2015 Box Office Sci-Fi Film Named Most Expensive Movie Ever Made
Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh installment of the famous franchise, made a historic move in the movie industry following its release in 2015.
Released by Walt Disney Studios, making this their first Star Wars project to be distributed, it was named one of the "Most Expensive Movies Ever Made."
In a list released by IGN, the publication ranked the top 12 ambitious films that possessed the biggest budgets in the film industry.
According to the outlet, the list was based solely on the budget figures strictly used for production or filming and does not include expenses for marketing, advertising, posters or promotional materials.
Landing at second place through twelfth place were Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Endgame, Avatar: The Way of Water, Fast X, Avengers: Infinity War, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Justice League and concluding the list is Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
As for the top spot with the most production budget, Star Wars: The Force Awakens reportedly had a budget of $447 million, quite close to the second most expensive movie with $432 million.
As cited by Film Local, some of the key factors that affected the production cost include the high-profile cast, which includes the original members Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca and British actor Kenny Baker, who reprised his role as R2-D2.
In an interview with Collider, Ford mentioned being "delighted that people are happy to revisit the character again," just like him.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens also focused on visuals, making it a large part of the budget.
Director J.J. Abrams preferred using props and constructing massive physical sets rather than relying solely on CGI.
Adding to the cost were unexpected filming delays. At the time, the production was halted for two weeks following Ford's surgery and rehabilitation after a leg accident.
"The day I came back after recuperating from the worst day," the A-lister said when Collider asked about his "best day on the set."
Despite the huge production expense, the 2015 sequel secured sixth place as the highest-grossing movie according to industry analyst Box Office Mojo.
During its domestic opening, Star Wars: The Force Awakens earned a whopping $248 million during its weekend and went on to make over $2 billion in ticket sales globally.
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This story was originally published May 8, 2026 at 3:30 PM.