When it comes to expensive artforms, architecture undoubtedly tops the list (even if the artistic merits of some of the absolute priciest buildings are sometimes dubious). But what may not be so obvious is that many of architecture’s iconic works have been completed on budgets not so dissimilar to the work of another artistic industry: filmmaking. Each with their own set of merits, works from both categories have transcended time, confirming that (in most cases) they have more than returned on their initial investment.
To illustrate this point, we’ve complied a list of buildings from eras past, paired with movies of similar budgets completed in the same calendar year. Which buildings or movies have contributed the most based on their initial costs?
1939
Johnson Wax image via wikimedia user Jack Boucher under public domain. Wizard of Oz image via wikimedia user MGM under public domain.
Building: Johnson Wax Building / Frank Lloyd Wright
$1.2 million
Movie: Wizard of Oz
$2.7 million
1952
Lever House image © flickr user ekain. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. The Greatest Show on Earth image via IMDB under public domain.
Building: Lever House / SOM
$6 million
Movie: The Greatest Show on Earth
$4 million
1956
Price Tower image © flickr user fireboats. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. Love Me Tender image via IMDB under public domain.
Building: Price Tower / Frank Lloyd Wright
$1.25 million
Movie: Love Me Tender
$1 million
1959
Guggenheim Museum image © Laurian Ghinitoiu. Some Like It Hot image via wikimedia user United Artists under public domain.
Building: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum / Frank Lloyd Wright
$3 million
Movie: Some Like It Hot
$3 million
1967
Habitat 67 image © Jade Doskow. Casino Royale image via IMDB under public domain.
Building: Habitat 67 / Moshe Safdie
$22 million
Movie: Casino Royale
$12 million
1982
National Assembly Building image © flickr user abrinsky. Licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. Blade Runner image © flickr user echoes4ever. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: National Assembly Building of Bangladesh / Louis Kahn
$32 million
Movie: Blade Runner
$28 million
1989
Wexner Center image © flickr user OZinOH. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. Indiana Jones image © flickr user randar. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: Wexner Center for the Arts / Peter Eisenman
$50 million
Movie: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
$55 million
1997
Guggenheim Bilbao image © flickr user angaros. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. The Fifth Element image © flickr user sbwoodside. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Building: Guggenheim Bilbao / Frank Gehry
$100 million
Movie: The Fifth Element
$95 million
Kunsthaus Bregenz image © flickr user Böhringer Friedrich licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Austin Powers image © flickr user thomashawk. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.
Building: Kunsthaus Bregenz / Peter Zumthor
$22 million
Movie: Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
$18 million
1999
Jewish Museum Berlin image © flickr user asalisz. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0. The Green Mile image © flickr user billstrain. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Building: Jewish Museum Berlin / Daniel Liebeskind
$56 million
Movie: The Green Mile
$60 million
2001
Sendai Mediatheque image © flickr user eager. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. Harry Potter image © flickr user clsphotos. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: Sendai Mediatheque / Toyo Ito
$130 million
Movie: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone
$125 million
2004
Seattle Central Library image © Philippe Ruault. The Polar Express image © flickr user ritahogan. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: Seattle Central Library / OMA + LMN
$166 million
Movie: The Polar Express
$170 million
2007
Building: San Francisco Federal Building / Morphosis
$144 million
Movie: I am Legend
$150 million
New Museum image © Iwan Baan. Grindhouse image © flickr user floydgal. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Building: New Museum / SANAA
$50 million
Movie: Grindhouse
$53 million
2008
Watercube image © flickr user Kyle Simourd. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0. The Incredible Hulk image © flickr user tim_norris. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: Watercube National Swimming Centre / PTW Architects
$140 million
Movie: The Incredible Hulk
$138 million
2009
Aqua Tower image © Hedrich Blessing. Avatar image © flickr user centralasian. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Building: Aqua Tower / Studio Gang
$300 million
Movie: Avatar
$425 million
2010
Columbia University image © Michael Moran Studio. Tron: Legacy image © flickr user alcalaenfotos. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: Columbia University Northwest Corner Building / Davis Brody Bond + Rafael Moneo + Moneo Brock Studio
$200 million
Movie: Tron: Legacy
$200 million
2011
Building: The Dali Museum / HOK
$36 million
Movie: Midnight in Paris
$30 million
HARPA image courtesy of Henning Larsen Architects. Thor image © flickr user tales2astonish. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Building: HARPA Concert Hall / Henning Larsen Architects
$150 million
Movie: Thor
$150 million
2012
Heydar Aliyev Center image © Iwan Baan. The Hobbit image © flickr user flyfarther79. Licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
Building: Heydar Aliyev Center / Zaha Hadid Architects
$250 million
Movie: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
$250 million
2013
user bangdoll. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
Building: Danish National Maritime Museum / BIG
$55 million
Movie: Captain Phillips
$55 million
2014
Biomuseo image © Fernando Alda. The Lego Movie image © flickr user brickset. Licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Building: Biomuseo / Frank Gehry
$60 million
Movie: The Lego Movie
$60 million
2015
The Broad Museum image © Iwan Baan. Mad Max: Fury Road image © flickr user kaysha. Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Building: The Broad Museum / Diller, Scofidio + Renfro
$140 million
Movie: Mad Max: Fury Road
$150 million
Overall budgets for buildings can be difficult to measure – numbers are based on total cost of construction. Movie budgets have been found at The Numbers. Buildings not listed in US dollars have been converted using the FXTOP Historical Exchange Rates Calculator.
Sig Nordal 