"X-men: The Last Stand is the most expensive movie, FOX has ever made"

[Anton Oksehud]

I don't know if this needs a seperate thread (Mods, please delete/merge/whatever) if need be.

I just talked to the FOX representative in Denmark, and she told me, I could quote her for this:

"X3 is the most expensive movie FOX has ever made, with a bigger shooting budget than Titanic, The Day after Tomorrow, SW III, etc... This is a true blockbuster movie!!!"

Just a little bit of info, I don't know how much this means, but she sounded REALLY confident in the movie...

 

[britrogue]

Let's hope for some truly spectacular SFX then!

 

[eXperiment]

Yeah, lets hope.

 

[Maze]

Thanks Anton

good , at least i assume that the movie will look polished.

 

[PSINGRAPHD]

Wow! More than Titanic and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith?! Fox must've been VERY confident in the X-franchise, the script, AND Ratner to make it THE most expensive movie they've ever made. Hopefully the result will prove it was worth every penny. I believe Titanic's filming went beyond schedule though, and all kinds of difficulties were encountered, increasing the need for funding. Eventually, the entire financing responsibility was split between two studios I think. Or maybe it was that another studio had to pick up the distribution costs to offset the ever increasing budget. Anyway, GREAT news for the X-Men and their army of fans... namely US!!! ThanX for the info!

 

[Maze]

One should have in mind that for this shedule ,for what they are trying to accomplish, they had to have more money.

 

[J.Howlett]

Okay, that statement is a bit misleading. First off, Titanic's production cost were split between Fox and Paramount. The budget of that film was 200 million but I don't know the exact split.

Second, they didn't finance Episode III. That's all Lucas' money. And he only spent about 103 million on that.

So basically, they spent about or around 130 to 150 million on the film...

Had they done a proper preproduction/production/post production schedule, they may have not had to spent that kind of money....Plus, their marketing of this film is more intense than for X2.

 

[BBraddockLover]

true ^

but it still sounds like good news so im happy!

 

[wobbly]

Well they spent $100 million on FF (before marketing costs) so it isn't unreasonable to think they had to spend more on X3.
And I agree with J.Howlett: Titanic and Episode III dont make for valid comparisons as Fox didnt exclusively finance either film. Something like FF makes for a better match-up.

Also, afiak when the cost is inflation adjusted, isn't Cleopatra still the most expensive film ever? (that was produced by Fox too) I think in todays money its cost would be something like $250 mill?

 

[ultimatefan]

Yeah, SW and Titanic are not valid for comparison... I remember in some site, it was said to be about 150 m, which is pretty damn good.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

The budget for X3 is $220 million. I'm not sure if that sum is sans marketing or not.

 

[PhoenixRisen]

This is great but what I already expect! What makes the trailer so great is its tightness. There's not one boring, unimportant frame. I think the movie will be the same. I will watch it a hundred times probably, just like I have the trailer...which I wouldn't do if it ran on forever.

IMO this movie will be revolutionary and ground-breaking, in the sense that it will be a statement in crisp storytelling. Each scene will be multi-layered and propel the plot forward. People will leave the theater numb, like they just got off a roller coaster. Too many movies have suffered from excessive baggage that comes with the perceived need to be "longer and therefore better." Just tell your story, thanks. No padding, no self-indulgence--just the core arcs and emotions. And oh yeah ACTION AND CONFLICT! I can't wait til May 26!!

 

[KenK]

The budget for X3 is $220 million. I'm not sure if that sum is sans marketing or not.

Jesus Christ!! If that's true, they're really gonna have to make Scrooge McDuck paper in the states to be considered a success!

 

[ultimatefan]

The budget for X3 is $220 million. I'm not sure if that sum is sans marketing or not.

I´m guessing that counts marketing, cuz it´s bigger than the budget for Spider-Man 2 and neither of the X-Men movies made the kind of money that a Spidey one does - hey don´t bash me, I love the X-Men movies, just stating a fact...

 

[J.Howlett]

It's not 220 million. That's up there with Superman Returns numbers. No way.

I'd say 170 million with marketing.

 

[wobbly]

The budget for X3 is $220 million. I'm not sure if that sum is sans marketing or not.

Whoa...Where did that come from?
Even if that is with marketing costs the shooting budget would still be around $170 mill!!!

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

It's not 220 million. That's up there with Superman Returns numbers. No way.

I'd say 170 million with marketing.

The number is $220M. How it's divided up I'm not sure--marketing could be included in that figure.

However, keep in mind that the salaries for the actors--particularly for the big guns like Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry--easily top any investment WB has made for the top tier actors in SR. Heck, between those two alone they likely spent $20 million if their spending habits from X2 is any indication. Remember they (along with Patrick, Ian, etc.,) all had to renegotiate and the salaries are definitely inflated for incentive.

 

[Lightning Strykez!]

Jesus Christ!! If that's true, they're really gonna have to make Scrooge McDuck paper in the states to be considered a success!

Heh, trueness there. We'll see what FOX actually reports post May 26th. I've seen studios hold back certain figures for publishing sites to make their box office gain look better versus actual budget.

But considering that X-Men has generated nearly $1 billion in revenue and box office sales I don't think the studio is worried about recouping it back...this franchise has a certain forward momentum.

 

[pyromaniac]

This is great but what I already expect! What makes the trailer so great is its tightness. There's not one boring, unimportant frame. I think the movie will be the same. I will watch it a hundred times probably, just like I have the trailer...which I wouldn't do if it ran on forever.

IMO this movie will be revolutionary and ground-breaking, in the sense that it will be a statement in crisp storytelling. Each scene will be multi-layered and propel the plot forward. People will leave the theater numb, like they just got off a roller coaster. Too many movies have suffered from excessive baggage that comes with the perceived need to be "longer and therefore better." Just tell your story, thanks. No padding, no self-indulgence--just the core arcs and emotions. And oh yeah ACTION AND CONFLICT! I can't wait til May 26!!

Good post because I'm inclined to agree.

 

[phoenix_force]

wow $220 million!!! did they make phoenix out of gold or what?

 

[Angamb]

what were the budgets of titanic, etc?

 

[Angry Sentinel]

this is pretty funny, does anyone believe it is true

 

[Angamb]

I don't believe it so quickly...

 

[KenK]

Heh, trueness there. We'll see what FOX actually reports post May 26th. I've seen studios hold back certain figures for publishing sites to make their box office gain look better versus actual budget.

But considering that X-Men has generated nearly $1 billion in revenue and box office sales I don't think the studio is worried about recouping it back...this franchise has a certain forward momentum.

If it can manage an opening weekend comparable to X2(85 million-Domestic), I'd say it stands a good chance. Plus it's Memorial Day Weekend. That should help. It's got a whole month on Superman Returns, so hopefully it can make most of its money in that time, despite what else will be released.

 

[JokerNick]

you have to think about how much it cost to bring the cast back, I bet Halle is making atleast 10million if not more, same with Hugh, then Patrick and Ian are prolly brining in 7 million........ cast and crew alone is going to be 50 or 60 million,