Most Expensive Movie of All Time: Spidey 3 or Pirates 3?

You know summer-movie mania is about to jump off when you start seeing a flurry of exasperated articles about Hollywood's profligate ways when it comes to tentpole pictures. Last year, it was Warner's Bros. Superman Returns that caused the most consternation (It probably didn't help that director Bryan Singer himself told Variety that the film cost $250 million. He later denied that figure and tried to put the budget back at $184, factoring in Australian tax breaks). This summer, it looks like Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (May 25) and Sony's Spider-Man 3 (May 4) are battling it out for the title of most expensive movie of all time. This past week, Deadline Hollywood columnist Nikki Finke claimed to have Disney's number, writing that "finishing fast and late always add to a pic's cost, which for P3 I'm told is already north of $300 million. And that's just what Disney is admitting privately, so add at least another $50 million to approach the real figure." So with prints and advertising, P3 could cost $500 million, the exact same price tag that Radar's Kim Masters puts on Sony's Spider-Man 3 today:

Industry insiders claim that Sony spent $350 million or more on production alone. With marketing and promotion factored in, the total price tag will approach half a billion dollars--positioning Spider-Man 3 as the most expensive movie of all time. (Cleopatra, the 1963 epic that has long held the title of priciest picture, had an inflation-adjusted budget of $290 million.)

So why are these movies so expensive? The same reasons as always: shooting delays, script changes, set pieces and special effects. Usually, these kind of articles about big-budgets conclude with some outside source saying that despite the astronomical outlay--which the studio spokesperson always denies--the movie will still make money. (Coincidentally, both franchises have made around $1.6 billion for each studio so far). In Masters' article, this part is played by an anonymous agent:

An agent at CAA, which represents Raimi and Maguire, insists the film's price tag is irrelevant: "Sony could spend $600 million or $700 million, and it would still be worth it." People shouldn't think the studio is blase about rumors of its reputation for extravagance, he adds. "They're sweating bullets. They're dying with every dollar they spend. But even if the margin isn't quite what it ought to be, it's still incredibly valuable to them as an asset. There will be a Spider-Man 4, and that's what keeps them alive."