10 most expensive Netflix movies

Netflix has been a major player in the movie industry for several years, but it’s taken a substantial investment in A-list talent, famous directors, and pyrotechnics to make that happen.

In the last few years, Netflix has started spending hundreds of millions on individual Netflix movies. That’s a relatively new strategy for the streaming network. Up to a few years ago, the most Netflix had spent was in the $90-100 million range and that was for Bright, which is featured on the list below.

We shared the 10 most expensive Netflix movies through 2021. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn’t reveal a lot of its data or budgets for Netflix originals, so it’s hard to know how accurate the numbers always are.

Let’s check out the 10 most expensive Netflix movies so far.

Most expensive Netflix movies

Many of these movies are considered some of the best Netflix movies to date!

Let’s get the list started with Bright, which premiered during the holidays in 2017.

Bright

Estimated budget: $90 million 

Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, and Noomi Rapace starred in the Bright from David Ayer. The Netflix movie was released in 2017, and for a while, it was the most expensive movie Netflix had made. It was also one of the most popular Netflix movies for a time, as well.

Bright 2 is happening on Netflix, but it’ won’t be released until 2022 or 2023 at the earliest.

Army of the Dead

Estimated budget: $90 million 

Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead cost just under $100 million to make, according to Screen Rant. With Planet of the Dead already in the works and the promise this story will increase in scale, you can expect Planet of the Dead to exceed $100 million.

Midnight Sky

Estimated budget: $100 million 

Midnight Sky starring George Clooney is probably the biggest bust on this list. Again, we don’t have all the data from Netflix to make that claim, but Looper estimates this movie cost $100 million. Yikes! It definitely doesn’t seem worth it.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Estimated budget: $110 million 

The Mitchells vs. The Machines was originally going to be a theatrical release, but Netflix scooped up the animated movie during the pandemic for just north of $100 million, according to Looper. It’s probably worth that much, honestly, given how popular the Netflix movie was in 2021.

Triple Frontier

Estimated budget: $115 million 

Triple Frontier is definitely in the convo for the biggest Netflix flop. Screen Rant penciled this movie in at $115 million. Woof.

The Outlaw King

Estimated budget: $120 million 

$120 million for The Outlaw King? Not great! The movie is fine, but it’s definitely not worth that price tag. TechRadar reported the budget.

6 Underground

Estimated budget: $150 million 

Now, $150 million for 6 Underground, according to Yahoo, seems like too much. But, this movie was very popular when it was released. It also seems there could be a franchise potential for 6 Underground, which was directed by Michael Bay and opened with what had to be an incredibly expensive car chase.

The Irishman

Estimated budget: $150 million 

The Irishman didn’t quite live up to the hype, although it was nominated for a bunch of Oscars. I thought it had a chance to win Best Picture. Netflix did get their money’s worth for The Irishman. The runtime was longer than three hours.

Red Notice

Estimated budget: $200 million 

Red Notice is currently the most expensive Netflix movie of all time, according to Yahoo. It makes sense given how much production costs increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also looks like Red Notice 2 is happening.

The Gray Man

Estimated budget: $200 million 

The Gray Man from the Russo Brothers will be the most expensive Netflix movie of all time when it’s all said and done, according to Yahoo. This movie has not been released yet, but it’ll tie Red Notice for the most expensive Netflix movie to date, and it could even exceed that budget.