10 INSANE Reasons Movies Were So Expensive
7. Hyperinflation In Argentina - Highlander II: The Quickening
Because it wasn't enough that Highlander II: The Quickening turned out to be one of the worst sequels of all time, it also ended up costing way more than anyone expected.
Highlander II was originally set to cost around $20 million - just a hair above the $19 million price tag of the original film.
But the Argentina-set shoot faced an unexpected setback due to runaway hyperinflation in the country, meaning that everything the crew wanted to do ended up costing an obscene amount of money.
As a result, producers Peter S. Davis and William N. Panzer had to beg foreign distributors to help cover the shortfall, while also investing $4 million of their own cash.
But by the time the shoot had finally secured the services of Sean Connery to reprise his role - earning a princely $3 million for 6 days' work - Highlander II's budget had swelled to $34 million, almost double that of the original.
Even though the original film became a word-of-mouth hit on home video after underperforming at the box office, Highlander II didn't benefit at all from the series' cult of fandom, failing to recoup even half of its budget on the big screen.