Making a successful movie is no easy task. Though audiences and critics laude films with elaborate visual effects, stunning views and star-studded casts, all of those elements cost millions of dollars.
And movies are only getting more expensive. Back in 1991, “Terminator 2” garnered buzz by becoming the most expensive film ever produced, costing $178 million (inflation-adjusted). The following installment in 2003, “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines,” cost over $250 million to produce (inflation-adjusted) — and it doesn’t even crack the current top 10 most expensive films.
Using data from IMDb, PrettyFamous ranked the most costly movies ever made by their estimated inflation-adjusted budgets. The entertainment data site, part of the Graphiq network, used IMDb’s estimated production budgets and then used Consumer Price Index data to adjust the values for inflation. PrettyFamous ranked the movies by estimated budget and used profit values to break ties.
#20. X-Men: The Last Stand
(2006)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $248,054,167
Profit: $27,458,833
#19. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
(2008)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $248,857,192
Loss: $92,972,192
#18. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
(2016)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $250,000,000
Profit: $61,330,000
#17. Avengers: Age of Ultron
(2015)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $251,176,076
Profit: $207,823,924
#16. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
(2014)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $251,474,216
Profit: $3,929,784
#15. Spider-Man 2
(2004)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $252,124,934
Profit: $216,327,066
#14. King Kong
(2005)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $252,397,972
Profit: $12,211,028
#13. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
(2003)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $258,839,130
Loss: $65,181,130
#12. The Dark Knight Rises
(2012)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $259,296,846
Profit: $203,289,154
#11. The Avengers
(2012)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $259,296,846
Profit: $384,088,154
#10. Avatar
(2009)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $263,065,504
Profit: $577,068,496
#9. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
(2011)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $264,662,864
Loss: $10,673,864
#8. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
(2006)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $265,772,321
Profit: $231,823,679
#7. Waterworld
(1995)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $273,445,538
Loss: $136,261,538
#6. John Carter
(2012)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $273,506,313
Loss: $198,091,013
#5. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(2009)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $277,495,257
Profit: $56,077,743
#4. Tangled
(2010)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $283,937,704
Loss: $65,684,704
#3. Spider-Man 3
(2007)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $296,312,643
Profit: $88,432,357
#2. Titanic
(1997)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $296,737,695
Profit: $675,778,305
#1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
(2007)
Inflation-adjusted budget: $344,549,585
Profit: $9,183,415
