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Production of motion pictures is not for the faint of heart or the impoverished. After all, breaking box office records doesn't come cheap. Usually, people focus on the million-dollar special effects and A-list stars, yet one of the most expensive and crucial components of putting a movie in the cinema is the set. While some of them may be as straightforward as a basic room, several have gone completely off the rails. Here are the top 10 most expensive movie sets ever created.
The General (1926) - $0.5 Million
Buster Keaton, famous for his silent film mugging, does not seem like the type of person who would be responsible for what is likely one of the most expensive movie sets ever made. The set, which included an ancient train exploding on a real bridge, cost $42,000 in 1926, which is equivalent to almost $500,000 in current currency.
The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - $4 Million
For a film series that pushed the boundaries of what audiences had come to expect from digital effects, the Wachowski twins' budget for their blockbuster Matrix trilogy was surprisingly modest. Matrix Reloaded's pursuit scene was filmed on a motorway constructed with $1.5 million of the film's multimillion-dollar budget. A mile-and-a-half-long road was constructed over an old runway at a former military post, complete with an exit ramp and 19-foot concrete walls.
Stalingrad (2013) - $4 Million
To recreate the horrors of Stalingrad during World War II, while others would have used a green screen and visual effects, the Russian director Fedor Bondarchuk decided to build his set from scratch. The result was a meticulously accurate reproduction of the war-ravaged metropolis. It cost $4 million and required 400 laborers over six months to construct. The film's breathtaking sights were like catnip for critics, who devoured the rich settings.
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) - $5.5 Million
You are familiar with the tale of angels, bells, and Zuzu's petals. But did you realize that this cherished holiday film also boasts one of the most expensive movie sets in history? This vast four-acre set featured a reproduction of Bedford Falls, complete with a three-block main street, 75 stores, and buildings — including a functioning bank — and more than 20 fully grown oak trees. They definitely would have been better off with a real town, but they needed the ability to manipulate the snow. And this means artificial snow, as the temperature on those filming days in Encino, California exceeded 90 degrees.
Intolerance (1916) - $7 Million
Griffith is well remembered for the racial caricatures in his 1915 film Birth of a Nation, but he also pioneered expensive sets. For his 1916 epic Intolerance, he constructed a 300-foot-tall duplicate of the Great Wall of Babylon, a mammoth structure that occupied more than four city blocks. The entire film is available for free on YouTube.
Ben-Hur (1959) - $14 Million
Ben Hur is undeniably a masterwork due to its superb performances, amazing script, and innovative cinematography. However, perhaps more astonishing than those features was its immense size. More than 400 pounds of human hair were utilized to create synthetic beards, along with 10,000 extras and 100 wardrobe technicians. All of these, however, pale in comparison to the film's 300 sets, which spanned 148 acres and nine sound stages. They were the most expensive and largest sets ever constructed, requiring a million pounds of plaster, 40,000 cubic feet of wood, and an army of carpenters and artists.
Titanic (1997) - $30 Million
James Cameron is no stranger to big-budget films, but even by his own exaggerated standards, the sheer size of the sets erected for his 1997 blockbuster is astounding. Inflation-adjusted, the Titanic set cost a stunning $30 million, most of which went towards the fabrication of a 90% scale model of the doomed ship, which was contained in a 17-million gallon tank that cost $40 million. In the end, the film's budget of $200 million was greater than the cost of the actual ship.
Cleopatra (1963) - $44 Million
Cleopatra remains one of the most expensive films ever made, after adjusting for inflation. In fact, the film's $44 million gross — roughly equivalent to $340 million in current currency — nearly bankrupted Fox, the corporation that held the production's purse strings. The lavish sets were one of the largest money traps; in fact, full backdrops were constructed but never used because the project was relocated from London to Rome in the middle of filming. For this picture, 79 sets were developed in all. They were successful.
Waterworld (1995) - $75 Million
Waterworld, arguably one of the most infamous flops in cinematic history, nearly wrecked Kevin Costner's career along with director Kevin Reynolds' reputation. Prior to the invention of the green screen, the film's aquatic sets were a logistical nightmare, causing the crew to burn up a multimillion-dollar budget in a matter of months. Off the coast of Hawaii, a massive 1,000-ton floating atoll caused the most damage. This specially constructed island had a quarter-mile radius and consumed all of the available steel on the Hawaiian islands, prompting manufacturers to import additional from California! Approximately $75 million above budget, primarily due to set expenses. If one adds this to whatever was in the initial budget, it will likely exceed $100 million.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001 – 2003) - $281 Million
The sets for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, arguably the most ambitious film series ever filmed, were as pricey as one might anticipate. The cost of recreating locations such as Hobbiton and Helm's Deep was $281 million. However, the New Zealand Army volunteered for $20 per day. Even though filming has long since concluded, the sets remain tourist attractions.
Sources: Looper, Hello Travel, Thrillist