Batman V Superman - Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill

Show business is exactly that: a business. Bringing iconic superheroes to the silver screen in particular requires incredible sums of money to faithfully portray their grandiose subject matter. In this regard, studios must tread lightly with their investments, for fear of ending up with a flop like 2011's Green Lantern.

Warner Bros. and DC Comics seem to have their work cut out for them - as it appears that director Zack Snyder's upcoming superhero showdown Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice has a budget that only Bruce Wayne or Lex Luthor could have bank rolled.

According to Latino Review, when all is said and done the budget for Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice comes in at roughly $410 million. This would make it a considerably more expensive film to produce than the last entry to the DC Extended Universe -- Man of Steel -- which reportedly cost roughly $225 million to make. This astronomical budget places Batman V Superman in a position to become the most expensive film of all time -- ousting the previous record holder: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

A number of factors may have contributed to the exorbitant cost of production (assuming this report is accurate), including the decision to bring in bigger name actors such as Ben Affleck, the increased cost of practical effects, and the extension of the film's shooting schedule. While Man of Steel may have been an expensive movie to make, bringing in characters like Batman, Wonder Woman, and Lex Luthor call for an escalation of the set-pieces - meaning costs will inevitably go up, too.

Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice Zack Snyder 2016 DC Movies WB Ben Affleck

Warner Bros. seems to have a great deal of faith in Zack Snyder's ability to bring these characters to the big screen to invest such a large sum of money in the project. After the lukewarm response Man of Steel received, they must now be wise to the fact that Batman V Superman is their final chance to catch up to Marvel -- everything needs to work with this film.

That being said, WB will apparently not be cutting a blank check for the director on everyone DCEU movie he works on. For both Justice League films, Snyder will (according to LR's scoop) have a combined budget coming in at around $500 million -- although that's still certainly nothing to scoff at, either.

NEXT: Batman V Superman - The Most Interesting Things to Know

Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice opens on March 25th, 2016; Suicide Squad on August 5th, 2016; Wonder Woman on June 23rd, 2017; Justice League on November 17th, 2017; The Flash on March 23rd, 2018; Aquaman on July 27th, 2018; Shazam on April 5th, 2019; Justice League 2 on June 14th, 2019; Cyborg on April 3rd, 2020; Green Lantern Corps on June 19th, 2020. Untitled Batman and Superman solo films will be coming at dates TBD.

Source: Latino Review