7. Titanic
Blockbuster movie budgets these days regularly clock in around the $200 million budget mark, but when Titanic hit theatres this price tag made it the most expensive movie of all time. There's no doubt that, when the ticket sales first came through, James Cameron breathed a huge sigh of relief. Given that Titanic is well known for being one of the biggest blockbuster hits in cinema history it's perhaps difficult to imagine that anyone ever had doubts about its performance, but in the run up to its release the general consensus among insiders that Cameron's cinematic ship would inevitably sink. Rumours of Kate Winslet nearly drowning and tales of poisoning on set all added fuel to the pessimistic fire building up to its release. "Cameron's overweening pride has come unnecessarily close to capsizing this project," said the LA Times shortly before Titanic came out. A decade or so later following the 3D re-issue and takings for his ambitious project shot past the $2 billion mark.