Summary

2023 has insure the release of some staggeringly expensivemovies , specify both positive and minus records with their boxful office draw . The past year has seen some massive budgets stray their way into theaters , an increasingly risky proposition as audiences show up to cinemas in record downcast number . While taking a gamble on a big budget has make up off for some high - bring in enfranchisement , 2023 has also marked the year in which some reproducible winning franchises fell from their former nimbus .

The yr has been particularly rough on Disney , who systematically lose on high - investment properties , resulting in the first yr since 2014 that the media giant did n’t release a billion - dollar wage earner . This includes the MCU , who struggled to earn back many of their with child - budgets , along with the last flick of the DCEU , suggesting somelessons the superhero genre necessitate to learn . It ’s fascinating to see how the magnanimous budget films of 2023 diddle out at the box office , and to dissect why they were so expensive in the first position .

10Elemental

200 million dollars

The latest offering from the critically - lauded 3D invigoration studio under Disney ’s employ , Pixar , Elementalhad a 200 million - dollar budget . This proud identification number has become Pixar ’s standard for new releases since 2022’sLightyear , the kid - friendly recording label hoping to harness caliber over quantity . Despite the lack of fanfare around its release and lukewarm decisive reception , Elementalmanaged to earn back its budget and then some , slowly creeping into the ninth - highest grossing pic of 2023 . The always - impressive dazzlingly detailed animation of Pixar picture continues to be a worthy investment .

9Killers Of The Flower Moon

Another crime epos unleash by the prestigiousness cinema legend Martin Scorsese , the aging director has bear witness he ’s still capable of wowing critic with a thought - chevy tale of greed . unluckily , Killers of the Flower Moonwasn’t able to transfer the momentum of its critical succeeder into a strong boxful office , fumbling its200 million dollar budgetwith a measly 120 million takeaway after three weekends . The film ’s budget likely was exponentially amplify by the front of big - name actor like Leonardo DiCaprio , Robert De Niro , and Brendan Fraser .

8Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom

215 million dollars

The final film to be released within the DCEU , Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom ’s budgetballooned to 215 million dollar , foursquare placing it as one of the most expensive DCEU films of all meter . Allegedly , a staggering 15 million of this budget rifle directly to hark back actor Jason Momoa , who ’s star status has been elevated high enough since the firstAquamanto get away with such demands . Beyond the adept power , the moving picture ’s gallant budget also was necessary to craft the antic undersea worlds of Atlantis .

7Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3

250 million dollars

The last ledger entry in James Gunn ’s adoredGuardians of the Galaxyseries , Guardians of the Galaxy Vol . 3was a fitting , bittersweet send off to the misfit pack of spacefaring heroes led by earthling Peter Quill . By far the MCU ’s top wage earner in 2023,Guardians of the Galaxy ’s 250 million price tagturned out to be well - spend as the moving picture returned with a worldwide loge berth catch of over 800 million dollar bill . keep the trilogy ’s big - name star like Chris Pratt and Zoe Saldana , along with forge a credible location and foreigner for the proscribed - space adventure , evidence to be well worth the investment this time around .

6The Marvels

274 million dollars

WhileGuardians of the Galaxy Vol . 3may have been a winner , the MCU also attend one of it ’s worst box office flop of all time in 2023 withThe Marvels . The motion picture ’s budget was only recently quietly confirmed to have been a astonishing 274.8 million dollars ( viaForbes ) . Despite deduct a coolheaded 55 million in subsidies from the United Kingdom thanks to take there , the photographic film was still a historic deprivation , have the single unfit U.S. opening of any Marvel pic . It ’s no marvel Disney was n’t eager to sheepishly allow in the final yield budget .

5Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning: Part One

290 million dollars

Between the star mogul of Hollywood icon Tom Cruise and the demise - defying real stunts one - upped by each serial film in the franchise , theMission Impossibleseries has been an expensive serial for a long clock time . The consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic madeMission unsufferable - Dead Reckoning : Part One ’s budget extend even further , however , suffering from numerous hiatuses in shoot that Cruise heroically insisted the film ’s crowd be paid for ( viaCollider ) . as luck would have it , the film was able to earn a massive insurance payout which , alongside a tidy worldwide haul of 566 million dollars , allowed the plastic film to steadily creep towards a net .

4Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

295 million dollars

revive the long - dormant military action - dangerous undertaking franchise that had n’t seen the light source of day since 2008,Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyasked Lucasfilm and Disney for a collective 295 million dollars , not including the cost of advert ( viaVariety ) . The multiple period preferences , action setpieces , and return key of an cured Harrsion Ford probably all had their contribution to such a monstrous budget . Tragically , the motion-picture show go wrong to make back its marketing cost , suggest that the sleeping enfranchisement should ’ve stayed in a museum .

3The Little Mermaid

300 million dollars

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdomwasn’t the only undersea adventure to blessing theatre of operations in 2023 , with the live - action remaking ofThe picayune Mermaidthrowing audiences into the deep remainder of a as if by magic - rendered world of photorealistic talking Pisces the Fishes and big name Javier Bardem and Melissa McCarthy . ab initio estimated to be around 250 million , The Little Mermaidstrue budget was find out to be confining to the neighborhood of 300 million after taking vantage of similar U.K. subsidy , similarly toThe Marvels(viaBounding Into Comics ) . Lucky for Disney , the hefty price tatter was deserving the smirch of one of 2023 ’s best - performing films .

2The Flash

Compared to Disney , it ’s a lot more apprehensible why Warner Bros. Discovery would require to obscure the dead on target budget of the dramatic box office bomb calorimeter , The Flash . The DCEU first appearance feature a whole parade of expensive cameo , bringing back the likes of Michael Keaton and Michael Shannon to repeat long - sleeping role , not to mention the usual CGI spectacle of similar superhero team - up picture show . YetThe Flashlost even more money than the initially - cover budget of 220 million dollars , with production having swelled to a jaw - dropping 300 million ( viaWorld of Reel ) .

1Fast X

340 million dollars

Since evolving from a low - stake , street - level crime story to a bombastic serial publication of luxuriously - flying espionage adventures , no serial has exponentially increased in damage quite like theFast and the Furiousfranchise . Demanding a flow of gamey - ending elevator car and military equipment to be feed into its volatile action sequence , not to mention an ever - expanding cast of some of Hollywood ’s biggest names , it ’s no wonderment whyFast X ’s budget was 2023 ’s single most expensive film at 340 million dollars(viaDextero ) . surprisingly , the franchise has prove it ’s worthy of such investment , asFast Xcracked the top five of the year ’s high - grossingmovies .

Josh Hartnett looking shocked in Fight or Flight

Ben Affleck as Christian drumming his hand on the table while talking to Cynthia Addai-Robinson’s Marybeth in The Accountant 2

Denzel-Washington’s-Best-The-Equalizer-2-Scene-Revealed-The-Real-Robert-McCall

Fast X Indiana Jones 5 Most Expensive Movies of 2023

The flaming main characters of Elemental enter a diner

Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ernest helps Lily Gladstone’s Molly out of a car in Killers of the Flower Moon

The Guardians of the Galaxy on Counter-Earth in GOTG Vol. 3

Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers, and Kamala Khan join forces in The Marvels

Indy (Harrison Ford) wearing a shocked expression in an old fashioned bomber aircraft in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Halle Bailey as Ariel looking at Scuttle in The Little Mermaid live-action remake

Vin Diesel as Dom looking worried inside his car in Fast X.