From hiring a star-studded cast to creating visual effects, movie production can cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Here we take a look at the 15 most expensive movies ever made. Figures are in US dollars, without marketing costs or inflation adjustments. We use disclosed costs after tax rebates where available, and the lower end of published estimates otherwise:
15. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) ($330.1 Million)
For a movie about a man who shrinks, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania came with a very large bill. Financial disclosures list production spending at $388.4 million, before a $58.3 million UK tax rebate. That is a great deal of money for a sequel that drifted so far from the first film’s small-scale heist.
Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang still lands a few good jokes. The film devotes far more time to setting up Kang than to making room for the family comedy.
14. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) ($343.2 Million)
Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi was full of costly imagery, ranging from Snoke’s red throne room to the battle across the salt flats of Crait. Mark Hamill also got a far larger part from Luke Skywalker’s comeback than he had in his short appearance in the prior film.
Subsequent financial reports placed the movie’s production costs at $414.6 million before tax relief, which left a net cost of $343.2 million. Viewers continue to debate Luke’s arc, yet that red-and-white battlefield gives the sequel a visual identity you would never confuse with any other Star Wars film.
13. Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025) ($350 Million)
In 2025, James Cameron’s third Avatar movie returned audiences to Pandora. Its production budget is reported to be between $350 million and $400 million; the lower figure is what earns it this spot on the list.
Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña are back as Jake and Neytiri, and Oona Chaplin joins the cast in the role of Varang. Her Na’vi clan poses a threat to the Sully family that comes from within Pandora itself.
12. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) ($350 Million)
Thirteen years passed before Avatar: The Way of Water finally arrived. Cameron spent that period developing underwater performance capture, which required figuring out how to record the actors’ movements in conditions the first film had never tried.
The precise budget is still a matter of debate, with published estimates ranging from $350 million to roughly $460 million. This article relies on the lower estimate. The ocean sequences account for much of that ambition: swimming Na’vi and enormous sea creatures must share the water in a world that still feels alive. Even those who felt the story was familiar had a new region of Pandora to explore.
11. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) ($350.6 Million)
Sam Raimi carried some horror-movie habits into Marvel’s multiverse, and the result is most enjoyable when it turns nasty. Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch gives the threat a personal edge, even while Doctor Strange and America Chavez dash through various worlds.
Those worlds carried a substantial price. UK financial filings revealed $414.9 million in production spending, offset by a $64.3 million rebate. Despite all that money, it’s often Raimi’s eerie flourishes that linger: a sudden jump scare or a dead sorcerer dragged back into service.
10. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) ($352.3 Million)
Harrison Ford’s fifth Indiana Jones movie cost much more than an old leather jacket and a whip would imply. Reported production costs came to $419 million, and a UK reimbursement brought Disney’s net bill down to $352.3 million.
James Mangold stepped in to direct, and the opening sequence relied on digital de-aging to place a younger-looking Ford in a wartime adventure. After that, the film shifts back to an older Indy, who must keep pace with Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Helena. It is an expensive goodbye, and the box office did not match the scale of the risk.
9. Avengers: Endgame (2019) ($356 Million)
Over a decade of Marvel movies built up to Avengers: Endgame, which needed to resolve the defeat from Infinity War while also bidding farewell to several of the original Avengers. With a massive cast and a time-travel plot, the production revisited well-known corners of the MCU.
The $356 million number is a standalone production estimate that has been widely reported. More recent accounts merge its expenses with those of Infinity War, so they don’t offer a clear final cost for either film individually. On screen, the huge battle justifies its expense, yet Tony Stark’s farewell resonates more than yet another army of digital foes.
8. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) ($365 Million)
No one could have imagined it was possible. Comprising iconic superheroes as a team, Marvel Cinematic Universe released Avengers to universal acclaim and became one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
With the ensemble cast returning, it was no surprise to see a bigger budget for Avengers: Age of Ultron. Its reported net production cost reached $365 million after UK tax rebates, well above the early estimates quoted when the movie first came out.
7. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) ($378.5 Million)
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides received mixed to negative reviews and is not a recommended movie amongst the products of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Despite every bit of nasty thing one can throw at the fourth installment of the popular franchise, it cannot be doubted that Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow is easy money! As surprising as it may seem, On Stranger Tides did not even receive a single Oscar nomination, but with a mind-boggling budget of $378.5 million, it crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office and was reported as the most expensive movie ever made at the time of its release.
6. Fast X (2023) ($378.8 Million)
In Fast X, the street-racing origins of the Fast & Furious series seem very distant. Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) confronts a revenge scheme orchestrated by Dante (Jason Momoa), and the cast also features John Cena and Jason Statham.
Financial documents showed $453.6 million in production costs prior to a $74.8 million reimbursement. Filming took place across multiple countries and utilized seven sound stages at Leavesden. Momoa, for his part, brings such flair to Dante that nearly everyone else comes across as painfully serious.
5. Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) ($429 Million)
The initial budget figures did not capture the full picture of Deadpool & Wolverine. Subsequent financial statements revealed $533.7 million in expenditures prior to $104.7 million in tax credits and reimbursements. The 2023 Hollywood strikes also caused disruptions to production.
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman at last shared a complete film as their most famous comic-book characters, accompanied by a stream of recognizable faces. The humor frequently pokes fun at Marvel itself. Viewers showed up regardless, driving the film far beyond $1 billion worldwide.
4. Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) ($464.5 Million)
Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom is yet another sequel whose financial records reveal a story quite different from its initial budget reports. Reported costs climbed to $555.4 million before tax relief reduced the net amount to $464.5 million.
J. A. Bayona opens with a rescue mission on an island threatened by a volcanic eruption, then relocates the dinosaurs to a mansion. For a production of this size, the shift in scale is unusual, yet the tighter spaces allow him to present the creatures as monsters in a haunted house. Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard are back, though with noticeably less space in which to run.
3. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) ($490.2 Million)
Bringing the nine-film Skywalker saga to a close was never going to be a small-scale production. J. J. Abrams came back to direct The Rise of Skywalker, resolving Rey’s conflict with Kylo Ren and placing Emperor Palpatine once again at the heart of the action.
Financial reporting placed spending at $593.7 million before tax credits, resulting in a net cost of $490.2 million. That pays for plenty of space battles, but it doesn’t make the film’s hurry to resolve old questions feel any less rushed.
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) ($535.5 Million)
Disney’s first Star Wars movie was tasked with introducing fresh heroes while also bringing back the familiar faces audiences had longed to see. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega came on board alongside Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, with J. J. Abrams at the helm for the comeback.
Later financial disclosures revealed a bill far higher than the initial projections, with net production costs reaching $535.5 million. Worldwide, the film brought in over $2 billion. Whether or not the story beats felt familiar, the opportunity to see Han and Leia once more proved an irresistible attraction.
1. Jurassic World Dominion (2022) ($548.6 Million)
Jurassic World Dominion secures the number one position based on its reported production expenditure. Financial statements released in October 2026 list its cost at $683.7 million, before UK incentives brought the net figure down to $548.6 million.
Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard appeared alongside the original trio of Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. That reunion carried an enormous visual effects cost, and shooting amid the pandemic brought further delays and expensive safety protocols. The film surpassed $1 billion at the box office, yet with expenses at this level, even that figure doesn’t ensure a straightforward profit.
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