10 INSANE Reasons Movies Were So Expensive
5. It Was Originally Intended For Theatrical Release - Theodore Rex
If you're wondering why anyone would spend $33.5 million in 1996 on a direct-to-video buddy cop film starring Whoopi Goldberg and an anthropomorphic dinosaur, the answer is quite simple - it was originally made for theatrical release.
Theodore Rex was initially set to be released by New Line Cinema over the 1995 holiday period, but after marketing for the film was disastrously received in test markets such as Las Vegas, Memphis, Portland, Maine and Providence, the distributor decided to cut their losses and release it on video instead.
At the time, this made it the most expensive direct-to-video release in Hollywood history.
To make matters worse, the budget had been additionally inflated by $2 million after Goldberg attempted to back out of the production, resulting in her salary being given a $2 million boost.
Theodore Rex went on to be universally panned, evidently failing to turn a profit on home video, with Goldberg later calling it the only project she ever regretted working on.