Of course, a movie with a high budget doesn't necessarily mean that it is certain to make a satisfactory profit in return or, for that matter, be a well-crafted and entertaining story.
TOP 10 Most Expensive Movie Ever Made
1- Pirates of the Caribbean
the most expensive movie ever made: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides -- the only Pirates movie to surpass a $400 million budget. The reasons why the film was so expensive include the multitude of filming locations, the use of 3D cameras similar to those used on Avatar, and a total of ten companies working on the extensive visual effects.
2- Avengers: Age of Ultron
The second most expensive movie ever made is none other than Avengers: Age Of Ultron. With filming locations spanning across the globe and lots of special effects, the movie features a budget of over $386 million. But as always with the MCU franchise, it made a profit and became the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2015.
3- Avengers: Endgame
The anticipation for Avengers: Endgame, the movie that would conclude the Infinity Saga storyline, was enormous. It's only natural that the numbers would prove that. Using a budget of $350M, the movie grossed $2.798 billion worldwide. If you think that Infinity War's achievements are impressive, Endgame surpasses them by becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time from July 2019 until March 2021.
4- Avengers: Infinity War
Now, let's be honest: when has an Avenger movie not lived up to its expectations, particularly when it comes to the grossed earnings? Using a budget of $316M definitely paid off, considering how Avengers: Infinity War became the first superhero movie to gross over $2 billion worldwide.
5- Pirates of the Caribbean
On the contrary, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End shows the world that investing $300 million into a film can yield great results. The third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise became the highest grossing movie of 2007, grossing over $960 million.
6- Justice League
Time proves again and again that a high production budget does not necessarily equate to global success. The highly-anticipated Justice League cost over $300M to make and yet, it is a box office bomb that ended up losing Warner Bros. money. Justice League is an attempt by the studio to change course after the negative reception to the previous film; Batman v. Superman.
7- Solo: A Star Wars Story
The second live-action Star Wars anthology film, Solo: A Star Wars Story, centers on a young Han Solo that is not played by Harrison Ford. Solo is infamously known for its difficult production, with original directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller being removed far in to the filmmaking process. According to Vanity Fair, the film became the first Star Wars box office bomb. It grossed $393.2 million worldwide, which in comparison, fell drastically short of The Last Jedi's $1.333 billion.
8- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
The most expensive movie of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, is also the lowest-grossing of the trilogy. However, it still managed to make a net profit of $300 million and become one of the highest-grossing movies of 2019. More than $275 million was put into making and marketing the film. The Rise of Skywalker was the last movie to gross over $1 billion before the COVID-19 pandemic.
9- John Carter
John Carter is one of the few movies that holds two drastically contrasting titles: it's one of the most expensive movies ever made, but it's also one of the biggest box office bombs (though its lead actor Taylor Kitsch would disagree). The sci-fi epic used a budget of more than $264 million and only grossed $73 million domestically.
10- Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
More than $260 million was used to make Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and yet, it did not perform as well as Aquaman or Wonder Woman. The film earned over three times its budget during its theatrical run, per Forbes, but suffered a major drop after an incredible opening weekend.
