Yahoo Movies The 20 Most Expensive Movies Ever Made
A big Hollywood blockbuster often requires a lot of cash.
While it doesn’t always take a big production budget to make a break-out hit, the most successful movies are often the costliest.
We turned to IMDB and Box Office Mojo to gather the priciest films ever made, and consulted the consumer price index to adjust for inflation.
Read more: Surprisingly Grown-Up References Hidden In Disney Films
We’ve also included the original reported and estimated budgets for comparison. A few franchises make the list twice.
While none of this year’s movies are among the most expensive, many of the most successful films ever made cost more than $200 million.
20. “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012): $236.7 million (£139m)
Original estimated budget: $230 million (£135.1m)
Worldwide gross: $752.2 million (£441.8m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $779.9 million (£458.1m)
19. “Wild Wild West” (1999): $241.1 million (£141.6m)
Original estimated budget: $170 million (£99.8m)
Worldwide gross: $222.1 million (£130.5m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $315 million (£185m)
18. “Superman Returns” (2006): $244.9 million (£143.9m)
Original estimated budget: $209 million (£122.8m)
Worldwide gross: $391 million (£229.7m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $458.3 million (£269.3m)
17. “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006): $246.1 million (£144.6m)
Original estimated budget: $210 million (£123.4m)
Worldwide gross: $459.4 million (£269.9m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $538.3 million (£316.3m)
16. “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (2008): $246.9 million (£145m)
Original estimated budget: $225 million (£132.2m)
Worldwide gross: $419.7 million (£246.6m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $460.5 million (£270.6m)
15. “Spider-Man 2” (2004): $250.1 million (£146.9m)
Original estimated budget: $200 million (£117.5m)
Worldwide gross: $783.8 million (£434.1m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $980.3 million (£576m)
14. “King Kong” (2005): $250.4 million (£147.1m)
Original estimated budget: $207 million (£121.6m)
Worldwide gross: $550.5 million (£323.5m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $665.9 million (£391.3m)
13. “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” (2003): $256.8 million (£150.9m)
Original estimated budget: $200 million (£117.5m)
Worldwide gross: $433.4 million (£254.7m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $556.5 million (£327m)
[TIE] 11. “John Carter” (2012): $257.2 million (£151.1m)
Original estimated budget: $250 million (£146.9m)
Worldwide gross: $284.1 million (£166.9m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $292.4 million (£171.8m)
[TIE] 11. “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012): $257.2 million (£151.1m)
Original estimated budget: $250 million (£146.9m)
Worldwide gross: $1.08 billion (£634.6m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $1.1 billion (£646.4m)
10. “The Hobbit” (2012): $257.2 million (£151.1m)
Original estimated budget: $250 million (£146.8m)
Worldwide gross: $1.02 billion (£599.2m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $1.05 billion (£616.8m)
9. “Avatar” (2009): $261 million (£153.5m)
Original estimated budget: $237 million (£139.3m)
Worldwide gross: $2.8 billion (£1.6bn)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $3.1 billion (£1.8bn)
8. “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” (2006): $263.7 million (£155m)
Original estimated budget: $225 million (£132.3m)
Worldwide gross: $1 billion (£587.8m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $1.2 billion (£705.5m)
7. “Waterworld” (1995): $271.3 million (£159.5m)
Original estimated budget: $175 million (£102.8m)
Worldwide gross: $264.2 million (£155.3m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $409.6 million (£240.8m)
6. “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” (2009): $275.3 million (£161.8m)
Original estimated budget: $250 million (£146.9m)
Worldwide gross: $934.4 million (£549.3m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $1 billion (£587.8m)
5. “Tangled” (2010): $281.7 million (£165.6m)
Original estimated budget: $260 million (£152.8m)
Worldwide gross: $590.7 million (£347.2m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $641.1 million (£376.8m)
The film usually raises eyebrows as one of the most costly films to make since it’s an animated film. 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 CGI to give the film the distinct feeling of one of the classics in the 21st century.
4. “Spider-Man 3” (2007): $293.9 million (£172.7m)
Original estimated budget: $258 million (£151.6m)
Worldwide gross: $890.9 million (£523.7m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $1 billion (£587.8m)
3. “Titanic” (1997): $294.3 million (£173m)
Original estimated budget: $200 million (£117.6m)
Worldwide gross: $2.2 billion (£1.3bn)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $3.2 billion* (£1.8bn)
*Includes tickets for 2012 “Titanic 3-D” re-release.
2. “Cleopatra” (1963): $339.5 million (£199.6m)
Original estimated budget: $44 million (£25.8m)
Gross in 1963: $57.8 million (£33.9m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $445.8 million (£262m)
1. “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (2007): $341.8 million (£200.9m)
Original estimated budget: $300 million (£176.4m)
Worldwide gross: $963.4 million (£566.4m)
Worldwide adjusted gross: $1.1 billion (£646.7m)
(All budget estimates have been adjusted for inflation.)
Read more on Yahoo Movies:
Movie Studio Logos: What Do They Mean?
Rik Mayall’s Harry Potter Role That No-One Ever Saw
22 Disney And Pixar In-jokes That Will Blow Your Mind
How Long Was Bill Murray Stuck In Groundhog Day?
The Most Pointless Uses Of CGI Effects In Movie History
Image credit: Columbia Pictures/Getty/Warner Bros./20th Century Fox/Walt Disney Pictures/Universal/Paramount/AP
