10 INSANE Reasons Movies Were So Expensive
8. Shooting The Entire Film Outside & In Sequence - The Revenant
Alejandro G. Iñárritu's Oscar-winning drama The Revenant was initially budgeted at a seemingly modest $60 million for a technically lavish epic Western starring the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy.
However, by the time production wrapped, Iñárritu had spent $135 million, a by-product of the film's arguably unhinged shooting process.
The Revenant was shot over a period of nine months, ultimately running three-to-four months longer than initially planned.
This was due to Iñárritu's decision to shoot the entire film chronologically, as well as his and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's desire to film only in natural light conditions, limiting the amount of footage which could be shot each day.
Shooting time was further reduced by the remoteness of the locations, ensuring that travel ate up 40% of their daily production time.
Add to this the costs of relocating from an unseasonably warm Canada to Argentina to shoot the film's ending, and it shouldn't be surprising that Iñárritu blew through more than double his original allotted budget.
Unlike most entries on this list, though, it certainly paid off, as The Revenant grossed $533 million worldwide, while scoring rave reviews and winning Oscars for Iñárritu, DiCaprio, and Lubezki.