# Most expensive Shakespeare film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 6, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609 "2019-07-06T02:30:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/1 "2019-07-06T02:30:59Z")
What is the most expensive film to directly adapt a Shakespeare script? None of these “inspired by” bits like _Ten Things I Hate About You_ or _The Lion King._ My guesses are: For a tragedy, Baz Luhrman’s _Romeo + Juliet_. For a history, Kenneth Branagh’s _Henry V_. For a comedy, Branagh’s _Much Ado About Nothing_. We may never see _Midsummer Night’s Dream_ or _The Tempest_ get the full-on Pixar treatment, but who has spent the most to do right by the Bard so far? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/2 "2019-07-06T02:49:49Z")
[William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romeo_%2B_Juliet) used the traditional script, but updated the setting to contemporary times. It cost $14.5 million to make in 1996, and grossed more than ten times that. Franco Zefferelli’s version of R&J cost $850,000 in 1968 (about $6.1 million in today’s dollars) and grossed about 15x that. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/3 "2019-07-06T03:34:01Z")
What about Branagh’s uncut, 70mm version of Hamlet? 18m per wiki. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/4 "2019-07-06T03:36:27Z")
How about Warner Brothers version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1935? I haven’t been able to find out what it cost to produce, but whatever it was, multiply it by about 26 to get today’s dollars. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/5 "2019-07-06T03:37:55Z")
Titus starring Anthony Hopkins? Sent from my LGMS210 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/6 "2019-07-06T04:26:11Z")
Branagh’s 1989 _Henry V_ must be a contender, as the OP mentions, what with the battles and all those extras. Adjusted for inflation (using a Bank of England calculator, since the movie was made in the U.K.), it looks to have cost around $22 Million in current USD. Of course, once we start adjusting for inflation, Olivier’s 1944 version of _Henry V_ cost an equivalent of ~£20.7 million, or ~$26 million USD. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/7 "2019-07-06T06:02:38Z")
Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Titus Andronicus starring Anthony Hopkins is listed on Wikipedia as having a budget of $25 million. (And it only grossed $2 million, ouch.) ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/8 "2019-07-06T08:23:22Z")
I was going to mention _Titus Groan_, but couldn’t imagine it costing more than _Henry V._ Ah well. _Romeo + Juliet_ stands as the most expensive of the tragedies. How about the comedies? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/9 "2019-07-06T13:42:58Z")
Let me know if I’ve got my sources or my back-of-the-envelope math wrong, but: Wiki puts the budget of Olivier’s [RICHARD III](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_III_(1955_film)) at £6 million, which — converted to dollars and adjusted for inflation — is over, what, $150 million today? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/10 "2019-07-06T13:49:59Z")
> [@Horatio\_Hellpop](#): > > I was going to mention _Titus Groan_, but couldn’t imagine it costing more than _Henry V._ Ah well. Ah yes, Steerpike was one of Shakespeare’s greatest characters. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/11 "2019-07-06T14:38:23Z")
Here’s a list of movies based on Shakespeare’s plays: > **[List of William Shakespeare screen adaptations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_William_Shakespeare_screen_adaptations)** > > The Guinness Book of Records lists 410 feature-length film and TV versions of William Shakespeare's plays, making Shakespeare the most filmed author ever in any language. > As of June 2020\[update\], the Internet Movie Database lists Shakespeare as having writing credit on 1,500 films, including those under production but not yet released. The earliest known production is King John from 1899. > In the British version, Lady Macbeth wiped a small amount of blood from her hands; in the American she had... Here’s a list of the most expensive films of all time. No Shakespeare film has ever made more than 200 million in non-adjusted-for-inflation U.S. dollars. No Shakespeare film has ever made more than 209 million in adjusted-for-inflation U.S. dollars: > **[List of most expensive films](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_films)** > > Due to the secretive nature of Hollywood accounting, it is not clear which film is the most expensive film ever made. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides officially holds the record with a net budget of $378.5 million (although it is possible that Avatar: The Way of Water costs more if its price tag is towards the upper-end of its reported $350–460 million production costs), while The Hobbit trilogy stands as the most expensive back-to-back film production, with combined costs of $623 m... ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/12 "2019-07-06T19:52:20Z")
What, you don’t recognize _Avengers: Age of Ultron_ as a clear pastiche of _Troilus and Cressida_? Philistine. ---
**Author:** ![Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Springtime_for_Spacers)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/13 "2019-07-06T20:41:50Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Titus Andronicus starring Anthony Hopkins is listed on Wikipedia as having a budget of $25 million. (And it only grossed $2 million, ouch.) I saw it in the cinema - and wished I hadn’t. I got bored and fell asleep, oh dear. ---
**Author:** ![Dropo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Dropo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dropo)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/14 "2019-07-06T21:32:26Z")
\*Ran \*(1985) is not a direct adaptation of _King Lear_, but it’s more than “inspired by.” It was the most expensive Japanese film up to that time with a budget of $11 or $12 million. Using the latter figure, one inflation calculator gave me a figure of $28.6 million in 2019 dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/15 "2019-07-06T22:36:36Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > I saw it in the cinema - and wished I hadn’t. I got bored and fell asleep, oh dear. Did you theatre-dream of a gore-covered Titus flushing fistfuls of money down the toilet? ---
**Author:** ![AlphaOmegaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@AlphaOmegaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlphaOmegaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/16 "2019-07-06T22:37:17Z")
2004 The Merchant of Venice had a budget of $30 is probably the top overall (unadjusted) and comedy. > **[The Merchant of Venice (2004 film)](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice_(2004_film))** > > The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 romantic drama film based on Shakespeare's play of the same name. It is the first full-length sound film in English of Shakespeare's play—other versions are videotaped productions which were made for television, including John Sichel's 1973 version and Jack Gold's 1980 BBC production. > The title character is the merchant Antonio (Jeremy Irons), not the Jewish moneylender Shylock (Al Pacino), who is traditionally viewed as the antagonist and more prominent chara... ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/17 "2019-07-06T22:39:19Z")
> [@Springtime\_for\_Spacers](#): > > I saw it in the cinema - and wished I hadn’t. I got bored and fell asleep, oh dear. So did I. I was literally the only person in the theater! Only the second time I can remember that happening. ---
**Author:** ![AlphaOmegaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@AlphaOmegaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlphaOmegaMan)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2019, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/18 "2019-07-06T22:51:10Z")
> [@AlphaOmegaMan](#): > > 2004 The Merchant of Venice had a budget of $30 is probably the top overall (unadjusted) and comedy. > [The Merchant of Venice (2004 film) - Wikipedia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Merchant_of_Venice_(2004_film)) $30 million ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/19 "2019-07-07T14:04:17Z")
Branagh’s\* Henry V\* was done for about fourpence, and the battle site was a piece of shrubland round the back of Shepperton studios. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2019, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609/21 "2019-07-07T22:18:19Z")
The answer to the OP is probably the 1955 version of _Richard III_ made by Lawrence Olivier (if you adjust for inflation). It lost a lot of money, although it’s possible that showings of it years later eventually made a profit. This was despite the fact that it was well publicized and reviewed when it came out, even getting a national American TV showing at the same time as the release. I suspect that film production companies decided at that point that it was hopeless to ever make another expensive Shakespeare film, since it would again lose money. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-expensive-shakespeare-film/836609.md?page=2)