10 Most Expensive Batman Movies, Ranked

As one of the most popular and successful superheroes ever made, Batman has been around in film for quite some time, with a ton of effort and, in turn, cash put into his projects. This isn't to say he's starred in some of the most expensive Hollywood movies — superhero movies in general, at that — of all time, but there have been some pricey Batman flicks over the years.

What are his most and least expensive movies, though? Batman has been in live-action and animation over the years, but regardless of the format, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment have always put their eggs into the Bat-Basket. Being expensive doesn't warrant a huge box office return, though, or even mean that the movie ended up deserving it in the first place. So what are the case-by-case results for this franchise? The numbers can be pretty surprising at times, actually.

10 'Batman' (1989) - $48 million

One of the first major examples of The Dark Knight in theatrical Hollywood cinema is none other than 1989's Batman, starring Michael Keaton and directed by Tim Burton. With the idea that this was a first major outing, it makes sense that DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment didn't put too many of its assets into the franchise just yet. They needed proof that something with this character, in this format and style, could work. Safe to say, Batman absolutely blew the studios and audiences away.

With a reasonable budget (for 1989, which would be a very small budget nowadays), Batman was a success and immediately led to building a larger series in this universe. The $48 million budget brought in a whopping $411 million, which made it one of the biggest successes of the late '80s and early '90s. It acts as proof that a superhero project doesn't have to have a $100+ million budget to find success. In fact, a smaller budget probably makes it easier to make a profit.

9 'Batman Returns' (1992) - $50–80million

After the success of Batman, it only made sense that DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment would jump at the opportunity to put a sequel into production. Just a few years later, Batman Returns came out. Burton returned (pun intended) to sit back in the director's chair and bring this Batman universe to life once more, with a higher budget this time around.

With a new budget estimated at $50–80million, Burton got to go a bit more all-out with this one, and boy did he. Introducing classic Batman villains like Penguin (Danny DeVito) and Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer), Batman Returns ups the ante, and the bigger budget can most certainly be seen throughout the runtime. However, unfortunately, Batman Returns only took home $266.9 million, largely thanks to its more adult tone, which put off many families.

8 'The Lego Batman' (2017) - $80 million

Another great profit-maker for the two studios, however, was a movie that was a bit of a risk. Despite the Lego Movie series already being popular, a Lego Batman project was risky for the sole fact that it was unsure whether the Batman fan demographic would enjoy the sillier, more kid-friendly tone. Thankfully, though, people absolutely adore The Lego Batman Movie, and it's become one of the most beloved Caped Crusader movies of all time.

With a budget similar to Batman Returns at $80 million, The Lego Batman Movie was a great success for the team, especially compared to how people expected it to be. They garnered a pretty good $312 million and earned rave reviews. This animated flick pleased many; the only disappointing thing about it is that it has no sequel. One was put into production, but Warner Bros. lost the film rights to Lego in 2020.

7 'Batman Forever' (1995) - $100 million

After Batman Returns, the franchise that began in 1989 got a third film in the form of Batman Forever. However, this movie wouldn't be like the previous two, as not only did Tim Burton not return to the director's chair, but Michael Keaton would not return as Batman. The film was instead directed by Joel Schumacher, with the protagonist being portrayed by Val Kilmer. It also got a larger budget, with a great $100 million.

Batman Forever may have had a larger budget, but that did pretty much the opposite of what the studios had hoped it would. This movie was the beginning of the end for the Caped Crusader in film, marking a large downfall in quality for these flicks. This decline would reflect slightly in the box office, but word of mouth didn't completely kill this project, so it still came home with an incredible $336.6 million. So, while it let fans down, it most certainly did not let the studios down financially.

6 'Batman Begins' (2005) - $150 million

Pretty much everyone knows of the Christopher Nolan Batman saga, often considered one of the best superhero trilogies of all time, and it all started with Batman Begins. Being known as one of the most impactful early 2000s films, it pretty much popularized the idea of a reboot. With a budget of $150 million, there were a lot of expectations placed on this project.

Worldwide, Batman Begins took home $375.4 million, making it a huge financial success and, unlike Batman Forever, it was also a critical one. Audiences truly enjoyed this new Batman universe, and especially loved Oscar winner Christian Bale as The Dark Knight himself. He quickly became a fan favorite among both Batman fans and general audiences when it came to favorite castings for the iconic DC Comics hero.

5 'Batman & Robin' (1997) - $125–160 million

After Batman Forever was a solid hit, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment decided that they might as well invest in another, hoping that it would have a similar reception. Thus, Batman & Robin went into production with an estimated budget of $125–160 million, and Joel Schumacher back in the director's chair. Unfortunately, Val Kilmer wouldn't do the same, and George Clooney would step into the Batman boots this time around.

With such a larger budget than Batman Forever, the pressure was on more than ever before. It didn't result in a better product (arguably a worse one) or a better monetary success, though. This movie wasn't a financial loss; however, it didn't come nearly close enough to the numbers the studio definitely wanted, as it only took home $238 million. Not terrible, but against such a high budget, it's not a great look and resulted in the studios putting Batman aside for a few years.

4 'The Dark Knight' (2008) - $185million

After the win that was Batman Begins, the teams behind the movie came back with a bigger budget, but did not have such a dramatic increase as the one between Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. This time, Batman Begins' $150 million turned into $185 million for The Dark Knight, a significant but still manageable increase. Christopher Nolan did everything he possibly could with it, resulting in what would come to be known as one of the best superhero movies ever made.

That $185 million turned into a titanous $1.009billion at the box office, a considerable increase compared to its predecessor. This success was a huge contributor to studios delving so much more into a "gritty" tone for superhero movies, like how Sony Pictures Entertainment went a bit darker with The Amazing Spider-Man; the tone of The Dark Knight was now a proven money-maker. People adored (and still do) this movie, and the proof is in the pudding, which is the financial success.

3 'The Batman' (2022) - $185–200 million

After the rough go that DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment had with the DC Extended Universe, it was time for a major change; thus, Matt Reeves delivered The Batman. While previous Batman-centric movies focused on the action and superhero sides of the character, this 2022 film decided to bring more attention to his detective skills. The Bat is considered The World's Greatest Detective, after all.

Upon release, The Batman received positive reviews, with this new direction considered a breath of fresh air for the long-running character. Bringing back The Riddler (Paul Dano) and making him a wild serial killer, this adaptation of Batman (Robert Pattinson) was quite the shakeup for the genre. The $185–200 million budget resulted in a pretty great $772.3 million, almost immediately getting greenlit for the sequel, and motivating James Gunn to keep the franchise around and exist alongside his new DCU.

2 'The Dark Knight Rises' (2012) - $250 million

After the gigantic success that was The Dark Knight's box office return, it's clear that the studio felt pretty confident in pumping a larger budget into this trilogy-capper, jumping potentially $100 million over the previous budget (based on the range of estimates). The Dark Knight Rises definitely used this budget well, going bigger, grander, and more action-packed than the first. While it didn't pack as much of the same tone as the second film, it was still very entertaining.

$250 million is the whopping budget for this cape flick, and while it allowed them to up the ante, it didn't result in a better film than its groundbreaking predecessor. It was always going to be extremely difficult to pass up The Dark Knight, but The Dark Knight Rises does fall a bit short in comparison to the 2008 epic. Thankfully, it had a similar financial return as the prior film, coming back with an astounding $1.115 billion.

1 'Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice' (2016) - $250–325million

Despite the critical and fan reception to Zack Snyder's DCEU, the studios had no issue pumping large budgets into his films, believing they would be large financial successes. With the largest budget for a Batman film, sitting at $250–325million, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice performed adequately, but not nearly close enough to typical industry standards for a film starring these characters. The film is also infamous for having a record-breaking weekend, only to experience a dramatic fall next week, once people, you know, actually saw it.

Despite only bringing in $874.4million, the budget can most certainly be seen in the movie's visuals. Indeed, it's one of the most visually striking Batman-focused movies ever made, so at least it has that going for it. This is actually where Batman v Superman finds the most praise. A majority of audiences didn't love the story, but no one can deny that the movie has a distinct look and feel to it.