Large and complicated scenery, authentic costumes, spectacular special effects and the huge pay for all the stars involved in the shooting - all of that costs a lot, especially when you want every detail to be perfect.
Very often, all that effort and money comes back to you many times. But sometimes this is not the case and such an endeavor can lead to bankruptcy. In the list that we will present you this time, there is a little bit of every kind - see the list of the most expensive films ever made:
15 Spider-Man 2 (2004): $ 250.1 million
Hollywood seems to have developed a real passion for sequels, remakes and predecessors movies, so sometimes it is really hard to keep track of all the characters and their stories. Now we are in the middle of Andrew Garfield Amazing Spider-Man era, but the first trilogy in which Tobey Maguire participated as the main character was famous. The second part of the trilogy's first film that is on our list. Elaborate scenery, great camera work and superb special effects that have made this achievement Oscar worthy were very expensive. However, Spider-Man 2 was able to make a commercial success on the basis of its predecessor.
14 King Kong (2005): $ 250.4 million
King Kong is another epic blockbuster, or to be more specific, Peter Jackson's remake of the famous film by Merian C. Cooper in 1933. This film has exceeded its initial budget, so much that Peter Jackson had to cover more than $ 30 million of costs (this is all happening after the trilogy Lord Of The Rings when Jackson earned a minimum of $ 200 million, so he could certainly afford it). However, in the end, King Kong has earned more money than was spent on its production and had very positive reviews, so this project is really paying off.
13 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003): $ 256.8 million
The first Terminator movie without James Cameron, Rise Of The Machines, takes this franchise into the 21st century, at least in terms of top special effects. Arnold Schwarzenegger found himself in the role in which he was in two previous films, however, this film despite all the effects and the resources had a lack of spirit which made the previous two, especially the second, the eternal classics.
12 John Carter (2012): $ 257.2 million
Launched in 2012, John Carter is one of the "more common" films on this list - in fact, it is shocking how much did this realization cost. Based on the novel Princess of Mars, which dates from 1917, this film has no big stars in the lead roles - virtually the only recognizable name is Willem Dafoe. What raised the cost of production so much was the fact it had to be re-shot because the director Adrew Stanton had experience only with directing animated films. This may not be the smartest move considering that the movie earned about $ 284 million on sales of tickets, which is far less than the consumed massive budget.
11 The Dark Knight Rises (2012): $ 257.2 million
The dramatic conclusion of the famous Batman trilogy by Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight Rises, was the least ambitious achievement compared to the previous two. Shooting of the film took place in locations that varied - Jodhpur, London, Nottingham, Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles, and almost a half hour of the film was filmed by IMAX cameras for the sake of the best possible quality. Scenery, costumes and accessories do add a lot to the overall cost of production, especially since Nolan is a fan of practical effects instead of CGI special.
10 The Hobbit (2012): $ 257.2 million
Interesting fact, the most expensive film of all Peter Jackson’s deed that is based on Tolkien is not one of those epic with wizards, elves, orcs, kingdoms, but adventure of Bilbo Baggins. Like the previous films, which were to place the events in a universe which is a figment of imagination and fantasy, this movie needed special effects, costumes and makeup, and was filmed mostly on the popular sites of New Zealand.
9 Avatar (2009): $ 261 million
James Cameron has been known as someone who relies on technology and special effects to perfectly tell his story for decades, but still, it's a movie that's all gone to a whole new level. The first scenario was actually written in 1994, but Cameron decided to await the development of technologies that could realize his vision, so he could make a film that would look the way he wants it. Fifteen years later, after a huge investment of time and money, this movie is finally launched, with high praise and an Oscar nomination for its visual effects. Also, this movie was a huge success on ticket sales, making it the first film to cross more than $ 2 billion. This experimental move proved to be correct.
8 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006): $ 263.7 million
The most successful films are inspired by other media based on books, comics and graphic novels, but one of the most popular franchises ever is based on a ride at Disneyland. Much of the charm of this film works comes from the inimitable Johnny Depp and his performance of Captain Jack Sparrow. This film won the Oscar for visual effects, which is not so surprising given the massive budget that is spent on them. All this has proved valuable when this is the realization of the film industry has become the fastest film to earn a billion dollars.
7 Waterworld (1995): $ 271.3 million
When it was first introduced in 1995, Waterworld was the most expensive film ever made. Ever since then, the critics were not so nice to this embodiment, wspecially towards acting and directorial work, although the production received high praise. Like many other highly regarded films, Waterworld had difficulties in production - on one occasion, the set was severely damaged by a hurricane. You can imagine much has been invested in this film when the state Hawaii had an inflow of $ 35 million in its budget.
6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009): $ 275.3 million
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the sixth and the most expensive part of the Harry Potter series, with a significantly higher budget compared to their predecessors. It cost more than a two-part realization of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The effects in this movie are the best that can be seen in the Harry Potter films, cinematography is flawless and fully worthy of Oscar nominations. Also, this is one of the films that received mostly positive reviews.
5 Tangled (2010): $ 281.7 million
When you consider the cost of animation, you might think that all you have to do is to pay for a bunch of artists to work on their computers - no scenery, costumes, or any other expenses. Yet, Disney realization Tangled (Rapunzel) costs as well as the entire trilogy Lord Of The Rings. Studio has decided not to use hand-drawn animation, but CGI, new technologies and methods had to be invented then, so that this achievement would have "the one" touch of Disney. The production of this animated film lasted most of the decade, filmmakers have been altered and is used in high mathematics to Rapunzel’s hair look real.
4 Spider-Man 3 (2007): $ 293.9 million
The third and last Sam Raimi Spider-Man movie with Tobey Maguire starring Spider-Man 3 was very poorly received by critics, although it had a very good response in terms of ticket sales. Shooting of the film took place at several locations in the United States and lasted almost a year. In terms of special effects, this movie continued where his predecessor left off. Three villains, their destructive behavior and disorder, the scenes action - everything looks great. All in all, this was a fun action movie with it beloved superhero – the thing we expect each summer.
3 Titanic (1997): $ 294.3 million
Titanic was launched in theaters just two years after Waterworld and broke it record for the most expensive film ever made. So in a way, it started the trend of grandiose production on water, but luckily this trend did not stay long. Titanic was incredibly successful film which put Leonardo DiCaprio on a journey towards the stars and became the most successful film of all time - until the discovery of the Avatar. The film also received a record number of Oscar nominations (14) and the number of wins (11).
2 Cleopatra (1963): $ 339.5 million
In the example of this film we can see the impact of strenuous thing called inflation. Introduced in 1963, with Liz Taylor in the lead role beside Richard Burton and Rex Harrison, the film had a budget of $ 44 million - when we look at the present time, it is an average, but at the time it was filmed it almost led 20th Century Fox to bankruptcy. The biggest expense was made for scenery and costumes, which had to be created twice. And there is a massive fee for Liz Taylor - in today's money would amount to around $ 50 million. Liz was given a place in the Guinness Book of World Records because of the 65 costumes she wore, and the film won four Oscars out of nine nominations.
1 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007): $ 341.8 million
The third part of the Pirates of the Caribbean series was introduced in the summer of 2007, just weeks after Spider-Man 3, breaking it record of the most expensive film ever made. Although this part may not be the best in the series, the production values are still amazing. In addition to the great investment that was needed to create such work, this film more than compensated for it - when we look at earnings from the purchase of tickets. This means that if you put enough money into something, you find a real star in the main role, you can probably turn a coloring book in a very lucrative series of films.
