It looks like The Hobbit could end up having the biggest budget of any movie production ever. That is if the two movies telling the classic tale ever actually get made.
According to The New Zealand Herald, The Hobbit movies are expected to cost somewhere in the region of $500 million. That’s on top of the $100 million which has already been spent in legal fees.
If true this would make The Hobbit the most expensive production of all time, beating Avatar ($250 million) and Pirates of The Caribbean: At World’s End ($300 million) The two Pirates sequels were made back to back for a combined $450 million, which is more relevant considering The Hobbit is a dilogy.
The truth is, however, that $500 million will likely look like a bargain compared to how much The Hobbit is expected to make at the box office. The Lord of The Rings trilogy cost a combined $285 million to make and ended up taking $2.9 billion worldwide. Even Jackson’s King Kong made money relative to its budget, despite the fact it was a steaming dog turd.
This budget and the box office results will only matter a jot if and when The Hobbit actually gets greenlit and goes into production. And I’m not holding my breath waiting for that to happen at this stage.
