The 30 most expensive movies ever made

tony stark captain america avengers endgame

Tony Stark and Steve Rogers put their differences aside to save the world one more time in "Avengers: Endgame."
Marvel Studios
  • Insider rounded up the most expensive movies ever made.
  • The "Avengers" movies, new "Star Wars" trilogy are among the priciest to produce.
  • The most expensive movie made is 2011's "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides," which cost a reported $376.5 million after a tax credit.
  • Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

"Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame" are two of the highest-grossing movies of all time.

They're also two of the most expensive movies ever made.

Insider rounded up the production budgets of the priciest movies produced. A film's production budget includes the cost to construct and operate sets, create and design special effects, props, and costumes. It also contains the salary of cast, technical crew, stunt doubles, producers, and more along with food, lodging, and travel.

We cross-checked Wikipedia's extensive unofficial list of pricey movie budgets against numbers from IMDbPro, annual studies from FilmLA, and reported budgets from trade sites, including Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety in addition to The New York Times.

Often the highest-grossing movies are the ones that cost the most money. More than half of the 30 movies on this list are from Disney. Superhero movies, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, and "Star Wars" films comprise some of the costliest movies to produce.

This story focuses on reported estimates for movie budgets. It does not adjust for inflation, which would not present an accurate reflection of how much a movie may actually cost now to make. We've also included estimated marketing budgets where available.

30. "The Avengers" (2012) — $220 million

Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye teamed up for the first of many times in a Marvel Studios' film.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Worldwide gross: $1.5 billion
Marketing budget: estimated $100 million to $150 million

Bloomberg and the New York Times estimated Disney's superhero team-up at $220 million.

At the time, the film broke several box-office records, including the highest-grossing opening weekend with $207.4 million. The film held that record until 2015's "Jurassic World."

[TIE] 25. "Man of Steel" (2013) — $225 million

Henry Cavill suited up as Superman after "The Dark Knight" trilogy came to a close.
Warner Bros.

Worldwide gross: $668 million
Marketing budget:
$150 million

Henry Cavill's Superman came on the heels of Christopher Nolan's successful Batman trilogy and cost more than the $185 million reported budget for "The Dark Knight."

It wasn't a runaway box-office performance, but it delivered an underappreciated narrative about a young alien coming to grips with new, scary powers and accepting that he no longer had to hide them out of fear.

[TIE] 25. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (2006) — $225 million

Jack Sparrow has a debt to pay to Davy Jones in "Dead Man's Chest."
Disney

Worldwide gross: $1.1 billion
Marketing budget: n/a

In 2006, producer Jerry Bruckheimer told the New York Times the productions of "Dead Man's Chest" and "At World's End" cost $475 million combined. The two filmed back-to-back and were released less than a year apart. Most reports peg "Dead Man's Chest" at around $225 million.

Jack Davenport, who played James Norrington in the film, told the Hollywood Reporter the "snack" budget alone was $2 million for both sequels.

"I remember saying to him one day 'What is your budget for all this?' He looked me square in the eye and said 'essentially unlimited,'" said Davenport. "I was like 'What does that mean?' He was like 'I don't know, $2 million.'"

[TIE] 25. "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" (2008) — $225 million

"Prince Caspian" grossed more than $300 million less than "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe."
Disney

Worldwide gross: $419.7 million
Production and marketing total: ~$350 million

The Los Angeles Times reported that, according to Disney, the film cost "roughly" $225 million. About $100 million went towards the movie's special effects.

Based on the C.S. Lewis stories, "The Chronicles of Narnia" kicked off, what should have been, a franchise. After the second film didn't perform as well at the box office and a feud outlined by the LA Times between Disney and the film's co-financier and coproducer Walden Media, "Narnia" sputtered out with the third film, 2010's "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

[TIE] 23. "The Dark Knight Rises" (2012) — $230 million

Christian Bale's Batman has to stop Bane in Christopher Nolan's end to the "Dark Knight" trilogy.
Warner Bros.

Worldwide gross: $1.1 billion
Marketing budget: n/a

The film's original budget was estimated at around $250 million, but the Los Angeles Times reported tax credits brought the budget down to $230 million. The Warner Bros. sequel closed out the Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy.

[TIE] 23. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" (2017) — $230 million

This was the fifth "Pirates" movie from Disney.
Disney

Worldwide gross: $794.9 million
Production and marketing total: ~$400 million

The most recent "Pirates" movie cost less than the third and fourth films in the franchise, according to an estimated budget from Variety.

The film was the lowest-grossing movie domestically in the franchise. Worldwide, the film only grossed higher than the first "Pirates" movie, "The Curse of the Black Pearl."

[TIE] 15. "The Fate of the Furious" (2017) — $250 million

Dom appears to turn his back on family in the eighth installment of the "Fast" saga.
Universal Pictures

Worldwide gross: $1.2 billion
Production and marketing total: $350 million+

According to Deadline, the eighth film in the franchise cost at least $250 million to produce. Variety also reported the budget at $250 million in 2017.

The film includes a scene in New York City where numerous cars crash from a parking garage onto street level. The movie really dropped cars from a six-story garage. You can see more of how the film spent its budget here.

[TIE] 15. "Spectre" (2015) — $250 million

"Spectre" is the 24th Bond film, which sees 007 go up against Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).
Sony Pictures

Worldwide gross: $880.1 million
Marketing budget: estimated $100 million+

A lot of reported estimates for the film suggest it cost anywhere from $245 million to $300 million to produce. The Hollywood Reporter and a 2015 film study from FilmLA place the budget at $250 million.

Regardless, "Spectre," which shot in Mexico, Austria, Morocco, Italy, and the United Kingdom, is the most expensive Bond movie made.

[TIE] 15. "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (2009) — $250 million

Harry Potter is in his sixth year of Hogwarts when he starts to uncover more about Lord Voldemort's past.
Warner Bros.

Worldwide gross: $934.3 million
Marketing budget: $155 million

The sixth movie in the franchise, "The Half-Blood Prince" cost higher than any of the "Potter" films that came before or after it. Still, the larger budget didn't help the movie earn more than the first film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which grossed over $978 million.

[TIE] 15. "Captain America: Civil War" (2016) — $250 million

The third "Captain America" movie felt like another "Avengers" sequel.
Marvel

Worldwide gross: $1.2 billion
Marketing budget: n/a

The third "Captain America" movie's budget grew with a large ensemble cast featuring most of the Avengers and the introduction of a new Spider-Man. The film felt more like an "Avengers" movie than another "Captain America" movie.

[TIE] 15. "Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015) — $250 million+

James Spader voiced the AI, Ultron, in the "Avengers" sequel.
Marvel

Worldwide gross: $1.4 billion
Marketing budget: $180 million

The budget for the first "Avengers" sequel is one of the most contested budgets. Deadline, Forbes, and the Washington Post have placed the budget at $250 million as recently as 2018.

A 2018 FilmLA Research study on movies from 2015 reported the budget at $365 million after a tax incentive of $78.5 million. That pricetag would place it higher than "Infinity War" and "Endgame."

Though "Age of Ultron" had less superheroes than either movie, its main villain was CG and it was filmed in more locations. "AoU" was filmed in England, Italy, South Korea, Bangladesh, South Africa, and New York City. "IW" and "Endgame" were filmed back-to-back with filming in Atlanta, England, New York, and Scotland.

A representative for Disney didn't respond to Insider's request for comment about the "AoU" budget.

14. "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) — ~$255 million

Emma Watson and Dan Stevens starred in the Disney live-action remake.
Disney

Worldwide gross: $1.3 billion
Production and marketing total: $300 million+

While some estimates place the budget for the live-action movie around $160 million, Forbes reported financial statements filed in Britain put the film at $254.6 million.

13. "Spider-Man 3" (2007) — $258 million

"Spider-Man 3" introduced audiences to a version of Venom.
Sony Pictures

Worldwide gross: $894.9 million
Marketing budget: ~$120 million

The official budget for the movie was reported for Variety. At the time, then-chair of marketing and distribution at Sony Pictures Jeff Blake said the studio was spending less to promote the sequel than the second film.

"Our visual effects budget was probably 30% higher and I think that's reflected in the number of action sequences, the scale of the sequences and the complexity of course of Sandman," producer Laura Ziskin told Rotten Tomatoes in 2007 of why the budget was higher than the first two Spidey films starring Tobey Maguire.

"Then the talent obviously made more money in each successive movie which they well deserved. So that's where the increase in the budget came," Ziskin added.

11. "Tangled" (2010) — $260 million

A lot of work was put into making sure Rapunzel's hair looked correct.
Walt Disney Animation

Worldwide gross: $592.5 million
Marketing budget: $100 million+

Disney's 2010 animated movie is the most expensive 3D animated movie ever made. Why?

The high cost for "Tangled" was due in part to the complex blend of traditional hand-drawn animation from older films ("Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King") with CG to give the film the distinct feeling of one of the classics in the 21st century. And then there was Rapunzel's hair.

During an interview with animator Glen Keane, who worked on Rapunzel, he told Daps Magic they started creating the software to animate Rapunzel's hair in 2005. Codirector Nathan Greno told Sioux City Journal an entire team was in charge of animating the character's hair.

"It's about 1,000 tubes or 100,000 actual hairs," said Greno. "The artists were able to get a general movement from those tubes."

[TIE] 6. "Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker" (2019) — $275 million

After years of waiting, viewers learned who Rey's parents were in "The Rise of Skywalker."
Disney

Worldwide gross: $1.1 billion
Production and marketing total: ~$400 million

The final "Star Wars" movie in the Skywalker Saga was the most expensive of the new trilogy. The film was received better than "The Last Jedi" by fans, but received mixed reviews from critics.

[TIE] 4. "Justice League" (2017) — ~$300 million

A movie with Wonder Woman, Batman, Superman, and the Flash should have been an easy $1 billion for WB when compared to Marvel's "The Avengers."
Warner Bros. Pictures

Worldwide gross: $657.9 million
Production and marketing total: estimated $400 million+

In 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported the budget for the film grew to about $300 million. Joss Whedon had stepped in to finish the film after director Zack Snyder stepped down following the death of his daughter. The film had already been rewritten to have a lighter tone. With Synder gone, "Justice League" underwent reshoots and a mandate that the film be under two hours.

Fans will finally get to see the version of the film Snyder intended to make. His version of the film will debut on HBO Max in 2021 with a completely new villain.

1. "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (2011) — $376.5 million

Jack Sparrow sought the fountain of youth in the fourth film.
Walt Disney Pictures

Worldwide gross: $1 billion
Production and marketing total: In 2011, the NYT originally reported the film cost ~$400 million in total.

In 2014, Forbes reported British financial statements showed the film cost $410.6 million before a tax credit worth at least $34.1 million. According to Forbes, Johnny Depp made $55 million for the sequel.

Depp told Vanity Fair (via THR) in 2011 he was overpaid for the "Pirates" franchise.

"If they're going to pay me the stupid money right now, I'm going to take it," Depp said. "I have to. I mean, it's not for me. Do you know what I mean? At this point, it's for my kids.

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