The 10 Most Expensive Marvel Movies Ever Made

Having produced over 40 movies, Marvel knows that creating a blockbuster hit is not cheap. The price tag on superhero hits racks up quickly when you take into account the price of things like visual effects, talent, and general production fees.

Being that Marvel is no stranger to crazy film costs, we thought we’d check out the studio’s most expensive films to date.

Before we dive into it, it’s important to note that the film budgets we’ll be using are estimates, as official costs are rarely released. Additionally, it’s worth noting that we’re considering all movies produced by Marvel, regardless of the distributor.

Lastly, we’re shouting it out to Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Iron Man 3, and Spider-Man 2 before we get started. These movies could have made the list with their productions averaging around $200 million, however, we can only fit so many films in the lineup.

With that said, it’s time to jump into action and dish out the big bucks; Here are the 10 Marvel movies that are more expensive than all the rest.

10 Black Panther – $200 million

The crowned king of the African nation known as Wakanda must return to his home country to rule over the lands after his father passes. However, his claim to the throne is threatened by a powerful enemy who he must learn to rise against for not only his own safety but that of his people.

Black Panther was highly successful, raking in over $1.3 billion dollars at the box office. This was good news for Marvel, as it cost the company around $200 million to produce. Wakanda forever!

9 X-Men: Days Of Future Past – $205 To $220 Million

This 2014 X-Men installment has the mutants traveling back in time to save themselves after being threatened by extinction. With Dr. Bolivar Trask attempting to wipe them out with robotic weapons known as Sentinels, their time is limited.

Though some sources have suggested the budget for the film was somewhere around $220 million, it’s been accepted that it cost at least $205 million to produce.

8 X-Men: The Last Stand – $210 Million

The sequel to 2003’s X2 has the mutants thinking about their futures after it is revealed that a cure for their conditions has been found. If they give up their powers and become human, they’ll be accepted by society. However, they’ll also lose the things that make them special. Of course, it doesn’t help that a war is looming between Charles Xavier and Magneto.

Though some sources give more conservative estimates, the budget for this one was known to be around $210 million. Assuming this is exact, The Last Stand would have been the most expensive film to have ever been made at the time of its release.

It has also been estimated that while the film is filled with special effects, one-sixth of the effects budget was spent on the movie’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge scene.

7 The Amazing Spiderman – $200 To $230 million

The first Spider-Man reboot, released in 2012, had Andrew Garfield taking on the titular role.

It followed Peter Parker’s attempt to save the city from a lizard creature after having been bitten by a genetically altered spider and gaining special abilities.

Though sources have released various budgetary estimates, they all come in somewhere between $200 million and $230 million. We’re sure the action-packed special effects and CGI had something to do with the costs coming in this high.

6 The Avengers – $220 Million

The original 2012 Avengers film had Fury assembling Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, and Hawkeye into a giant team meant to fight against the world’s biggest threat: Loki. After getting ahold of the powerful energy cube known as the Tesseract, Thor’s mischevious brother creates an agenda that must be ended quickly.

The big-budget film cost $220 million to produce. However, it made this up only 12 days after its release. The movie went on to acquire $1.5 billion at the box office, becoming the first-ever Marvel film to break the billion-dollar threshold.

5 Captain America: Civil War – $250 Million

This 2016 blockbuster pulled Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest of the superheroes into an all-out war against each other after they come into a disagreement over the future of the supers.

The budget was estimated to be around $250 million, thanks to the enormous scale of the film. Though the film wasn’t in the main Avengers series, it still borrowed the talent of many actors in the MCU, likely skyrocketing the production costs. Thankfully, the film grossed over $1.1 billion at the box office to make up for the high prices.

4 Spider-Man 3 – $258 Million

Before the first Spider-Man reboot – and the second one – Tobey Maguire was taking on the role of everyone’s friendly neighborhood Spider-Man.

The third installment in this series had Peter’s suit turning black and turning his actions chaotic. While the hero works to overcome the havoc created by his other self, Sandman and Venom become the city’s newest threats.

With a budget of around $258 million, the film was the most expensive to be made at the time of its release in 2007.

3 Avengers: Infinity War – $316 Million

The third installment in the Avengers series has the crew taking on the terrifying Thanos, who plans to collect the six Infinity Stones in order to wipe out and dominate the world. However, keeping the villain away from these proves to be the ultimate challenge.

Infinity War‘s budget is estimated to reach over $316 million. One look at those special effects will have you realizing why this number makes sense. Additionally, its been reported that both Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth, who play Captain America and Thor respectively, were given over $15 million each for their appearances.

2 Avengers: Endgame – $350 Million

The grand finale to the Avengers series had the team coming back together in an attempt to reverse the destruction Thanos had let out on earth, which obliterated half of humanity. They determine that if they travel back in time to rescue the Infinity Stones, they might be able to readjust the course of the world. However, this doesn’t come without its consequences.

The film’s production budget is estimated to be around $350 million, while the marketing campaign likely cost over $200 million. Though the special effects and massive scale of the film are to have surely driven up the production costs, the high-level talent also contributed to the price tag.

1 Avengers: Age Of Ultron $250 To $365 Million

Topping off the list is the second Avengers installment, which rushed into theaters in 2015.

This film had the gang teaming together to fight against Tony Stark’s peacekeeping robot that ends up gaining a mind of its own and threatening the safety of the world. As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, a set of superhuman twins set out to enact a competing agenda of their own.

Though some sources estimate the net production budget to be somewhere around $250 million, others have estimates that reach toward $365 million. If that latter of these two numbers is correct, Age of Ultron would rank as the second-most-expensive film to be made of all time.

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