From Avengers: Endgame, to Top Gun: Maverick, to Avatar: The Way of Water, big-budget blockbusters are returning to prominence, but none of these epic pictures top the charts as the most expensive movie of all time. Although there may be films that have a greater aggregate budget than the most expensive movie ever made, the chart-topper, when not considering advertising budgets, is surprising. This includes money allotted over the course of development through post-production, not distribution/marketing.
In relation to the most expensive movie ever made -- as is the case with many films -- the production phase proved to be the costliest. Several innovative filmmaking techniques were employed in order to craft this exorbitant feature, including extensive use of 3D technology akin to the sequences found in James Cameron's Avatar 2. While the visual effects and photography in the most expensive movie ever made were lavish and attributed to much of the budget, the choice to shoot on location also drastically increased the budget for the most expensive movie of all time.
Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Is The Most Expensive Movie Ever
While it may come as a surprise, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, the fourth entry in the Pirates franchise remains the most expensive movie put to the silver screen.
More remarkably, Pirates of the Caribbean 4's initial budget of over $410 million was even higher than the reported figure of $379 million, with a tax credit of $32 million written off due to the film’s production in the United Kingdom. Production took place at Pinewood Studios in England and several other landlocked locations, but costs were driven up by the need to capture scenes at sea, including those filmed in O'ahu, Hawaii. Additionally, following the revolutionary use of visual effects and 3D technology introduced in the original Avatar film, the crew attempted to follow suit by filming in 3D rather than converting the film to that format in post-production.
Did POTC: On Stranger Tides Justify Being The Most Expensive Movie Ever
As ludicrous as Pirates of the Caribbean 4's budget was, the film raked in more than $1 billion. This was an exceptional performance at the box office, and much like other big-ticket pictures, the vast majority of viewership came from international audiences. Pirates of the Caribbean 4 may not have been as big of a hit with audiences and critics as the previous three films in the franchise were, but it still pulled its weight at the box office, checking in as the second-highest-grossing film of the five behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
With Pirates of the Caribbean 6. Although the same costly 3D shooting process likely won't inflate Pirates of the Caribbean 6's budget as it did with Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, it remains to be seen whether the budget for the next entry in the franchise will sur that of the most expensive movie of all time.
