As of August 2020, there have been 23 MCU movies released. The journey started way back in 2008 with Iron Man in which Robert Downey Jr. made his debut appearance as the superhero who has since become an iconic figure in pop culture. The most-recent was Spider-Man: Far From Home, which provides some light relief after the emotional rollercoaster that was Avengers: Endgame.
But, which movie cost the most to make? And which cost the least? We’ll now take a look at the franchise so far and give you the lowdown on the money that has been pumped into the cinematic juggernaut.
Least: Ant-Man ($130,000,000)
Everybody was delighted when it was announced that Paul Rudd would be joining the MCU as Ant-Man. In the movie of the same name, he’s able to defeat Yellowjacket, who intends to use Hank Pym’s particles for his own evil agenda having been fuelled by revenge and power.
The movie was a cheap affair—well, cheap for Hollywood’s standards—and was made on a production budget of just $130,000,000. It got nowhere near the top 10 for the year, though, with Star Wars: The Force Awakens becoming the biggest film of 2015, instead.
Most: The Avengers ($225,000,000)
After five solo movies, Disney played the trump card with the release of The Avengers back in 2012. For the first time, loyal followers would get to see Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, Hulk, and Hawkeye all team up for an epic adventure.
And it delivered, with the movie quickly becoming a classic. The team unites to stop Loki from destroying New York, and there’s the tease of Thanos at the end to leave cinema-goers wanting more. It was the top movie of the year, beating competition from Skyfall and The Dark Knight.
Least: Ant-Man And The Wasp ($130,000,000)
Ant-Man and the Wasp was also made on a budget of $130m. Fans flocked to their local movie theatres to see why he’d missed the events of Avengers: Infinity War and what he got up to while the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, and co fought to keep Thanos at bay.
It made $622,674,139 worldwide and was a nice change of tone when you consider it released months after the heavy, emotional movie that was Infinity War. It ends with Scott Lang being stuck inside the Quantum Realm while Hope, Janet, and Hank are all turned to dust due to Thanos snapping on Wakanda.
Most: Captain America Civil war ($250,000,000)
While we’re on the subject of team-ups, that brings us onto Captain America: Civil War. Barring Thor and Hulk, nearly every MCU hero makes an appearance. But, rather than all fighting on the same side, the gang is split in two as a result of the Sokovia Accords.
Captain America doesn’t want to sign them, and he, Bucky Barnes, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, and Falcon all face off against Iron Man, Black Panther, Black Widow, Vision, and War Machine. Fortunately, nobody dies, but the consequences are severe, meaning they’re divided for when Thanos comes to Earth.
Least: The Incredible Hulk ($137,500,000)
There was a Hulk movie released back in 2003 starring Eric Bana. However, it was a big flop among fans and critics, and the 2008 followup starring Edward Norton didn't fare much better.
The MCU was still in its very early days at this point, and it wasn’t particularly a hit, getting nowhere near 2008’s biggest blockbusters The Dark Knight, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Kung Fu Panda. It actually didn’t even make the top 20, taking just $264,770,996 during its run in theatres. Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo after clashing with Kevin Fiege.
Most: Avengers Infinity War ($300,000,000)
Taking the bronze medal is Avengers: Infinity War. 2018 was a rather special year for Marvel movies, with that title, Black Panther, and Ant-Man and the Wasp all releasing in the same year, as well as Venom.
But, it was Infinity War that was the main attraction, with the movie taking a massive $2,048,359,754 worldwide. That makes it the fifth-biggest movie in box office history, sandwiched between Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Jurassic World in the standings.
Least: Captain America: The First Avenger ($140,000,000)
Disney was hit by skepticism when they first hired Chris Evans as Captain America. Fans weren’t too sold on the idea given how poor they considered the two Fantastic 4 movies to be, but the actor soon silenced any doubts with a fine debut outing in Captain America: The First Avenger.
We get to see Steve Rogers go from a puny soldier wannabe to the strongest fighter in the land. He’s able to prevent Red Skull from taking the Tesseract but is unable to get to the love of his life Peggy Carter, going down in a ship and being submerged in ice for 70 years.
Most: Avengers Age Of Ultron ($365,000,000)
Somewhat surprisingly, Avengers: Age of Ultron comes second on the list of most-expensive MCU movies to make. It set Disney back $365,000,000 in production costs, and it wasn’t the hit they’d hoped it would be, with fans still finding it divisive five years on from its release.
Part of the reason for its big expense could be because of the CGI, which is frequent throughout the blockbuster. New contracts with certain cast members also appear to have been a factor, but the film still did well enough, scoring a respectable 76 percent on the Tomatometer. It was the fourth biggest movie of the year, too, which certainly suggests Disney got something right.
Least: Thor/Thor: The Dark World ($150,000,000)
The first two Thor movies cost $150,000,000 to make, but, while that’s the case, it’s the first one that’s easily the better blockbuster.
The original movie starring the God of Thunder picked up a good Rotten Tomatoes score of 77 percent. The sequel, however, managed just 64 percent with muddled storytelling, questionable decisions, and a drab villain in the form of Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith all leaving much to be desired.
Most: Avengers Endgame ($400,000,000)
To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Avengers: Endgame comes top of the list. It cost Disney an eye-watering $400,000,000 to put things together, more than any other movie in cinema history. The blockbuster was a classic, too, with the likes of Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor helping to bring half of the universe back to life after Thanos’ victory last time out.
While it cost a lot to make, it seems the financial reward was worth it. It topped the 2019 box office by a considerable distance, and, to date, has made more money than any other blockbuster before it, beating 2009’s Avatar to the gold medal.