Steven Spielberg may be the most inventive director of all time. Widely regarded as a master of the craft, Spielberg has crafted numerous iconic films - many of which are visually resplendent blockbusters with extravagant action sequences. He dominated the 1980s with a string of indisputable classics and has continued strong ever since.
Unfortunately for financial backers, these types of movies don't come cheap. Action sequences are expensive - particularly the ones that Spielberg envisions. Many of Spielberg's movies have inflated budgets owing to their extravagance, sets, locations, and special effects. But which of his movies are the most expensive? The answers may prove surprising.
Munich (2005): $70 Million
Munich is one of Spielberg's most reserved films. Released in 2005, Munich concerns the titular Munich massacre that took place at the 1972 Summer Olympics. While the movie was positively received and appeared on a few best-of-the-year lists, Munich underperformed at the box office. The movie was reportedly made for $70 million but grossed just $130 million worldwide. Its domestic performance was particularly disappointing, as it grossed just $47 million in the United States and Canada.
Saving Private Ryan (1998): $70 Million
Often regarded as one of the greatest war films ever made, Saving Private Ryan was released to immense critical acclaim in the summer of 1998. Part of the acclaim stemmed from the movie's scope and convincing production values - production values that certainly didn't come cheap. Like Munich, Saving Private Ryan was made for $70 million. However, $70 million in 1998 is the equivalent of $110 million today. Luckily, every bit of that budget was put on the screen.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): $73 Million
Serving as the hotly anticipated follow-up to Jurassic Park, Universal put a lot of money behind the production of The Lost World. According to Box Office Mojo, The Lost World was given a budget of $73 million. When taking twenty years' worth of inflation into account, The Lost World was made for the 2020 equivalent of $120 million. Funnily enough, that number seems like nothing today, when dinosaur blockbusters are being made for $200 million.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): $100 Million
Another rather low-key Spielberg effort was A.I. Artificial Intelligence. Starring Haley Joel Osment, the movie was released in the summer of 2001 to good-not-great reviews and a rather muted box office performance.
With a massive budget of $100 million (about $150 million today), A.I. grossed just $78 million at the domestic box office and $235 million worldwide. It probably wasn't the type of smash hit that Warner Bros. and DreamWorks were expecting, but it proved relatively successful nonetheless.
Minority Report (2002): $102 Million
While Spielberg has a solid filmography of science fiction films behind him, Minority Report may be one of his greatest. Based on Philip K. Dick's novella of the same name, stars box office megastar Tom Cruise as Chief John Anderton. The movie was reportedly made for $102 million, which may seem a huge risk for a piece of heavy science fiction (as heavy sci-fi doesn't tend to do well). Luckily, Cruise's box office draw helped make Minority Report a success, and it went on to gross a very respectable $358 million at the worldwide box office.
The Adventures Of Tintin (2011): $130 Million
The Adventures of Tintin proves one of Spielberg's rare forays into animation. Based on the comic series by Hergé and adapted by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish, The Adventures of Tintin proves a remarkable piece of animation. As it should, considering the movie's $130 million budget. Unfortunately, the movie failed to generate much interest at the domestic box office, and it grossed just $77 million in the United States and Canada. Luckily, the film performed much better in the international market.
War Of The Worlds (2005): $132 Million
Another adaptation of a classic sci-fi story, War of the Worlds may prove one of Spielberg's most divisive. Many people cannot get over the tacked-on, anticlimactic ending, whereas others believe that the rest of the film is good enough to forgive its wobbly conclusion.
Regardless, War of the Worlds looks spectacular even to this day, and that's in no doubt due to its extravagant $132 million budget. Like Minority Report, War of the Worlds proved another Spielberg-Cruise success, grossing $603 million worldwide.
The BFG (2016): $140 Million
Another one of Spielberg's forays into animation (mostly), The BFG was released in 2016 and served as an adaptation of Roald Dahl's children's novel of the same name. It's quite obvious that The BFG cost a considerable amount of money, as its animation is second to none. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The BFG was made for $140 million - a considerable sum for an "original" piece of animation. Unfortunately, the movie mostly came to naught and was quickly forgotten.
Ready Player One (2018): $155-175 Million
Serving as Steven Spielberg's most recent movie, Ready Player One was released in the spring of 2018, serving as the long-awaited adaptation of Ernest Cline's popular novel. Cline adapted his own novel for the screen (alongside Zak Penn), and Spielberg served as director. The budget of the movie remains disputed, with some sources going as low as $155 million and some as high as $175 million. Regardless, it's a very expensive movie. And regardless, it's still not Spielberg's most expensive. That distinction goes to...
Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull (2008): $185 Million
Serving as the long-anticipated follow-up to The Last Crusade, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull served as the fourth entry in the Indiana Jones series and saw a 66-year-old Harrison Ford returning as the titular hero. An unbelievable amount of money went into the production of the film - $185 million to be exact. This makes Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull Spielberg's most expensive film ever made - even if it's far from his best.