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Blockbuster Budgets: 15 of the Most Expensive Movies Ever Made
Blockbusters are expensive for reasons that go well beyond a famous face or two. Giant crews, location shoots, visual effects, reshoots, insurance, and pandemic delays can push production costs into the hundreds of millions.
Money is not a prerequisite for a good movie. "Napoleon Dynamite," for example, reached Sundance after costing about $400,000. Every film below, meanwhile, carries a reported production cost of roughly $300 million or more.
For this slideshow, 24/7 Tempo reviewed official studio materials, Box Office Mojo, and reporting based on public U.K. production-company filings. Movie budgets are notoriously murky: Some figures are estimates, exchange rates vary, and tax incentives can make gross and net costs look very different. When a documented net production cost was available, we used it; otherwise, the figure is identified as an estimate or range. Marketing costs are not included. Here are 15 exceptionally expensive movies.
"Jurassic World Dominion" (2022)
- Director: Colin Trevorrow
- Selected Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, BD Wong, Omar Sy, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, DeWanda Wise, and Mamoudou Athie
- U.S. Release Date: June 10, 2022
- Running Time: 147 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $531 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $1.002 billion
"Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018)
- Director: J.A. Bayona
- Selected Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rafe Spall, Toby Jones, Ted Levine, BD Wong, and Jeff Goldblum
- U.S. Release Date: June 22, 2018
- Running Time: 128 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $464.5 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $1.309 billion
"Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens" (2015)
- Director: J.J. Abrams
- Selected Cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, and Max von Sydow
- U.S. Release Date: December 18, 2015
- Running Time: 138 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $535.5 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $2.071 billion
"Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker" (2019)
- Director: J.J. Abrams
- Selected Cast: Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Anthony Daniels, Naomi Ackie, Domhnall Gleeson, Richard E. Grant, Lupita Nyong'o, Keri Russell, Joonas Suotamo, Kelly Marie Tran, Ian McDiarmid, and Billy Dee Williams
- U.S. Release Date: December 20, 2019
- Running Time: 142 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $489.9 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $1.077 billion
"Fast X" (2023)
- Director: Louis Leterrier
- Selected Cast: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, John Cena, Nathalie Emmanuel, Jordana Brewster, Sung Kang, Scott Eastwood, Daniela Melchior, Alan Ritchson, Helen Mirren, Brie Larson, Rita Moreno, Jason Statham, Jason Momoa, and Charlize Theron
- U.S. Release Date: May 19, 2023
- Running Time: 141 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $378.8 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $704.9 million
"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" (2011)
- Director: Rob Marshall
- Selected Cast: Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin McNally, and Geoffrey Rush
- U.S. Release Date: May 20, 2011
- Running Time: 137 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $378.5 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $1.047 billion
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)
- Director: Joss Whedon
- Selected Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany, Cobie Smulders, Anthony Mackie, Hayley Atwell, and Idris Elba
- U.S. Release Date: May 1, 2015
- Running Time: 141 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $365 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $1.405 billion
"Avengers: Endgame" (2019)
- Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
- Selected Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Brie Larson, Karen Gillan, Danai Gurira, Benedict Wong, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Josh Brolin
- U.S. Release Date: April 26, 2019
- Running Time: 181 minutes
- Estimated Production Budget: $356 million to $400 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $2.799 billion
"Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" (2022)
- Director: Sam Raimi
- Selected Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Rachel McAdams
- U.S. Release Date: May 6, 2022
- Running Time: 126 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $350.6 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $955.8 million
"Avatar: The Way of Water" (2022)
- Director: James Cameron
- Selected Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, and Kate Winslet
- U.S. Release Date: December 16, 2022
- Running Time: 192 minutes
- Estimated Production Budget: $350 million to $460 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $2.334 billion
"Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" (2023)
- Director: Peyton Reed
- Selected Cast: Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Jonathan Majors, Kathryn Newton, David Dastmalchian, Katy O'Brian, William Jackson Harper, Bill Murray, and Michelle Pfeiffer
- U.S. Release Date: February 17, 2023
- Running Time: 124 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $330.1 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $476.1 million
"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" (2023)
- Director: James Mangold
- Selected Cast: Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, Toby Jones, Boyd Holbrook, Ethann Isidore, and Mads Mikkelsen
- U.S. Release Date: June 30, 2023
- Running Time: 154 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $352.3 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $384 million
"Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)
- Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
- Selected Cast: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Tom Holland, Chadwick Boseman, Paul Bettany, Elizabeth Olsen, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, Dave Bautista, Zoe Saldaña, Josh Brolin, and Chris Pratt
- U.S. Release Date: April 27, 2018
- Running Time: 149 minutes
- Estimated Production Budget: $325 million to $400 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $2.052 billion
"The Electric State" (2025)
- Directors: Anthony and Joe Russo
- Selected Cast: Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, Ke Huy Quan, Jason Alexander, Woody Harrelson, Anthony Mackie, Brian Cox, Jenny Slate, Giancarlo Esposito, and Stanley Tucci
- Netflix Release Date: March 14, 2025
- Running Time: 128 minutes
- Reported Production Budget: About $320 million
"The Marvels" (2023)
- Director: Nia DaCosta
- Selected Cast: Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-joon, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, and Samuel L. Jackson
- U.S. Release Date: November 10, 2023
- Running Time: 105 minutes
- Reported Net Production Cost: $307.3 million
- Worldwide Box Office: $206.1 million