14 DAY TRIAL // Not that there was any need to add even more pressure on Warner Bros. for the upcoming “Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice” to be big box office hit, but here it is: details on its ballooning budget have leaked online. This could very well become the most expensive movie ever made.
The current record holder is the 2011 release from Disney, “Pirate of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” which was made on a $410.6 million (€361.7 million) budget, Latino Review reports. “Batman V. Superman” is believed to reach and even top the $410 million (€360.3 million) threshold.
A lot of money, a huge risk
Granted, the report says, that the budget would balloon was to be expected considering the extended principal photography, the elaborate practical sets, the varied shooting locations, the amount of work in CGI, and last but not least, the kind of talent involved.
It’s still a lot of money for a superhero movie, though, even in a context in which Marvel is said to spend $1 billion (€881.1 million) on the two “Avengers: Infinity Wars” movies.
It’s even more money for Warner Bros., which is yet to fully tap into the superhero genre: “Man of Steel,” the first movie part of the Justice League franchise, came out in 2013, and while it turned out to be a decent commercial and critical hit, it fell short of studio expectations.
Clearly, Warner Bros. is betting all its money on “Batman V. Superman” and hoping for the best, thinking of all the things working in its favor with this one: the cast (Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, and more), the fact that it’s the first time Batman and Superman appear together on the big screen, the fact that this is the first Batman after Christopher Nolan’s very successful “Dark Knight” trilogy, and the first big screen introduction of Wonder Woman.
It’s a gamble, but the studio seems eager to take it.
Zack Snyder won’t have free rein next
“Batman V. Superman” is directed by the same Zack Snyder that also helmed “Man of Steel.” Studio bosses were so pleased with him that they signed him not only for the 2016 release but also for their next 2 movies from this shared universe.
Snyder is on board for “Justice League Part 1” and “Part 2,” which will be out in 2017 and 2019 and will shoot back to back.
Production will take place in London and last a whopping 16 months, but the studio wants Snyder to cut back on all unnecessary expenses for it. The same report says that the total budget for these 2 films will be of “just” $500 million (€440.6 million).