10 Movies That Spent Stupid Money On Pointless Things
6. Speed 2: Cruise Control's Practical Climax ($25 Million)
Speed 2: Cruise Control is undeniably one of the worst sequels to a great movie ever, and with a budget estimated to be as high as $160 million, it cost many, many times more than the comparatively indie-sized, $30 million original.
The film's climax involves a tanker crashing into a quaint coastal town, and due to director Jan de Bont's decision to shoot the scene practically, it ended up costing an insane $25 million - just $5 million less than the entire first film.
The town set alone cost $5 million to build and had to be re-built after a hurricane destroyed it, while filming the actual collision required diesel engines to propel a 270-ton replica boat through the city on a track which was 1000 feet long and built 60 feet underwater.
Though most of the ship was a physical prop in the final scene, one-third of it was created digitally for practicality's sake, adding further costs to the ballooning budget.
Given that this scene lasts just five minutes, it's been estimated that a single second of filming cost a mind-melting $83,000. All this for a sequence that, ultimately, wasn't nearly as tense or memorable as any single set-piece from the original movie. Oof.