2. Waterworld (1995)
Director: Kevin Reynolds
Cost of production: $271 million USD
Kevin Costner lived on a trimaran in the middle of the ocean, that was once Earth before all the ice caps melted and dry land became a distant memory…Much like Hollywood blockbusters that cost less than $200 million USD. The Costner-starring flick of 1995 was the most expensive movie ever produced, at the time. Costner invested over $20 million of his personal funds into the film for which shooting took place aboard a gigantic 400-foot diameter atoll, specifically built for the production somewhere off the coast of Hawaii. The spectacular, 1000-ton floating set – over a quarter of a mile in circumference – also swallowed a lot of the movie’s budget given that it required aerial filming via seaplanes and helicopters.
What else could you buy for that: 2,084,615 inflatable four-person dinghies at $130 USD each.
1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)
Director: Rob Marshall
Cost of production: $397 million USD
Despite the very agreeable box office returns, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was no cheap date. 2007 and 2006’s Gore Verbinski-directed Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End cost $263 million and $341 million, respectively, with On Stranger Tides landing a slot as the most expensive long shot – with Jack Sparrow and Barbosa’s quest to find the elusive fountain of youth costing nearly $400 million.
What else could you buy for that amount: 24,812,500 kohl eye pencils at $16 USD a pop.