Hollywood is a place where the streets are quite literally paved with gold–or at least, gold stars. There’s so much money being pumped into the film industry these days that we simply had to take a look at the most expensive movies ever made, and we can even tell you where to watch them all.
After the release of Netflix flick The Electric State, it was revealed the Russo Brothers’ movie was one of the most expensive productions of all time. That’s a mind-blowing fact, and one that the streaming service might end up regretting given the reaction to the release.
But, it still opens up a fascinating discussion on the true cost of filmmaking. So, here are the most expensive movies ever made, without adjusting the budgets for inflation, and where you can stream the films in question.
1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) - $447m
In a galaxy far, far away, the most expensive movie of all time was crafted by J.J. Abrams and co. Star Wars: The Force Awakens delighted fans in 2015, ten years after the previous instalment in the Skywalker Saga, and it brought back the original trilogy heroes Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher; which is probably why it cost so much to make.
The film cost a whopping $15m more than its nearest competitor, but based on how incredible it is and how special it was to return to George Lucas’ world and see those characters again, we’d say it was worth every penny.
2. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) - $432m
Bringing dinosaurs back to life is clearly a very expensive venture, and no expense was spared in bringing Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to the silver screen back in 2018. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard led the reboot of the classic film series in 2015, and they returned with this sequel from J.A. Bayona, which explored the morality of profiteering off of dinosaurs and put the story into a haunted house setting.
It’s an interesting paradox that this film’s themes are mirrored by the real world success of the franchise; but hey, dinosaurs are cool, and cool things deserve to make a lot of money.
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) - $416m
If you hadn’t guessed already, making films about a giant war in space can see production costs rack up pretty quickly, and the Star Wars dominance of this list continues with the much-maligned Skywalker Saga closer from 2019. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, made plenty of missteps when it comes to the story at the heart of it, and was a very disappointing end to the beloved franchise for most fans.
Costing a massive $416m to make, let’s just say it’s a good job this film made over $1 billion at the box-office, because it certainly didn’t get any critical success.
4. Fast X (2023) - $379m
The Fast and Furious franchise is all about family, fancy cars, speed, and hard-hitting actions, but none of that comes cheap; just look at the budget for Fast X if you don’t believe us. With each new entry in the franchise, it seems Dominic Toretto and his crew get up to crazier and crazier stunts and after F9 took things into the stratosphere, literally, the tenth movie needed to step up with something even bigger.
Ultimately, like a lot of films these days, it’s the massive cast that take up a huge chunk of the production budget, and they spared no expense on Fast X in assembling every major player from the franchise.
5. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) - $379m
The first of two movies from this franchise to make the list, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, matched the production budget of Fast X, which is saying something, especially given it was made more than ten years earlier.
As well as an A-List cast, the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise also boasts some of the most impressive CGI in movie history. That can be pretty expensive, of course, but the fact it still remains among the best and most convincing even by today’s standards is testament to money well spent back in 2011.
6. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) - $365m
You were probably wondering when we’d see an Avengers movie on this list, but like us, you’re likely surprised that it’s Avengers: Age of Ultron that had the biggest budget in the entire MCU. With a smaller team of heroes, you’d think Joss Whedon and co. could have kept costs to a minimum a decade ago, but alas, bringing evil robots to life can be almost as expensive as resurrecting dinosaurs, it seems.
Avengers: Age of Ultron made a lot of money at the time, and while it didn’t quite get the buzz of its predecessor upon release, most Marvel fans have given the film a positive reassessment over the years.
7. Avengers: Endgame (2019) - $356m
OK, now this is the one we thought would be higher up the list. When Marvel assembled quite literally every single hero to date in its epic conclusion to the Infinity Saga, the studio no doubt broke the bank to pay each member of the star-studded cast for Avengers: Endgame. And that’s before we even get into the mind-boggling amount of CGI that went into the film.
Still, Avengers: Endgame made just under $2.8 billion at the box-office, so it’s safe to say Marvel made a wise investment with that $356m budget. Plus, it’s one of the greatest superhero movies ever made, so credit where credit’s due.
8. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) - $351m
Post-Covid, movies just seem to be getting more expensive, but to be fair, when you’re dealing with a magic superhero flying through the very fabric of reality in the multiverse, you’re going to need to spend some cash to make that look good. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is an ambitious project, to say the least, but you can’t deny it does have a distinct and effective visual style.
There’s also the small matter of that impressive roster Marvel put together for the Illuminati. Patrick Stewart surely doesn’t come cheap, and the fact he’s back for the Avengers: Doomsday cast along with a million other actors suggests we could be adding a new entry to this list very soon.
9. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) - $350m
The third highest-grossing movie of all time–behind Avengers: Endgame and its own predecessor–Avatar: The Way of Water was always going to cost a pretty penny. The worlds that James Cameron builds on Pandora and beyond are truly stunning, and a real technical achievement, but to make it all work, the franchise has cost upwards of $550m already, with more to come.
Cameron is continually pushing the boundaries of what is possible with digital filmmaking, and the funny thing is, he keeps on making incredible returns at the box-office to make it all worth it and fund the next adventure.
10. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) - $330m
Honestly, of all the movies on this list, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is probably the most difficult one to defend when it comes to justifying such a bloated budget. To spend $330m on a film and yet still produce something as that nightmare-inducing version of M.O.D.O.K is quite bizarre, really, and it’s difficult to know where the money actually went, as it surely didn’t go to the CGI department.
While the film has its highlights, including the backstory behind Kang the Conquerer, Scott Lang’s threequel is a real disappointment, especially after the first two movies in his mini series were so much fun. It was also a flop at the box-office for Marvel, which must have hurt given the studio’s impressive run of success beforehand.
Honourable mentions
- Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - $326m
- Avengers: Infinity War - $325m
- The Electric State - $320m
- The Marvels - $307m
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End - $300m
Where to watch the most expensive movies ever made
Check out the list below for where to watch all these incredible movies and see if they were worth the big bucks, by catching them on streaming services like Amazon Prime Video and more!
