Top 3 Most Expensive 3d Animation Movies

These are the most expensive animation movies of all times!

The Polar Express
Released 11/10/04
Distributor: Buena Vista

This 2004 feature film was based on the children's book of the same name, by Chris Van Allsburg. The actual book can be read in about 5 minutes, but the film was 90 minutes long. The film enjoyed modest box office success, but the results for the film's 3D Imax version were incredible. Financially, the 3D version outperformed the 2D version by 14 to 1! There are now plans to release the movie in its Imax format every year during the holiday season, so expect even higher revenue for the film in the future.

Production Costs: $170 Million (USD)
U.S. Box Office: $173 Million (USD)
Worldwide Box Office: $297 Million (USD)


Final Fantasy: Spirits Within
Released 7/11/01
Distributor: Sony

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was the first film to attempt photo-realistic computer generated human characters. The movie was promoted agressively by its distributor, Sony Pictures. Despite the promotion, the film went on to become the second biggest flop in animated film history (Treasure Planet is #1), nearly bankrupting its creator, Square Pictures. Many speculate that the failure was due to the fact that the movie was nothing like the video game it was supposed to be based on, alienating many of the movie's potential fan base.


Production Costs: $137 Million (USD)
U.S. Box Office: $32 Million (USD)
Worldwide Box Office: $85 Million (USD)


Dinosaur
Released 5/19/00
Distributor: Buena Vista

Dinosaur used live action backgrounds combined with computer animated effects, with spectacular results. The opening two minutes of the film are particularly impressive. The movie was supposed to have no dialogue at all (just a narrator), but Disney head Michael Eisner insisted on dialogue to make the movie more commercially viable. It was the highest-budgeted movie of 2000, with a reported cost of $128 million USD (some unnoficial estimates go as high as 200 million).

Production Costs: $128 Million (USD)
U.S. Box Office: $138 Million (USD)
Worldwide Box Office: $356 Million (USD)