10 Hugely Successful Movies You Didn't Realise LOST Money

Tim Burton's Batman was benchmark moment for superhero films back when it was released in 1989. It was a major critical success, one that shaped how blockbusters were marketed and released.

It was also, seemingly, a major commercial success. On a $35 million budget, the film grossed over $400 million at the worldwide box office. At the time of its release it was the fifth highest grossing film ever released.

Despite this clear success, Batman ended up loosing Warner Bros. up to $36 million. According to reports high marketing costs and cuts from the gross taken by the stars ended up putting the film in the red.

The marketing costs alone were estimated to be up to $62 million, meaning the studio had to fork out more money, even after principle photography had wrapped.

Alongside this, Jack Nicholson, who played the Joker in the film, reportedly took 15% of the gross, meaning that the actor made more than $50 million on the production, a sum higher than the production budget.

Many of the other stars, along with the director, all got similar deals as well. Meaning even more of the gross was given out, leaving the studio at a deficit.