thumb|right|[[Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film)|Ben-Hur (1925) was the most expensive film of the silent era, possibly holding the record for over twenty years.|alt=The theatrical poster for Ben-Hur (1925) depicting a man behaving in a sexually aggressive manner towards a woman cowering from him.]]
It is not clear which film is the most expensive ever made, due to the secretive nature of Hollywood accounting. Star Wars: The Force Awakens holds the official record with a net budget of $536 million. The production of the third and fourth Avengers films—Infinity War and Endgame—stands as the most expensive back-to-back film production, with a cost of over $1 billion.
Inflation, filming techniques, and external market forces affect the cost of film production. Costs rose steadily during the silent era; 1925's Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ set a record that lasted well into the sound era. Television had an impact on rising costs in the 1950s and early 1960s as cinema competed with it for audiences; 1963's highest-earning film, Cleopatra, did not recoup its costs on its original release. The 1990s saw two thresholds crossed: 1994's True Lies cost $100 million and 1997's Titanic cost $200 million, both directed by James Cameron. The 21st century has so far seen the $300 million and $400 million thresholds crossed and it has become normal for a tent-pole feature from a major film studio to cost over $200 million, and an increasing number of films now cost more than $300 million.
This list contains only films already released to the general public and not films that are still in production or post-production, as costs can change during the production process. Listed below is the net negative cost: the costs of the actual filming, not including promotional costs (i.e. advertisements, commercials, posters, etc.) and after accounting for tax subsidies. The charts are ordered by budgets that have been independently audited or officially acknowledged by the production companies where they are known; most companies will not give a statement on the actual production costs, so often only estimates by professional researchers and movie industry writers are available. Where budget estimates conflict, the productions are charted by lower-bound estimates.
Most expensive productions (unadjusted for inflation)
Productions with a net budget of over $200 million in nominal U.S. dollars are listed here. Due to inflation, all of the films on the chart have been produced in the 21st century.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Most expensive films
! scope="col" | Rank
! scope="col" style="width:30em;"| Title
! scope="col" style="width:5em;"| Year
! scope="col" style="width:5em;"| Cost (est.)<br />
! scope="col" style="width:8em;" class="unsortable" | Refs and notes
|-
| 1
! scope="row" | Star Wars: The Force Awakens
| style="text-align:center;" | 2015
| style="text-align:right;" | $536<!--535.5 net-->
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
! scope="row" | Gladiator II
| style="text-align:center;"| 2024
| style="text-align:right;"| $250
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 41
! scope="row" | Black Widow
| style="text-align:center;" | 2021
| style="text-align:right;" | $248
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| 44
! scope="row" | Avatar
| style="text-align:center;" | 2009
| style="text-align:right;" | $237
| style="text-align:center;" |
|}
Most expensive films (adjusted for inflation)
<!-- linked from redirect List of most expensive films adjusted for inflation -->
The productions listed here have their nominal budgets adjusted for inflation using the United States Consumer Price Index taking the year of release. Charts adjusted for inflation are usually ordered differently, because they are dependent on the inflation measure used and the original budget estimate.
The Soviet War and Peace, released in four parts across 1966 and 1967, is sometimes cited as the most expensive production ever: Soviet claims stating it cost $100 million (estimated at nearly $700 million accounting for inflation forty years after its release) were circulated in the American press during its showing there. However, its financial records reveal it cost slightly more than $9 million (about $60–70 million in today's money). Another notable omission is Metropolis, the 1927 German film directed by Fritz Lang, often erroneously reported as having cost $200 million at the value of modern money. Metropolis cost $1.2–1.3 million at the time of its production, which would be about $ million at 2021 prices, according to the German consumer price index.
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Most expensive films adjusted for inflation
|-
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Rank
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year
! scope="col" colspan="2" | Cost (est.)
! scope="col" rowspan="2" class="unsortable" | Refs and notes
|-
! scope="col" | Adjusted
! scope="col" | Nominal
|-
| 1
! scope="row" | Star Wars: The Force Awakens
| style="text-align:center;"| 2015
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $536
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 4
! scope="row" | Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $379
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 7
! scope="row" | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
| style="text-align:center;"| 2007
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $300
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 11
! scope="row" | Avengers: Infinity War
| style="text-align:center;"| 2018
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $325
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 15
! scope="row" | Justice League
| style="text-align:center;"| 2017
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $300
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 16
! scope="row" | Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
| style="text-align:center;" | 2022
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;" | $351 <!-- The budget was initially reported as $200, was later reported as $294.5, and has recently been reported as $350.6, and this chart rounds to the nearest million. -->
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 17
! scope="row" | Avatar: The Way of Water
| style="text-align:center;" | 2022
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $350
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 18
! scope="row" | Tangled
| style="text-align:center;"| 2010
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $260
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Solo: A Star Wars Story
| style="text-align:center;"| 2018
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $300
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 21
! scope="row" | Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
| style="text-align:center;" | 2023
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;" | $352
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 22
! scope="row" | John Carter
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $264
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 23
! scope="row" | Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
| style="text-align:center;" | 2016
| style="text-align:right;" | $
| style="text-align:right;" | $271
| style="text-align:center;" | The $500 million figure also incorporates the $150 million marketing budget, and the costs of developing the necessary 3-D cameras and motion capture technology which were independently financed by private investors and none of which are included in the production cost. Recent estimates put the production costs at about $310 million, although a 15% tax rebate from New Zealand is expected to reduce the final bill by $25–30 million, which would ultimately put the cost at around $280 million. but the studio later acknowledged it cost $237 million after its budget came under intense media scrutiny. A further $1 million per minute were spent on the nine minutes of extra footage in Avatar: Special Edition. |group="nb" |name="avatar"
|-
| 27
! scope="row" | Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
| style="text-align:center;"| 2016
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $263
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 28
! scope="row" | Avatar: Fire and Ash
| style="text-align:center;" | 2025
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;" | $350
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| 29
! scope="row" | Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
|style="text-align:center;" | 2023
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $330
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 30
! scope="row" | King Kong
| style="text-align:center;"| 2005
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $207
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 32
! scope="row" | Furious 7
| style="text-align:center;"| 2015
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $250
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 37
! scope="row" | Wild Wild West
| style="text-align:center;"| 1999
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $170
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 38
! scope="row" | The Fate of the Furious
| style="text-align:center;"| 2017
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $250
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Man of Steel
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $225
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 47
! scope="row" | The Avengers
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $220
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Captain America: Civil War
| style="text-align:center;"| 2016
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $230
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 51
! scope="row" | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
| style="text-align:center;"| 2017
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $230
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Men in Black 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $215
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 53
! scope="row" | Eternals
| style="text-align:center;" | 2021
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;" | $254
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| rowspan="5" | 54
! scope="row" | Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | 2012
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Terminator Salvation
| style="text-align:center;"| 2009
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $217
| style="text-align:center;"| with The Hollywood Reporter reporting the final cost to be at the upper end of this range.
|-
| 59
! scope="row" | Quantum of Solace
| style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 60
! scope="row" | Troy
| style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $175
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 61
! scope="row" | Oz the Great and Powerful
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $215
| style="text-align:center;"| although an insider suggests its cost was approximately $235 million.
|-
! scope="row" | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
| style="text-align:center;"| 2005
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $180
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | No Time to Die
| style="text-align:center;"| 2021
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $250
| style="text-align:center;"| but Variety have since published that the film cost $301 million. |group="nb" |name="NTTD"
|-
| 64
! scope="row" | Toy Story 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2010
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 65
! scope="row" | Black Widow
| style="text-align:center;" | 2021
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;" | $248 <!-- The budget was initially reported as $200 but has recently been reported as $288.5 and this chart rounds to the nearest million.-->
| style="text-align:center;" | However, financial statements that have since been filed in the United Kingdom show that production costs totaled $288.5 million, offset by a $41 million tax rebate.
|-
| rowspan="2" | 66
! scope="row" | Battleship
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $209
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
| style="text-align:center;"| 2003
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $167
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 68
! scope="row" | Green Lantern
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Cars 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 70
! scope="row" | Transformers: Age of Extinction
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $210
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 71
! scope="row" | Transformers: The Last Knight
| style="text-align:center;"| 2017
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $217
| style="text-align:center;"| however FilmL.A. estimates the gross budget at $260 million, before factoring in an incentive of $21 million.
|-
! scope="row" | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
| style="text-align:center;"| 2012
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="3" | 76
! scope="row" | The Golden Compass
| style="text-align:center;"| 2007
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $180
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Transformers: Dark of the Moon
| style="text-align:center;"| 2011
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $195
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | X-Men: Days of Future Past
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $205
| style="text-align:center;"| but The Wall Street Journal gives a precise net figure of $215 million.
|-
| rowspan="3" | 79
! scope="row" | Armageddon
| style="text-align:center;"| 1998
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $140
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
| style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $185
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | The Dark Knight
| style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $185
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 82
! scope="row" | Iron Man 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Monsters University
| style="text-align:center;"| 2013
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 84
! scope="row" | Thor: Love and Thunder
| style="text-align:center;"| 2022
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $250
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
| style="text-align:center;"| 2022
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $250
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | n/a<!-- Do NOT add ranks to the un-ranked films. This is not an oversight, it is intentional; due to the lack of precision for the Superman budget we cannot conjecture how these films rank. -->
! scope="row" | Van Helsing
| style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $160
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | The Polar Express
| style="text-align:center;"| 2004
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $160
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="4" | n/a<!-- Do NOT add ranks to the un-ranked films. This is not an oversight, it is intentional; due to the lack of precision for the Superman budget we cannot conjecture how these films rank. -->
! scope="row" | The Amazing Spider-Man 2
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Exodus: Gods and Kings
| style="text-align:center;"| 2014
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $200
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Snow White
| style="text-align:center;"| 2025
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $272
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| n/a
! scope="row" | WALL-E
| style="text-align:center;"| 2008
| style="text-align:right;"| $
| style="text-align:right;"| $180
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| n/a
! scope="row" | Superman
| style="text-align:center;"| 1978
<!-- This chart is rounded to three significant figures so please do not alter the figures for Superman since it is one order out from all the other figures -->
| style="text-align:right;"| $–
| style="text-align:right;"| $55
| style="text-align:center;"| additionally, A Daughter of the Gods (1916) was advertised as costing a million dollars, but Variety estimated its true cost at $850,000. The first film to seriously challenge the record was Gone with the Wind, reported to have cost about $3.9–4.25 million, Ben-Hur was definitively displaced at the top of the chart by Duel in the Sun in 1946.
The 1950s saw costs rapidly escalate as cinema competed with television for audiences, culminating with some hugely expensive epics in the 1960s that failed to recoup their costs. Since the 1990s, film budgets have once again seen a dramatic increase as the use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) has become commonplace in big-budget features.
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+Timeline of the most expensive million dollar films
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:30em;"| Production
! scope="col" | Cost (est.)<br />
! scope="col" | Refs and notes
|-
| 1922
! scope="row" | Foolish Wives
| style="text-align:right;"| $1.104
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 1923
! scope="row" | The Ten Commandments
| style="text-align:right;"| $1.476
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 1925
! scope="row" | Ben-Hur
| style="text-align:right;"| $3.967
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 1939
! scope="row" | Gone with the Wind
| style="text-align:right;"| $3.9–4.25
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 1951
! scope="row" | Quo Vadis
| style="text-align:right;"| $7.623
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 1963
! scope="row" | Cleopatra
| style="text-align:right;"| $31.115
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 1988
! scope="row" | Rambo III
| style="text-align:right;"| $58–63
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | Who Framed Roger Rabbit
| style="text-align:right;"| $58.166
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 2015
! scope="row" | Star Wars: The Force Awakens
| style="text-align:right;"| $536
| style="text-align:center;"|
|}
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
|+Timeline of the most expensive back-to-back film productions
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" style="width:30em;"| Production
! scope="col" | Cost (est.)<br />
! scope="col" | Refs and notes
|-
| 1990
! scope="row" | Back to the Future Part II and Part III (1989–1990)
| style="text-align:right;"| $80
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2003
! scope="row" | The Matrix Reloaded <br /> The Matrix Revolutions
| style="text-align:right;"| $237
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
! scope="row" | The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001–2003)
| style="text-align:right;"| $260
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 2014
! scope="row" | The Hobbit trilogy (2012–2014)
| style="text-align:right;"| $623
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| 2019
! scope="row" | Avengers: Infinity War (2018) <br /> Avengers: Endgame (2019)
| style="text-align:right;"| $1,000
| style="text-align:center;"|