10 Films That Cost WAY More Than They Needed To
5. Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian - $225 Million
After seeing the money that Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings brought in, a lot of studios became obsessed with launching their own fantasy anthology, assuming they were guaranteed money-makers. It was this mentality which led to Hollywood execs getting the ball rolling on adapting Percy Jackson, Eragon, and of course, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Although the first instalment of CS Lewis' series, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, made over $700 million, Disney was expecting more, since the first instalments of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings earned over $900 million.
Because the film only received average reviews, no one was gushing over seeing more. As a result, Disney needed to be careful how much money they spent on the franchise, if they intended to adapt the six sequels.
But instead of scaling back, Disney spent $225 million on the follow-up, Prince Caspian, which is $45 million more than its predecessor.
Sadly, the movie made almost less than half of its precursor. The budget for the third instalment, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, cost a more reasonable $150 million, but still didn't bring in the money Disney wanted, compelling them to abandon the franchise soon after.