Fighting crime is apparently very costly work.
Film budgets are getting bigger these days. Blockbusters especially are starting to spend more money than entire countries, in no small part to inflation and the need to push the spectacle of big films. Everyone wants that next billion dollar earner, so they’re willing to shell out the money to see that happen. But the golden rule for a film to be considered successful is for it to bring in money equal to 2.5 times its budget… so the bigger budgets are making it harder for that to happen.
Which brings us to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is according to Latino Review ties Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides as the most expensive movie of all time. In addition, it seems the two part film Avengers: Infinity War will end up costing 1 billion dollars.
How much is the budget of Batman v Superman?
$410 million apparently. The Justice League two-part film will also reportedly cost $500 million. To put that in perspective, the officially reported budget of Man of Steel was $225 Million. James Cameron’s Avatar was also officially budgeted at $237 million, though it’s been said that the real production cost was between $280 million and $310 million.
Dear God… where does all the money go?
Movies are massive endeavors employing hundreds (sometimes thousands) of people. With big blockbusters like these, you’re paying for the use of state of the art equipment, set space, and the time of industry experts and talent. That adds up.
In the case of Avengers: Infinity War we understand how the budget can get so high. After all, the film will probably feature every major hero in the MCU thus far. Most of those actors, especially Robert Downy Jr., aren’t coming cheap after so many movies.
But what did Batman v Superman cost so much?
More so than Man of Steel, Batman v Superman is establishing the DC Cinematic Universe for years to come. It’s giving us characterizations of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor that we’re going to be seeing in quite a few films. That includes more casting, costume tests, and pre-production to get everything right. That work will hopefully trickle down to the rest of the DC films in the future, reducing costs.
But… there’s one little thing they’re not telling us.
… which is what?
They’re going to be spending even more money on these movies than what those numbers say.
How is that possible?
Well, promoting a movie costs a lot of money. They’ve got to advertise these things leading up to release, and they usually don’t report how much they had to spend doing it. So, while Avatar may have cost up to $310 million… they probably spend more than $100 million promoting the film.
Wow.
Yup. And this is why we’re only getting sequels, adaptations, and remakes these days. Because when you’re spending that kind of money you want to make sure it’s not going down the drain, so you bet on a sure thing.
Ain’t show business grand?
