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With sufficient funding, a skilled director can transform almost any concept into a cinematic masterpiece. James Cameron remains vague about the exact budget for his highly anticipated Avatar sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water, though industry experts speculate it ranges from $250 to $400 million. When questioned by GQ about the film's cost, Cameron succinctly replied, "Very f***ing [expensive]."
The highest-budget films ever created often exceed the revenue most movies generate. While some investments yield massive returns, others result in financial losses, potentially leading to job cuts. Even when accounting for inflation, the majority of the films on this list of the 30 most expensive movies were produced within the past 20 years.
Leading the list is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. When adjusted for inflation, the fourth installment in the Pirates series had a production cost of $456 million—a record that remains unbroken since its 2011 debut. Although it didn't surpass the earnings of the original trilogy, it still recouped its budget, grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
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The Pirates of the Caribbean series also includes the third costliest film ever produced, with 2007's At World's End costing $392 million when adjusted for inflation. The top five is rounded out by Marvel's Avengers films, with Age of Ultron (2015) securing the second spot at $417 million, Endgame (2019) in fourth, and Infinity War (2018) in fifth. Pre-2000 entries on this list include James Cameron's Titanic (1997), the original Avatar (1999), Waterworld (1995), and Wild Wild West (1999).
Below, you'll find the complete list of the 30 most expensive films ever made, with their inflation-adjusted budgets. For a look at which high-budget movies performed poorly at the box office, check out the list of the biggest flops here.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) // $456 million
- Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) // $417 million
- Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007) // $392 million
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) // $377 million
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018) // $351 million
- Avatar: The Way of the Water (2022) // $350 million
- Titanic (1997) // $338 million
- Spider-Man 3 (2007) // $337 million
- Justice League (2017) // $332 million
- Tangled (2010) // $323 million
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) // $316 million
- John Carter (2012) // $311 million
- Waterworld (1995) // $306 million
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006) // $302 million
- Avatar (1999) // $299 million
- (TIE) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) // $297 million
- (TIE) Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) // $297 million
- Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) // $296 million
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) // $291 million
- Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) // $290 million
- (TIE) King Kong (2005) // $287 million
- (TIE) Spider-Man 2 (2004) // $287 million
- Furious 7 (2015) // $286 million
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) // $283 million
- (TIE) X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) // $282 million
- (TIE) Beauty and the Beast (2007) // $282 million
- Spectre (2015) // $280 million
- Wild Wild West (1999) // $277 million
- (TIE) The Fate of the Furious (2017) // $276 million
- (TIE) The Lion King (2019) // $276 million
