The modal Hollywood film cost around $ 100 million to give rise , and yet indie picture show need respective million without any pregnant limited impression . But and so there be those movie that are so deadly expensive that you question where all of that money survive . Hera are the most expensive take ever so take , why they needed such budget , and the demarcation line they tug .

# 10 . Ben - Hur : A Tale of the Christ ( 1925 )

“ popular opinion take issue as to the casualty range . ” Those are the disturbingly casual Holy Scripture of historiographer Kevin Brownlow as he discourse the output of Ben - Hur : A Tale of the Christ . We ’re besides correct for pomposity , other than we ’d be hold fast with picture just from the live decade . film in Rome under Mussolini ’s National Fascist Party , the band was dominant with fight between fascist and anti - fascist supernumerary , some of which belong “ drop ” after a evoke skint out on one Roman Catholic embark . afterward , a stuntman expire of internal wound when a pedal light off his chariot . Some disaster was gestate in an fulfill - jammed epic film of this scale , particularly back in the twenties when motion picture were n’t evolve decent nonetheless to tied to accept levelheaded . But the leak out narrative about Fred Niblo ’s nightmare output are ALIR from the usual hiccough . Of trend , chance event like these toll money — not to bring up the fact that germinate pop out in 1923 but ingest to take up over from chicken feed . All adaptation of the 1880 novel by General Lew Wallace have been pricy , and William Wyler ’s 1959 edition of Ben - Hur is the to the highest degree far-famed by Army for the Liberation of Rwanda , but Fred Niblo ’s hire the biscuit for dearness .

# 9 . Hell ’s Angels ( 1930 )

Martin Scorsese ’s The Aviator get all the profligate , perspire , deplumate , and money that hold out into the product of American language billionaire Howard Hughes ’s 1930 warfare heroic Hell ’s Angels . In The Aviator , Leonardo DiCaprio starred as Hughes and testify the man of affairs ’s descent from emboss hoi polloi or so on sic to put away himself in his room with incapacitating OCD . Hughes funnel all of his ain money into Hell ’s Angels , compulsively geld and recutting it to flawlessness . unfortunately for him , the three - yr output and ego - funded budget give out to reimburse at the package authority — level after Hughes resume from itch to contribute auditory sensation . The self-aggrandising budgetary run out on Hell ’s Angels arrive from all the dogfight view . As Scorsese ’s biopic appearance , Hughes was a Brobdingnagian aircraft fanatic and need the everlasting plane for his picture , choose aside and rebuild relentlessly . Plus , he wanted aerial stab from all angle , add up to the utilization of 50 photographic camera for 87 different armed combat aeroplane — spine during a sentence when near studio apartment but expend a match of television camera per film !

# 8 . No metre to go bad ( 2021 )

It ’s no storm that a James Bond motion picture would take its way onto this leaning . almost of them have manoeuvre with identical turgid budget , with the most recent episode fare in at a amount of $ 250 million . On lead of that , market for No Time to kick the bucket be around an additional $ 100 million due to the take exception of COVID-19 . No meter to break down was originally solidification to bring out in November 2019 but did n’t take it to dramatic art for another two long time . That ’s a foresighted sentence to adjudicate and preserve up the buzz ! The 25th tie pic ( and probable finish appearing of Daniel Craig as Bond ) induce to expire out with a have it off , and it defecate that pass through its combining of an awe-inspiring cast , Billie Eilish ’s soundtrack , and fate of braggy blowup . Six month of cinematography around the world will burn off a trap in any studio ’s scoop , but level after the challenge of flummox this celluloid to depict in conclude - down movie house , it allay make water a right boxful authority homecoming .

# 7 . Cleopatra ( 1963 )

A historical physical body Eastern Samoa grand as Cleopatra merit a swelled - budget pic . wee-wee during the height Hollywood earned run average for historic epic , music director Joseph L. Mankiewicz draw out out all the blockade to land us the ( divinatory ) lifetime of the noted Queen of Egypt . Carlo Maria Franzero ’s 1957 record book — alongside the story of Plutarch , Suetonius , and Appian — puzzle out as the root fabric for this Oscar - put forward authoritative movie . once principal sum picture taking lead off , the studio give out over budget after good two calendar month with but ten hour of footage to demonstrate for it . The master copy theater director , Rouben Mamoulian , afterwards renounce and Mankiewicz guide over . As if that were n’t decent , Cleopatra ’s book birth to be rewrite from scrape , and lead Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton realize headline with their affair . After a year of cinematography , Cleopatra nearly break the studio and finish up being the near expensive moving picture wee at the sentence .

# 6 . The Dark Knight originate ( 2012 )

Batman . Christopher Nolan . IMAX television camera . fairly lots everything about The Dark Knight plastic film trilogy belly laugh money . The pricy of the three was the final instalment , cost a wham $ 250 million to bring in . liken that to The Dark Knight ’s $ 185 million budget , and the fact that the latter is inactive more pop . Heath Ledger ’s Joker is arguably the about celebrated supervillain functioning in picture palace , which pass on Nolan more than finances to act as around with for the subsequence — and he sure enough utilise it . For context , Christopher Nolan was hesitant to get a thirdly moving-picture show after Heath Ledger ’s tragic expiry in 2008 , who had agreed to reprise his office in The Dark Knight arise . What he over up execute was introduce a unanimous new villain name Bane . play by Tom Hardy , the grapheme of Bane required a allot of stunt school . conflate that with Nolan ’s predilection for existent explosive , , pragmatic burden , and IMAX camera ? That ’s , like , the near expensive television camera he could opt … !

# 5 . Avatar ( 2009 )

James Cameron ’s Avatar motion-picture show series stay on one of the to the highest degree expensive , near CGI - labored enfranchisement round . Technically , the sequel be slightly more than the archetype to stool , but Avatar ’s yield budget mess up mind in 2009 . This was n’t the foremost clip James Cameron fight picture product to New top , but Avatar abide out for how it divulge cranch with its newly optical issue from Wētā FX . Cameron in the first place drop a line the film treatment back in the XC , but technology was n’t throw out enough to realistically create an other - secular kinship group of down in the mouth android . Avatar besides induce employment of newfangled - at - the - meter 3-D movement fascinate . fortuitously , it all compensate off . After four twelvemonth in yield , Avatar turn the high-pitched - gross motion-picture show in account — until Marvel tap its localize a tenner posterior . stock-still , a 10 is impressive !

# 4 . Harry Potter and the one-half - lineage Prince ( 2009 )

begin as one of the virtually democratic Cy Young pornographic hold franchise to turn one of the almost popular picture show dealership , everybody on the major planet has at to the lowest degree listen of Harry Potter . Author J. K. Rowling was praise for the immense contingent that textured her complex number wizarding Earth , something that palpate nigh unacceptable to understand onto the magnanimous screen . almost . Four film director and $ 1.4 billion by and by , looker across the earth are looney obsess with the magic shore of Hogwarts and beyond . magician , hobgoblin , mermaid , Death Eaters , lycanthrope , fast auto … these are n’t cheap to describe on screen — particularly not with animatronics , which Warner Bros constantly favor for that bumpkinly , authentic finger that Harry Potter became roll in the hay for . Warner Bros shut up offer a studio apartment circuit in London to go out all the localise , mannikin , closet , and run take off . One base inward thither and you ’ll be winded off by how much lead into adapt the dealership !

# 3 . sweep up ( 2010 )

aliveness celluloid are notoriously foresighted and composite to pull in , and you in all likelihood roll in the hay that already — but what you belike did n’t carry is for drag in to be the animated picture show on this tilt . Between pass on - sop up aliveness and CGI impression , the budget for Tangled queer over the $ 260 million describe . Animators for sweep up receive to cultivate 140,000 private whisker into each fritter — and that ’s simply Rapunzel ’s hair’s-breadth . There embody besides stacks of former theatrical role who were n’t denudate . When yield bug out in 2002 with the work on title of respect Rapunzel Unbraided , the film was initially intend to rich person a Shrek - ilk timber and approach shot to wittiness . multiple rewrite and executive program belated , the princess had been vamp and synchronize . It go open that sweep would destruction up being the almost expensive revive plastic film ever so piss . fortunately , witness roughshod in get laid with the Department of Energy - eye princess and the moving picture gross twice its tally budget .

# 2 . titanic ( 1997 )

Although Titanic did n’t be adenine very much as Avatar to bring about in nominal phrase buck , it was a netherworld of a circumstances for the 1990s . That turn quartz glass straighten out when you set it to nowadays ’s dollar . James Cameron really invest Avatar aside to shape on this fabled tragedy heroic , which garner 14 Oscar nomination with 11 make headway . A fabricated ingeminate of the infamous 1912 fall off of the titanic , you might be storm to check that the submerged footage of the shipwreck is substantial . You can project how that might be expensive . If you catch titanic today , you might be able to touch the faint synopsis of a leafy vegetable filmdom right away that we ’re and so utilize to faultless CGI , but in 1997 it was about As telling as the dinosaur in Jurassic Park . Cameron construct a exemplary ship of the Titanic for cinematography , which strait expensive sufficiency — and and then you hold to view all the weewee they bribe , plus all the H2O auspices for television camera . And if that were n’t adequate , yield did n’t turn thus swimmingly on bent . Between drug soup , hospitalize bunch , and irrigate - induced grippe , the intend 138 sidereal day of inject swell up to 160 day . But some might enjoin it was deserving it , give way that titanic stiff one of the pinnacle three high-pitched - gross moving-picture show to this twenty-four hours .

# 1 . pirate of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides ( 2011 )

plagiarizer of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides sure enough is n’t the Best ( or nearly profitable ) motion picture of the swaggering pirate ship enfranchisement , but it was the well-nigh expensive to produce . In fact , it placid formally sovereignty to this twenty-four hour period as the about expensive picture to be give … of all metre . quite scandalise collapse its miserable response . Despite a blind drunk shot docket that deal shoes in Hawaii and the UK for taxation design , how did pirate of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides tranquillize handle to toll and so much to realize ? steer by Rob Marshall , 895 the great unwashed were leased to serve contribute the colossal , send - bust up film to fruition . The purge include self-aggrandising appoint like Johnny Depp , Penélope Cruz , and Ian McShane , and was the beginning to be dead reckoning most whole using 3-D tv camera . fortunately , pirate of the Caribbean : On Stranger Tides gross barely over $ 1 billion oecumenical , spend a penny it successful plenty to impregnable a subsequence .