Explosive Budgets: The 11 Most Expensive War Movies in Hollywood

Between building battlefields, CGI funds, paying big-name actors, and getting the best costumes and makeup money can buy, a lot of expenses are packed into some of the greatest war movies. We took a look at Box Office Mojo’s breakdown of budget and box office earnings to round up the 11 most expensive war movies ever made. On this list, you’ll find everything from a John Wayne flick from the ’60s to more recent films like “Civil War.”

1. ‘Troy’

Release Date: May 14, 2004
Budget: $175 million
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Box Office: $497.4 million worldwide

2. ‘Pearl Harbor’ 

Release Date: May 25, 2001
Budget: $140 million
Director: Michael Bay
Box Office: $449.2 million worldwide

3. ‘Kingdom of Heaven’

Release Date: May 6, 2005
Budget: $130 million
Director: Ridley Scott
Box Office: $214.2 million worldwide

4. ‘The Patriot’

Release Date: June 30, 2000
Budget: $110 million
Director: Roland Emmerich
Box Office: $215.3 million worldwide

5. ‘Dunkirk’

Release Date: July 21, 2017
Budget: $100 million
Director: Christopher Nolan
Box Office: $533.7 million worldwide

6. ‘1917’

Release Date: December 25, 2019
Budget: $95 million
Director: Sam Mendes
Box Office: $446 million worldwide

7. ‘Flags of Our Fathers’

Release Date: October 20, 2006
Budget: $90 million
Director: Clint Eastwood
Box Office: $65.9 million

8. ‘Saving Private Ryan’

Release Date: July 24, 1998
Budget: $70 million
Director: Steven Spielberg
Box Office: $482.4 million

9. ‘American Sniper’

Release Date: December 25, 2014
Budget: $59 million
Director: Clint Eastwood
Box Office: $547.7 million

10. ‘Civil War’

Release Date: April 12, 2024
Budget: $50 million
Director: Alex Garland
Box Office: $127.3 million

11. ‘ The Longest Day’

Release Date: October 4, 1962
Budget: $10 million
Director: Andrew Marton, Bernhard Wicki, Ken Annakin
Box Office: $50.1 million worldwide

Discover more pricey box office hits:

• 12 Incredibly Expensive Movie Sets That Blew Past Budgets — Creating movie sets can be an expensive endeavor, with many sets reaching well into the millions for just one scene in a movie.
• 11 of the Most Expensive Sci-Fi Movies Ever Made — Take a look at the 11 most expensive sci-fi movies ever made, plus insights into how much it cost to launch them into cinematic history.
• These 15 Movie Stars Ruled the Box Office in the 1970s — From Robert Redford to Diane Keaton, let’s take a look back at the 15 biggest box office stars of the ’70s.