Originals: The Most Expensive Netflix Movies To Date

Quick Links

• Army of the Dead

• The Midnight Sky

• Bright

• The Mitchells vs. The Machines

• Triple Frontier

• Outlaw King

• 6 Underground

• The Irishman

• Red Notice

• The Gray Man

Highlights

• Netflix invests exorbitant amounts in producing original movies, allowing it to lure A-list talent and push storytelling boundaries.
• Despite mixed critical reception, Netflix's expensive original films like Army Of The Dead and The Mitchells vs. The Machines have been popular with viewers.
• With budgets ranging from $90 million to $200 million, Netflix's most expensive original films have achieved impressive viewership on the platform.

With its colossal funding prowess, Netflix has redefined the cinematic landscape by investing exorbitant amounts in producing original movies (known as "Netflix Originals.")

Once a humble DVD haven, the streaming titan has transformed into a content-hungry leviathan, amassing a war chest for original programming, star-studded epics, and even animated family adventures.

In 2022, Netflix spent $16.7 billion on content, marking a 4.6 percent decrease from the $17.5 billion spent in 2021.

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In 2024 alone, the co-CEO of Netflix said the streaming giant is estimated to pump $17 billion into original content, dwarfing the budgets of most major studios.

This financial muscle allows Netflix to flex like a cinematic Hercules, luring A-list talent, green lighting ambitious projects, and pushing the boundaries of storytelling – often with eye-watering price tags.

In 2020, Netflix invested $200 million in the Russo Brothers' The Gray Man, making it their most expensive original film so far. The espionage thriller has many close contenders.

The company has also made significant profits. According to Statista, in 2022, Netflix's gross revenue amounted to approximately $31.6 billion.

Clearly, the platform isn't hesitant to spend big on Netflix movies and original programming. Let's look at Netflix's most expensive original films.

10 Army of the Dead

Estimated Production Budget: $90 Million

Directed by Zack Snyder, Army Of The Dead emerged as a Netflix blockbuster, with a production budget of $90 million. The film blends action and heist genres in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas infested with zombies.

Dave Bautista leads a ragtag team of mercenaries on a daring mission: to break into the zombie-infested city and crack the vault of a luxurious casino.

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Despite receiving mixed critical reviews for its plot and runtime, the film highlighted Netflix's commitment to high-budget, genre-defying content.

While Army of the Dead grossed $1 million at select theaters in the United States, its true success unfolded on the streaming platform.

In its initial 28 days on Netflix, the movie streamed in 75 million households, accumulating an impressive viewership of 186.54 million hours, underlining its popularity among the streaming audience.

9 The Midnight Sky

Estimated Production Budget: $100 Million

George Clooney takes the helm as both director and star in The Midnight Sky, a post-apocalyptic drama that weighs heavily, with a $100 million budget from Netflix.

Clooney portrays Augustine Lofthouse, a lonely scientist stationed in the Arctic who discovers a global catastrophe has wiped out civilization.

The Midnight Sky received mixed reviews. Critics praised Clooney's performance and the film's poignant themes of isolation, but criticized its slow-paced story line and the bleak setting.

While it received limited theatrical release due to the pandemic, The Midnight Sky managed to gross $70,018 at the international box office.

8 Bright

Estimated Production Budget: $106 Million

Bright is set in an alternate reality where humans coexist with mythical creatures. It follows an LAPD police officer and his orc partner as they confront racism and police corruption while protecting a magic wand and the elf girl who wields it.

Produced on a budget of $106.2 million, Bright held the Netflix budget crown for a while. Critics lambasted its reliance on CGI over practical effects, messy plot, and perceived racial undertones.

The film failed to break box office records, confined primarily to Netflix's digital screens, but Bright was exceptionally popular with viewers:

Data from television ratings and data collector Nielsen indicates that if it had been released in theaters, Bright could have made a killing at the box office.

If all eleven million viewers had purchased a movie ticket at the average price of $8.91, Bright would have earned $98.2 million in its opening weekend.

7 The Mitchells vs. The Machines

Estimated Production Budget: $110 Million

The Mitchells vs. The Machines follows the dysfunctional Mitchell family, who find themselves in the middle of a robot apocalypse while on a road trip.

The Mitchells vs. The Machines might not have had a red carpet premiere, but it won over audiences big time on Netflix. Its bright animation, laugh-out-loud humor, and surprisingly touching look at family ties struck a chord with its audience.

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According to Deadline Hollywood, Netflix reported in their quarterly earnings that The Mitchells vs. the Machines had become the service's most-viewed animated work, with 53 million households having watched the film in the first 28 days of its availability on the platform.

This quirky family's robot-battling adventure proved that even a $110 million gamble on a family with more mismatched socks than sense could pay off in big ways for Netflix and its viewers.

6 Triple Frontier

Estimated Production Budget: $115 Million

Netflix shelled out a cool $115 million for Triple Frontier. This action flick throws Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, and Charlie Hunnam into the sweaty, mosquito-infested Amazon as ex-special forces (and bros).

Their plan? Rob a cartel kingpin blind and retire to sun-soaked beaches with piles of cash. Sounds easy, right? Wrong:

Greed, betrayal, and the unforgiving jungle have other ideas, turning their heist into a brutal test of loyalty and survival. Despite the A-list muscle and hefty budget, Triple Frontier didn't exactly set the world on fire.

Critics found the film gritty but morally murky, leaving viewers divided. Still, Triple Frontier might be your Netflix jam if you crave action sequences that punch like a jaguar and a story that explores the dark side of brotherhood.

The film was viewed by over 52 million viewers on Netflix within its first month of release. According to TheWrap, Triple Frontier would have made over $470 million at the box office if the 52 million viewers on Netflix bought a ticket at the average price of $8.91.

5 Outlaw King

Estimated Production Budget: $120 Million

Netflix went full-on medieval with Outlaw King, a hefty $120 million epic that throws Chris Pine (as Scotland's legendary King Robert the Bruce) into a bloody battle for independence.

Outlaw King might not have topped the box office charts; it received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its production design, sets, performances, and choreography – but also criticism, for its historical inaccuracies and clichés.

The production's grand scale is evident in authentic period details and large-scale battle sequences.

While specific box office numbers for its digital release may not be readily available, the financial commitment to a high-budget historical drama like Outlaw King reflects Netflix's dedication to delivering immersive storytelling experiences.

4 6 Underground

Estimated Production Budget: $150 Million

6 Underground was a $150 million Netflix gamble that threw everything but the kitchen sink at the screen – directed by the king of explosions, Michael Bay.

Ryan Reynolds leads a team of skilled vigilantes, who fake their own deaths to take down baddies the authorities can't touch.

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Filming spanned the globe, from Abu Dhabi's sand dunes to the ancient streets of Rome and Florence.

The film received generally polarized reviews, with praise for Reynolds' performance and action sequences but criticism for its direction and length.

Despite the mixed reviews, 6 Underground racked up 83 million viewers in its first month on Netflix, making it one of the platform's best-performing original films.

Netflix later reported that the movie was watched for 205.47 million hours in the first 28 days of release.

3 The Irishman

Estimated Production Budget: $160 Million

Martin Scorsese, cinema's champion of the silver screen, surprisingly embraced the streaming world with The Irishman.

This $160 million epic gangster project delves into the twilight years of hitman Frank Sheeran. Robert De Niro, aged down with groundbreaking CGI, paints a chilling portrait of a man haunted by the ghosts of his past.

The film received widespread critical acclaim, with praise for Scorsese's direction, cinematography, the use of de-aging effects, and for the performances of De Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci:

According to Nielsen, The Irishman was watched by 17.1 million people in the United States in its first five days of digital release.

In 2020, Netflix revealed that 64 million households had watched the film over its first four weeks of release. The Irishman was the fourth most watched Netflix film of 2019, and the fifth most popular Netflix release overall.

2 Red Notice

Estimated Production Budget: $200 Million

Netflix broke the bank, then broke it again, for Red Notice, a $200 million heist flick starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Gal Gadot, and Ryan Reynolds.

Due to the film's $200 million production budget, Netflix stated that Red Notice needed to draw an audience of more than 70 million viewers, while the New York Observer estimated Red Notice would need to total around 200 million hours within the first 28 days of availability to be deemed a success.

Netflix revealed in 2021 that Red Notice accumulated viewership of 364.02 million hours in its first 28 days of release.

While Netflix does not disclose theatrical box office grosses of their films, Deadline Hollywood estimated that the film grossed north of $2 million at the box office.

1 The Gray Man

Estimated Production Budget: $200 Million

Netflix dropped two hundred million like it was chump change for The Gray Man, an action-packed spy thriller that pits Ryan Gosling against Chris Evans in a global game of cat-and-mouse.

Gosling plays a rogue CIA agent hunted by a psychopathic ex-colleague (Evans) after uncovering the agency's secrets. Directed by the Russo brothers, fresh off their Avengers: Endgame victory lap, The Gray Man doesn't skimp on spectacle.

Despite its astronomical budget, The Gray Man's critical reception was lukewarm, with some praising the action sequences and Gosling's performance but critiquing the predictable plot and generic tropes.

Still, Netflix viewers devoured the film, making it one of their most-watched originals.

Netflix reported that viewership for The Gray Man totaled 253.8 million hours of watch time 28 days after its release.

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