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If James Cameron’s estimates are correct and Avatar: The Way of Water needs to make $2 billion to break even, that would easily be the most expensive movie ever made.
More recent movies have crushed period classics that went horribly over budget, like 1963’s Cleopatra, which in today’s money would have cost nearly $300 million to make.
That number pales in comparison to the $500 million used to produce and market the Avengers movies, not to mention the more than $400 million spent on flops like John Carter and The Lone Ranger.
Here is the list of the most expensive movies ever, including production and marketing costs, with figures adjusted for inflation:
1. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) – $599 million
The first Avengers sequel cost Disney an astounding $599 million on the back of an estimated $440 million plus production budget and over $150 million marketing budget.
Despite this, the film was still a huge financial success after grossing over $1.4 billion worldwide.
2. John Carter (2012) – $547 million
John Carter was a devastating box office failure, grossing a paltry $100 million
One of the most infamous flops of all time, Disney’s John Carter, which went on to spawn his own franchise, cost the animation king $547 million in production and marketing.
The movie was a devastating box office failure, grossing around a paltry $100 million. Plans for sequels and spin-offs were all quickly abandoned.
3. Avengers: Endgame (2019) – $475 million
Avengers: Endgame, which surpassed Avatar as the highest-grossing film of all time when it was released in 2019, had a whopping budget of $475 in production and marketing.
It turned out to be a wise investment for Disney after raising $2.8 billion.
4. Avengers: Infinity War (2018) $466 million
Disney’s 2018 Avengers sequel, Infinity War, had a mega production budget of over $300 million on top of a marketing budget somewhere between $150 million and $170 million.
Like its brothers, the film turned out to be a juggernaut for Disney, grossing more than $2 billion worldwide.
5. Titanic (1997) – $440 million
James Cameron’s Titanic was a huge success at the box office, even garnering 11 Academy Awards
James Cameron’s Oscar-winning 1998 blockbuster Titanic was one of the most expensive films ever made when it was produced in the 1990s.
Adjusted for inflation, the film’s $200 million budget at the time would have been worth more than $365 million. That’s in addition to the $75 million Fox spent to market the film around the world.
Like many films on the list, it turned out to be a worthy investment, as the film won 11 Academy Awards and made about $3.6 billion in current money, adjusted for inflation.
6. Water World (1995) – $438 million
Unlike Titanic, the other 1990s movie on the list, Waterworld, was not a worthy investment for the film’s producers.
The film is set in a futuristic world where the polar ice caps have melted and flooded the Earth. The film gained notoriety when production costs spiraled out of control and eventually doubled.
The film cost $438 million to produce today as its budget spiraled out of control, and was one of the worst-reviewed films of the year, regularly appearing in top 10 worst lists.
Despite the negative publicity, the movie made about $500 million worldwide in today’s money, so not a bad performance.
However, the critical reception and over-budgeting meant that Kevin Costner’s career never recovered.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides (2011) – $410 million
In terms of production budget alone, 2011’s Pirates of the Caribbean on Stranger Tides is one of the most expensive films ever made.
Like its predecessors, the marketing budget figures were not immediately available, but according to Forbes, the entire budget was listed as $410.6 million in tax documents. Once again it proved to be a worthwhile investment as the film grossed over $1 billion in ticket sales.
8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) – $405 million
The sixth film in the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince cost $405 million after marketing costs are taken into account.
The film grossed $934 million at the box office.
9. Justice League (2017) – $400 million
One of the more recent films to see the budget spiral out of control, Justice League, so the budget went beyond the original $300 million after Joss Whedon was recruited to take over production when original director Zack Snyder’s daughter died.
Reshoots and reworks brought the budget to $400 million
10. The Lone Ranger (2013) – $400 million
Johnny Depp’s role as Tonto in The Lone Ranger was heavily criticized, as was the film, but despite this, it grossed $260 million at the box office
Another hugely controversial entry, universally panned by critics and heavily criticized for its casting of Johnny Depp as a Native American, Disney’s Lone Ranger was also hugely expensive.
The film’s production went $25 million over budget, going from $225 to $250. Disney also poured $150 million into the film’s worldwide marketing.
According to figures from Disney, the film grossed $ 260 million.