It’s not uncommon for distributors to throw millions of dollars at films nowadays – it’s just how the movie industry has progressed.
Something that does turn heads is when one of these big budget films doesn’t pay off, or at least doesn’t reap the rewards that were perhaps forecasted.
Fortunately for the distributors, this rarely happens. In fact, all of the high-budget films of 2016 have turned reasonable profits and if we take a look at some of the favourites listed by David Berkowitz Chicago in his recent column – some of these profits are significant to say the least.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice doesn’t just have the joint-biggest budget of 2016 for films, it is the 7th most expensive movie ever to be made. It’s understood to have cost Warner Bros around $250m to make, which is hardly surprising when you combine the plot with A-list actors such as Ben Affleck, Jesse Eisenberg and Amy Adams.
As well as costing a huge amount of create, this was one movie which happened to make more money than ever anticipated. It brought $872m in at the box office – a resounding success if there ever was one.
Captain America: Civil War
However, something which rivals the above is Captain America: Civil War. This also cost $250m meaning that suffice to say, it is up there as the 7th most expensive film ever to be made as well.
The big difference with this movie is the box office revenue though. While the previous movie may have performed exceptionally well, this one blew it out of the water. It’s the most successful movie of 2016 having pocketed $1.15 billion for Disney, which also makes it the fourth highest grossing movie based on superheroes in history.
Star Trek Beyond
It’s another big name title, although Star Trek Beyond had a slightly lower budget than the previous two films we looked at. In fact, it was a different figure altogether, with this movie costing $185m to make.
The lower budget means that the return of $319.8m is somewhat respectable though, although some critics suggested that it wasn’t as much as initially anticipated. It is understood that in order to break even, when one brings in promotion and advertising costs, it will need to earn $350m.
The Legend of Tarzan
At just $5m less, The Legend of Tarzan has had the fourth biggest budget of the year. Considering the reputation the Tarzan character has, plenty was expected from this movie, particularly when it starred the likes of Samuel L. Jackson.
Like the previous movie we looked at, this is another one which may have underperformed. It grossed $356.4m worldwide and experts have suggested that if a sequel is to be made, this figure will have to rise to at least $400m. As the film makers have opted to release it over different time periods across the world, it remains to be seen whether or not it will manage to hit such a figure.
