.32 billion.

What is the cheapest movie ever made?

One of the cheapest movies ever made is The Blair Witch Project (1999), which had an initial budget of between $35,000 and $60,000. Despite its low cost, it became a massive box-office success, earning $248.6 million worldwide. Other low-budget films include Napoleon Dynamite ($400,000) and Halloween ($350,000), which made impressive profits.

What is the biggest budget ever spent on a movie?

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) had the largest movie budget, costing $447 million (net). Its gross budget reached $533 million, and it made $2.07 billion worldwide.

With its grand scale and elaborate production, Star Wars: The Force Awakens holds the title of the most expensive movie ever made, followed closely by other ambitious blockbusters that redefined the limits of cinematic spending.

Yen.com.gh covered a similar article about the world's most expensive sports. Examples of costly sports include sailing, F1, tennis, and equestrian.

Expensive sports require costly equipment, professional training, facilities, travel, and competition entry. So, which is the world's most expensive sport? Read the article to find out.

Source: YEN.com.gh