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The World's Highest Budget Movies Ever Made: From Jurassic World to Star Wars
These are the priciest films ever produced, ranging from massive budgets to shoestring spending. Here's a list of the 15 most high-budget movies ever created.
It's amazing how much money flows into Hollywood franchise movies. From actors' multi-million-dollar paychecks to thousands of crew members' salaries, along with post-production and marketing costs, the budgets for some films remind us of our small part in the film industry. Blockbuster movies are expected to be pricey, but the exact numbers for each film can be jaw-dropping.
A lofty budget, however, doesn't invariably guarantee satisfactory profits or a well-crafted, engaging narrative. A case in point is Disney, a studio investing millions across all its projects, yet still encountering occasional box office letdowns. Considering this, which films hold the distinction of being the most exorbitant to produce? Prepare to be taken aback by the findings. Here's a glimpse at the all-time highest-budget movie in the world, unadjusted for inflation.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) – $447M
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Star Cast: Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Harrison Ford
- Director: J.J. Abrams
- Writer: J.J. Abrams
- Run time: 2h 15m
- Year of release: 2015
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 7.8/10
J.J. Abrams' The Force Awakens launched the Star Wars sequel trilogy. It continued the original characters' story and introduced new ones like Rey, Poe, and Finn. The movie was highly anticipated and had a lot riding on it. Recent reports say its budget was $447 million, making it the world's most expensive film.
The investment paid off: The Force Awakens made over $2 billion at the box office. It was the highest-grossing film that year and still holds the record for the highest domestic box office earnings.
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) – $432M
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Star Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, and Jeff Goldblum
- Director: J. A. Bayona
- Writer: J. A. Bayona
- Run time: 2h 9m
- Year of release: 2018
- OTT Platform: Amazon Prime
- IMDb rating: 6.1/10
The second movie in the Jurassic World sequel trilogy, titled "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom," had a massive budget of $432 million. This came after the first Jurassic World film was a big success, creating a lot of excitement for the darker sequel. Although the original plan was for the movie to cost around $170 million, it ended up being much more expensive due to the costs of creating the dinosaurs.
Despite the high budget, the movie did really well at the box office, earning the studio a staggering $1.3 billion. This resulted in profits of over $218 million for the studio. The large budget actually turned out to be a good investment for the franchise, leading to the creation of another expensive sequel. This film not only holds the record for the highest budget in the Jurassic franchise, but it's also the second most expensive movie ever made globally, a title it might keep for a while.
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) – $416M
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Star Cast: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie.
- Director: J.J. Abrams
- Writer: J.J. Abrams
- Run time: 2h 22m
- Year of release: 2019
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 6.5/10
Promoted as the finale of the Skywalker Saga, Lucasfilm invested a reported $416 million in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. This hefty budget includes expenses for a new creative team, brought in after Colin Trevorrow left, and the creation of expansive sets to conclude the sequel trilogy.
Despite being the lowest-earning movie in the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker still raked in $1 billion worldwide and stood as a major success before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. The saga's story will march forward in an upcoming Star Wars film, focusing on Rey's efforts to revive the Jedi Academy.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) – $379M
- Genre: Adventure/Action
- Star Cast: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Geoffrey Rush, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, Sam Claflin, Astrid Bergès-Frisbey, Stephen Graham
- Director: Rob Marshall
- Writer: Rob Marshall
- Run time: 2h 17m
- Year of release: 2011
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 6.6/10
For many years, the most expensive movie ever made was thought to be Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. This Pirates movie had a budget of nearly $400 million. It cost so much because they filmed in many different places, used special 3D cameras like the ones in Avatar, and had ten different companies working on cool visual effects. Some people loved the movie, while others thought it hurt the series. Still, On Stranger Tides was the third highest-grossing movie in 2011.
5. Avengers: Age of Ultron — $365M
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Star Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson
- Director: Joss Whedon
- Writer: Joss Whedon
- Run time: 2h 21m
- Year of release: 2015
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 7.5/10
Surprisingly, the most expensive Avengers movie is "Avengers: Age of Ultron." It cost $365 million to make, which is $9 million more than "Avengers: Endgame." The movie was filmed in many different places around the world and had a lot of special effects. Despite its high budget, the movie made a profit and was the fourth-highest-grossing film in 2015. However, its earnings were considered disappointing compared to the first Avengers movie.
6. Avengers: Endgame (2019) – $356M
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Star Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson
- Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Writer: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Run time: 3h 2m
- Year of release: 2019
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 8.4/10
The buzz for Avengers: Endgame was huge as it wrapped up the Infinity Saga. And the numbers showed why. Made on a big budget of $356 million, the movie raked in a massive $2.798 billion worldwide. In its first weekend, it pulled in $357 million, even covering its budget in just three days.
If you were impressed by Infinity War, Endgame went even further. It became the world's highest-grossing movie from July 2019 to March 2021, until Avatar's re-release took the crown. Marvel Studios is still going strong with their MCU projects, but only time will tell if they can create another big hit like Avengers: Endgame or if that was their peak.
7. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) – $350M
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Star Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet
- Director: James Cameron
- Writer: James Cameron
- Run time: 3h 12m
- Year of release: 2022
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 7.6/10
"Avatar: The Way of Water" is James Cameron's highly anticipated sequel to the 2009 film "Avatar." Just like the first movie, this one focuses on the Sully family and also comes with a huge budget. The reported budget for "Avatar: The Way of Water" was a staggering $350 million. James Cameron himself mentioned that for the movie to be considered successful, it would need to rank among the top-grossing films of all time, somewhere around the third or fourth spot. And it seems Cameron's prediction was spot-on, as "Avatar: The Way of Water" has achieved the impressive feat of becoming the third highest-grossing movie ever, raking in a whopping $2.3 billion globally.
8. Fast X (2023) – $340M
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Star Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Statham, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, Nathalie Emmanuel, Charlize Theron.
- Director: Louis Leterrier
- Writer: Louis Leterrier
- Run time: 2h 21m
- Year of release: 2023
- OTT Platform: Zee5
- IMDb rating: 5.9/10
The latest movie in the Fast saga, Fast X, is now one of the most expensive films ever made, costing $340 million. Just like Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1, Fast X also spent a lot on filming in various places around the world and creating big action scenes with real stunts.
Fast X has a big cast of famous actors who get paid a lot. The movie also faced a problem when the original director, Justin Lin, left the project shortly after filming started. They had to bring in a new director, Louis Letterier, which can be expensive, like what happened with Solo: A Star Wars Story. The movie hasn't done very well in the United States, but it's been doing okay in other countries. Some people think that this series might be losing its excitement.
9. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – $325M
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Star Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Don Cheadle, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland.
- Director: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Writer: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- Run time: 2h 29m
- Year of release: 2018
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 8.4/10
Let's be real: Avengers movies have consistently met and even exceeded expectations, both in terms of excitement and earnings. Avengers: Infinity War, with a massive $325 million budget, proved this by becoming the first superhero film to cross $2 billion worldwide. Some might think superhero movies are overhyped and fatigue will set in, but the facts disagree. Regardless of whether you're a Marvel fan or not, you can't deny the huge impact Avengers: Infinity War made on cinema history.
10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007) – $300M
- Genre: Adventure/Action
- Star Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Arenberg.
- Director: Gore Verbinski
- Writer: Gore Verbinski
- Run time: 2h 49m
- Year of release: 2007
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 7.1/10
Contrary to expectations, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" proves that putting $300 million into a movie can lead to amazing outcomes. This third Pirates of the Caribbean film was the top-grossing movie in 2007, making over $960 million globally. The film's budget shows in its grand sets, thrilling action scenes, and famous actors.
11. Justice League (2017) – $300M
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Star Cast: Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Gal Gadot, Ezra Miller, Jason Momoa, Ray Fisher, Jeremy Irons.
- Director: Zack Snyder
- Writer: Chris Terrio
- Run time: 2 hours
- Year of release: 2017
- OTT Platform: Netflix
- IMDb rating: 6.1/10
Similar to the situation with "Solo," the movie "Justice League" also faced problems with spending a lot of money due to extensive reshoots. Warner Bros. used $300 million to create this superhero team-up film. Even though it made $657 million worldwide, it was still seen as a failure at the box office, causing a financial loss for Warner Bros. They decided to redo many scenes after the negative reactions to their previous film, "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice."
This major change upset many fans who knew that the version of "Justice League" they saw wasn't what the director, Zack Snyder, originally intended. This led to years of requests for the "Snyder Cut," which finally became available for streaming on HBO Max in 2021 and gained a lot of attention. It makes you wonder how much money Warner Bros. could've saved if they had just stuck to the version of "Justice League" that Snyder was creating.
12. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) – $300M
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Star Cast: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Lupita Nyong'o
- Director: Rian Johnson
- Writer: George Lucas
- Run time: 2h 32m
- Year of release: 2017
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
After the success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, its sequel got a big budget too. Star Wars: The Last Jedi was a bit controversial, especially with how Luke Skywalker was shown. The movie made a lot of money, around $1 billion worldwide, and was the top-grossing film in 2017.
Some Star Wars fans like how Rian Johnson told the story in a big way. Others don't agree with his choices. Still, it's clear that Lucasfilm's investment paid off.
13. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) – $295M
- Genre: Adventure/Action
- Star Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, Karen Allen, John Rhys-Davies, Sallah.
- Director: James Mangold
- Writer: James Mangold
- Run time: 2h 22m
- Year of release: 2023
- OTT Platform: NA
- IMDb rating: 6.8/10
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" is the last film in the Indiana Jones series. Lucasfilm and Disney spent a lot on it, about $295 million. They used a big chunk of money for the worldwide locations and made Harrison Ford look younger. Sadly, the movie hasn't done well in theaters. This might make Disney lose a lot of money and bring the franchise to a definite end. It's also worth noting that this movie has the highest budget ever for a film.
14. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) – $295M
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Star Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Rachel McAdams, Jett Klyne, Julian Hilliard
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Writer: Sam Raimi
- Run time: 2h 6m
- Year of release: 2022
- OTT Platform: Hotstar
- IMDb rating: 6.9/10
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness faced numerous challenges due to the pandemic. The movie is packed with special effects, various universes, magic, and actors filming separately for secrecy. It was originally budgeted at $200 million, but COVID-19 pushed the cost up by an extra $95 million.
The movie's pre-production was chaotic, with 33 different scripts created. Despite this, it became the fourth highest-grossing film of 2022, almost reaching a billion in earnings with $955 million, making a profit of $183 million.
15. Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part I – $290M
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Star Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson
- Director: Christopher McQuarrie
- Writer: Christopher McQuarrie
- Run time: 2h 43m
- Year of release: 2023
- OTT Platform: NA
- IMDb rating: 8/10
"Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part 1" is the first of three films planned for release in 2023. It's the seventh movie in the Mission: Impossible series and cost a whopping $290 million to make. The COVID-19 pandemic caused production to pause for a while, adding to the budget.
The film was shot in different countries and followed strict COVID rules. Even though the budget was really big, Paramount Pictures took the risk after the success of "Top Gun: Maverick." Unfortunately, the movie hasn't done as well as expected since it came out, so it might not earn back its huge budget.
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