Welcome to Top10Archive!
With millions pumped into the movie industry for production alone, it begs the question
as to what movies cost the most, and was it worth it overall.
Keep in mind that budget numbers are both difficult to find and often unreliable, and
we based this list from the statistics available at boxofficemojo.com.
10.
Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice ($250m) Director Zack Snyder brought us this highly
anticipated movie of 2016, which acts as a sequel to 2013's Man of Steel.
The movie has quite the cast, featuring the likes of Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg, Laurence
Fishburne, Jeremy Irons and Amy Adams, just to name a few.
The film was considered to be "a disappointment" by those at Warner Bros. and as such, they
are restructuring the way they handle future DC Entertainment movies.
9.
Captain America: Civil War ($250m) Directed by the Russo brothers, the third
installment of the Captain America series and thirteenth film of the Marvel Cinematic
Universe, was met with marvelous reception - garnering a worldwide box office total of
$1.15 billion.
It stands currently as the highest grossing movie of 2016 - which is not surprising, considering
that fans could see a multitude of heroes on screen, as well as the long-awaited return
of Spider-Man to the MCU. 8.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ($250m)
J.R.R Tolkien's novels have been a cornerstone for fantasy authors almost immediately since
their inception.
With numerous reprintings - we've more than gone there-and-back-again enough times that
we needed a new media for the beloved stories.
After finding success in the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, director Peter Jackson put
the Hobbit to film - released in three parts: 2012's An Unexpected Journey, 2013's The Desolation
of Smaug and 2014's The Battle of the Five Armies.
The third installment, like its predecessors before it, became a massive financial success
- with a box office gain of $956 million.
7.
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ($250m)
Borrowing inspiration from Tim Powers' 1987 novel, On Stranger Tides, the fourth installment
to Pirates borrows the name as well.
The first movie in the series not directed by Gore Verbinski, instead having Rob Marshall
take up the helm was released in 2011- and has since broken many box office records and
sits currently as the 19th highest grossing film to date.
The series has done so well for itself, it continues to grow with a fifth installment
titled Dead Men Tell No Tales planned for a 2017 release.
6.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ($250m) The 2009 British-American fantasy film based
off the massively successful novels written by J.K.
Rowling have met with nothing but success.
Directed by David Yates, the film casts Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter - the main antagonist.
Upon its release into theaters, the Half-Blood Prince broke the record for the largest midnight
showing at the time.
Receiving incredibly positive reviews, the film was praised for its cinematography, production
design and visual effects from both critics and fans alike.
5.
Avengers: Age of Ultron ($250m) If there's one thing we've learned by now,
it's a proper superhero movie requires a super budget, as is the case with 2015's, Avengers:
Age of Ultron.
Director Joss Whedon reportedly had a budget of around $250 million to film this star-studded
movie.
With positive reviews from both fans and critics alike, the massive investment would more than
pay off for Disney - as the movie became the 21st movie in history to break the $1 billion
mark in global box office sales.
4.
Spider-Man 3 ($258m) Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider
can... (alright I'll quit singing) which apparently doesn't include launching a successful third
film.
Spider-Man 3 was both written and directed by Sam Raimi, and although it was the largest
financial success to the franchise, it wasn't received well - leading to the inevitable
cancellation of the fourth movie and a pretty good reboot to the Spider-Man movies, leading
to the 2012 release of the Amazing Spider-Man.
3.
Tangled ($260m) In 2010, Walt Disney Animation Studios released
the movie Tangled, based on the Brothers Grimm story, Rapunzel.
The film would be tied up in production for 6-years and would cost around $260 million
to produce, making it the most expensive animated movie to date.
The film earned almost double of what it cost to produce, though, reaching an estimated
$590 million according to the global box office numbers.
2.
John Carter ($250~$275m) It seems we should leave it to Disney to pump
serious cash into film production, as six of the ten on this list are Disney productions.
Director Andrew Stanton brought us this 2012 science fiction-fantasy film flop, John Carter.
According to an official statement released by the Walt Disney Company, their Studio Entertainment
division suffered a loss of $84 million, most of which was largely credited to John Carter.
Along with the film's staggering failure came the resignation of Rich Ross, the head of
Walt Disney Studios at the time.
1.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($300m) Following the success of each new Pirates
of the Caribbean movie, directors are tasked with making the next one even bigger.
Obviously then, it would come as no surprise that they become more and more expensive along
the way.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, is the third installment to the series and
was released in 2007.
The film cost Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures a hefty sum of $300 million.
However, much like most of Disney's large investments it paid off, grossing some $960
million thanks to the charm of the drunken pirate captain Jack Sparrow played by Johnny
Depp.