Why was The Force Awakens so much more expensive than the episode 1-3 movies?
When searching for the budgets of the Star Wars movies, I found sources which claim a budget of about $300 million for The Force Awakens (TFA), the episode 1-3 movies had each a budget of about $115 million. This includes not the merchandising and advertisement cost, only the movie production cost.
Now I wonder, why was The Force Awakens so much more expensive than the Episode 1-3 movies?
- Force Awakens used less CGI than Ep1-3, so there should be less cost in that case.
- It introduced some new main actors, which all had a payment of less than $1 million, Carrie Fisher and Luke Hamill low seven figures and only Harrison Ford between 10-20 million, according to this source, so there should be no big difference in overall actors payments between 7 and Ep3.
- Merchandising and advertising is not included in this budget, so they also do not count.
- Ep3 was 10 years before TFA, so inflation or new cost intensive production techniques should be not a big issue here
- Running time is 139 min (EP3) to 136 min (TFA), so also no issue...
- Episode 3 was directed by George himself, I doubt that J.J. earned a lot more for his job at TFA
- I am not sure about the extra cost because of 3-D, but i would not think that this makes such a big difference
So why is the production cost for the latest star wars movie not only higher than for the episode 1-3 movies, but even nearly 3 times more?
Best Answer
This website tried to estimate the movies' costs:
After watching the reel, we have a general idea of what went into making the first film of the new trilogy. Here’s our breakdown* (based off previous Star Wars film cost research) –
- Film licenses (Abu Dhabi, Iceland, Scotland, London) = $17,000,000
- Real sets (X-Wings, Millenium Falcon) = $26,000,000
- Real costumes (Chewbacca, R2-D2, C3-P0) = $18,000,000
- Casting (namely the legacy cast: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher) = $40,000,000
- Direct-production (cameras including IMAX and 35 mm, lighting, post-prod, catering) = $25,000,000
- Creatives (director Abrams, producer Kennedy, writer Kasdan) = $30,000,000
- Music (composer Williams, soundstage rental, orchestra) = $22,000,000
- Other (insurance, marketing and promotion) = $23,000,000
TOTAL COSTS = $201,000,000
*only estimates and do not reflect the actual production’s costs. All amounts listed are USD.
But that was in the Summer of 2015.
Another website estimated the cost at $445 million, though that includes marketing costs:
Production - $200M
- Sets = $26,000,000
- Costumes = $21,000,000
- Film licenses = $17,000,000
- Equipment, film, catering, etc. = $25,000,000
- Directors, composers, consultants = $48,000,000
- Insurance, miscellaneous = $23,000,000
Actors Salaries - $40M
- Harrison Ford made between $10M - $20M to reprise his role as Han Solo
- Both Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher reportedly made a handsome “low seven-figure” salary
- Adam Driver and Oscar Isaac both received offers in the “mid- to high-six figures”
- And the newcomers to the Star Wars franchise, John Boyega and Daisy Ridley each made between $100,000-$300,000
Marketing - $223M
TFA really isn't that much more expensive than other major movies right now. And if you look at this chart, you'll note that investment has paid off. That's still true when you compare it to other movies.
Pictures about "Why was The Force Awakens so much more expensive than the episode 1-3 movies?"
Why did Star Wars The Force Awakens make so much money?
Abrams' The Force Awakens benefited from mostly positive reviews, genuine anticipation for a Star Wars sequel, strong buzz, popular new characters (Rey, Kylo Ren, Poe, Finn, etc.) and a spoiler-free marketing campaign that left most of its surprises intact for the paying customer.How expensive was the force awakens?
Principal photography began in Abu Dhabi on May 16, 2014. The budget was reported to be between $259 million and $306 million.What was the most expensive Star Wars movie?
One of the newest additions the franchise, "Solo: A Star Wars Story", ranks among the most expensive films of all time, with production costs in the hundreds of millions.Was the first Star Wars low budget?
Originally released as Star Wars, and later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV \u2013 A New Hope, this 1977 classic was made on a relatively low budget. Lucas made his original Star Wars movie with an original budget of $10 million, which expanded over the course of shooting to $11 million.Star Wars Summary | Episodes 1-6 Explained in 9 Minutes
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Max Vakhtbovych, Max Vakhtbovych, Max Vakhtbovych, Pixabay