Nowadays, it is normal for blockbusters to cost several hundred million dollars in production. Thirty years ago, this was not the case, and the first film that was said to have exceeded this cost milestone was an action-comedy starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Which film is it? In 1994, True Lies – True Lies was released, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Harry and Jamie Lee Curtis as Helen. They play a couple whose marriage is not going well. Helen is bored with her husband, who often arrives home late or not at all from his office job.
However, Harry leads a double life, as he is actually a secret agent fighting against terrorists for the government. Things escalate when Harry thinks Helen is cheating on him, and terrorists get involved as well. The production of the film was so expensive that it broke the 100-million mark at that time. Many say it was the first film with such a budget, but the budget of Terminator 2 could have also broken this record.
The first film to break the 100-million mark
James Cameron is still known for pushing production budgets to the limit. This was also the case with True Lies. According to Box Office Mojo, the film’s budget was 115 million dollars. However, another film by James Cameron also comes into play. The budget of Terminator 2 from 1991 varies depending on the source.
If you look at the record from Guinness World Record, True Lies is listed as the first film that broke the 100-million mark. True Lies was released in 1994. If you look at various sources about Terminator, it should actually hold this record. According to Box Office Mojo, the budget for Terminator 2 is cited as 102 million dollars.
What does James Cameron actually say about it? James Cameron tends to be quite reserved about budget questions. An article in Deseret News from 1994 estimates the budget for Terminator 2 at 90 million dollars. The article also mentions an interview with Cameron where he stated the following regarding the budget question:
It has always been my principle never to discuss budgets. It is pointless to evaluate a film based on its budget. […] A film should be judged by whether it achieves its stated goals. A film usually states its goals in the first act, and it either succeeds or fails at what it is trying to do – or at what you expect of it, which are two different things.
James Cameron on film budgets (Source: DeseretNews)
Why were the films so expensive? As slashfilm.com reports, the high budget for those times was due to the many stunts in both films. Both films feature spectacular and relatively creative stunts. In True Lies, for example, there is a demanding sequence involving a horse, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger fell. Anyone who wants to watch the film today can do so on Disney Plus.
To this day, James Cameron continues to make very expensive and successful films. The budget for Avatar: The Way of Water is estimated to be between 350 and 460 million dollars, for example. Schwarzenegger was also an incomparable figure in his time, who cannot be compared to anything nowadays. More films by Schwarzenegger can be found here: These are the 5 best films that you believe Arnold Schwarzenegger has made
