Analysis of the Most Expensive Movies and Their Gross Sales as of 2011

Making a fixed and perfect list pertaining to Hollywood's most expensive movies and their gross sales is almost impossible and impractical because of the inflation involved when covering more than a century of films already released in the market. Although a number of listings show similarities with one another, the movies' ranks and statistics still vary. Even the box office figures in the most reliable reports would expectedly change in time.

This doesn't mean credible listings don't have significance for those looking for vital information. In fact, they make it possible to conduct better analyses on the various facets of film performances at the box office. This brief analysis directly based on the report from the 2011 list at The Numbers website provides comparative insights on the top 20 Hollywood movies ranked according to their reported budgets while also taking into consideration the figures from their domestic and international gross sales.

Rankings

Based on reported budgets, the top 10 most expensive movies (from rank 1 to 10) are: "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End ($300 million), "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" ($270 million), "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" ($270 million), "Tangled" ($260 million), "Spider-Man 3" ($258 million), "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($250 million), "The Dark Knight Rises" ($250 million), "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" ($250 million), "Avatar" ($237 million), and "Superman Returns" ($232 million).

In the top 11 to 20, the following movies complete the list: "Quantum of Solace" ($230 million), "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" ($225 million), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ($225 million), "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" ($210 million), "X-Men: The Last Stand" ($210 million), "Robin Hood" ($210 million), "King Kong" (Peter Jackson's 2005 remake) ($207 million), "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" ($205 million), "Titanic" ($200 million), and "TRON: Legacy" ($200 million).

Comparisons

From this top 20 list, the top five movies based on the ones that earned most in worldwide gross sales include: "Avatar" ($2.78 billion), "Titanic" ($1.84 billion), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ($1.06 billion), "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" ($1.04 billion), and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" ($960.1 million).

Meanwhile, the top five movies based on the ones that earned most with worldwide gross sales minus their production budgets include: "Avatar" ($2.55 billion), "Titanic" ($1.64 billion), "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" ($835.62 million), "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" ($789.16 million), and "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" ($684.42 million).

The two "The Hobbit" films and "The Dark Knight Rises" are not included in these comparisons as they are still work-in-progress projects. "Avatar" is clearly on top of the list, which expectedly had a boost on the more expensive ticket sales from its worldwide 3D release. "Titanic" is a top-performer as well, considering figures come from its regular 2D release and the inflation involved for this 1990s offering.

The "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise is imposing itself as one of the most expensive and profitable franchises in Hollywood to date. With "Avatar" investing on a sequel, it is interesting to check how this will affect future listings.

Analyses

"Titanic" is the only romance epic and "Tangled" is the only animated film on the list. Most films included are fantasy, adventure, and swashbuckler movies, followed by superhero and action flicks. Most of these motion pictures are adaptations and remakes from literary and cinematic sources.

"Avatar" is a movie on an original idea meant for a film project while "Titanic" is singled out as a movie based on a true-to-life event. These two films' common denominator is: both were directed by James Cameron. Gore Verbinski and Peter Jackson are the other directors with more than one work included on the list.

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