The Star Wars universe is constantly expanding. With each new entry, more corners of that galaxy far, far away are revealed, requiring more money to fully realize all those impossible planets and the individuals who inhabit them. From the duct tape and bubble gum approach of the original Star Wars to the sleek and stunning craftsmanship seen in various sequels and spin-offs, production teams have always worked hard to make Hollywood’s favorite sci-fi franchise believable as possible.
Although these are some of the most financially successful films ever made (via Box Office Mojo), their budgets often reflect the times they were made quite well. One would imagine that each installment would be outrageously expensive, but most of them tend to run flush with other blockbusters of the time. Another interesting aspect of the budget of each film is how innovations pushed rising costs. As certain movies pushed the envelope, their budgets ballooned. However, once they started perfecting certain techniques, the budgets began to balance out. To understand this a bit more, we’ve decided to rank each theatrically released Star Wars film by their production cost and will theorize as to why the budgets are what they are.
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12 Star Wars: The Clone Wars — $8.5 Million
Warner Bros.
If there’s a black sheep of the Star Wars franchise that is still considered canon (thus excluding the abysmal holiday special and the fun, if a little wonky, Ewok TV movies) it has to be the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Although the film was really just three-ish episodes strung together into feature length, it serves as the epic pilot to The Clone Wars animated series. Directed by Dave Filoni, the film introduces the fan-favorite character Ahsoka Tano and launched the series that would be derided for much of its existence, before finding its way and becoming one of the most influential branches in the Star Wars family tree. While thousands of hours were likely spent getting the animation right, the fact that there are no live-action roles and no physical sets required, it’s no surprise that the budget on this one is by far the lowest.
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11 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope — $11 Million
20th Century Fox
When compared to the latter installments of the franchise (and not taking the special editions into consideration), the original film, Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope, certainly looks like the entry that cost the least. That being said, the budget was slightly higher than some other sci-fi films of the time. However, George Lucas and his team were creating a totally alien world and constantly innovating, meaning they had to make every last dollar count. It may look a little rough by today’s standards, but they built the foundation that not only supports the entirety of Star Wars but Hollywood filmmaking for generations (via Smithsonian). Not bad for a scrappy sci-fi movie that nobody but a select few believed in.
10 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back — $30.5 Million
When your predecessor is the most successful film of all time, you’d better get an increased budget. The Empire Strikes Back is a much more confident film than the original, thanks in no small part to the fact that it had over twice the amount of money to work with. Interestingly, though, instead of bombarding viewers with more battles and explosions, most of that cash seems to have gone to making the world sturdier and more believable than before. This is where the Star Wars universe really started to find its footing and become pure escapism. The sets felt like real spaces people inhabited, the creatures looked less like costumes, and the actors were more comfortable in their roles. Still, the geniuses at Industrial Light and Magic had their work cut out for them by continuing to push the envelope with the battle of Hoth, the asteroid field, and those incredible shots of the Imperial fleet. After all these years, it’s still the best.
9 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi — $42.7 Million
Watching the behind-the-scenes footage of what went into the making of Return of the Jedi makes you marvel at the fact that the film didn’t cost even more money. They pulled out all the stops to make the concluding chapter of this volume of Star Wars a dazzling treat for the senses. You’ve got everything at Jabba’s palace, where it appears that the Jim Henson company let their imaginations go absolutely wild, the battle on Endor with an entire civilization created for the film, and that massive attack on the second Death Star. The labor that went into compositing each, individual ship into that all-out onslaught is astounding (via YouTube). Watching it, the effect still holds up (even without the updated CGI added later) and stands as a testament to the incredible work that can be done when everyone is working at the top of their game and devoted to crafting something special.
8 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith — $113 Million
The third film in the prequel trilogy cost a little bit less than the two films leading up to it, which is both surprising and understandable. While The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones relied heavily on CGI to create the world Lucas wanted us to see, they still utilized classic film techniques for certain elements. Revenge of the Sith has so much digital trickery that it could almost be considered an animated film. Thus, with the money they saved on enormous sets or travel to film locations, it makes perfect sense that Anakin’s darkest moment would be slightly more affordable than his earlier years. That is in no way a criticism of the film as a whole, just a theory on how the production could have possibly cost less even though the story it’s telling is so much larger.
7 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones — $115 Million
Somehow, the budget for Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones managed to equal that of The Phantom Menace. As discussed with Revenge of the Sith, this is likely because the production itself was beginning to move away from miniatures and physical locations. Instead, a greater emphasis was placed on digital alternatives. Yoda is no longer a puppet, meaning they don’t have to build raised sets, or maneuver around the technical aspects of puppetry. Very few environments required the production to exist within a physical space, and there was less need for tactile props to be constructed. In a lot of ways, this film could be seen as the first huge leap in the direction of James Cameron being able to visualize the Avatar films.
6 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace — $115 million
Divisive as it may be, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace serves as a real turning point for film production in much the same way A New Hope was. As other blockbuster films used CGI to accent scenes or fill in some blanks, The Phantom Menace went ahead and created a whole character who features heavily in the plot, along with that creature’s entire species. At the same time, there was extensive shooting with miniatures, practical locations, and physical props/costumes that must have run the budget way up. The following installments would gradually phase out traditional VFX techniques to pave the way for the future, but Episode I was an impressive merger of the past and what was yet to come.
5 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story — $265 Million
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The first of the theatrically released spin-off films not to focus on a member of the Skywalker family, Rogue One largely ignores the mysticism and whimsy of the franchise and focuses primarily on the war itself. Although considered too dark, serious, and fan-servicey for a lot of viewers, Rogue One manages to stand so firmly on its own that it served as a launching pad for its own bit of spin-off material: the Disney+ series Andor. A huge story about individuals working together to steal the Death Star plans so that Luke Skywalker (who was still just a farmboy) could eventually blast it to smithereens, we’re dropped into several locations that are both new and familiar, requiring over two million to make believable. Also, the film did require some reshoots, which contributed to the massive price tag.
4 Star Wars: Episode IV - The Rise of Skywalker — $275 Million
Just like Revenge of the Sith, the final chapter of the Skywalker saga (The Rise of Skywalker) managed to cost a bit less than its predecessors. His may be the most surprising entry on the list considering the non-stop action, world-hopping, gigantic battles, and the re-purposing of Carrie Fisher footage to include General Leia in the story. Not only that, but an entirely different movie directed by Colin Trevorrow was scrapped before writer/director J.J. Abrams returned to take over. All of that should have resulted in a skyrocketing budget, but everyone was able to bring things in economically, apparently.
3 Solo: A Star Wars Story — $300 Million
Had most of this stand-alone film not been reshot by director Ron Howard, its budget would likely have been considerably smaller. Although we never got to see the scenes shot by Lord and Miller, they’re still technically considered part of the production. Otherwise, it might have worked out to be closer to the budget for Rogue One (which also had reshoots). Despite that, however, the amount of world-building this one movie was able to pull off is staggering. The story is massive, with all sorts of chases, heists, and creatures galore. For anyone who thought it would be a small, character piece was absolutely mistaken. Solo: A Star Wars Story is proper, epic storytelling, and it takes a lot of cash to make that happen.
2 Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens — $306 Million
Lucasfilm
Although Star Wars never really goes away, The Force Awakens was seen as a return to form upon its release in 2015. With the task of honoring everything that came before while trying to bring the franchise forward, it’s no real surprise that the budget passed 300 million. As was continuously touted in the buildup to its release, Episode VII was dedicated to bringing back physical props and making Star Wars appear tactile again. Of course, there’s a ton of CGI all over the place, but it struck a balance here that we hadn’t seen since The Phantom Menace. With the production having to travel to real locations, craft battlefields, and starship interiors, the dollars are going to add up pretty quickly, which they did. Not everyone agrees on the film’s story, but what cannot be denied is that Lucasfilm and Disney were 100% invested in making a Star Wars film that brought people back to the theaters in droves, and they succeeded.
1 Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi — $317 Million
Easily the most divisive films on the list, The Last Jedi mirrors The Empire Strikes Back in more than just the obvious ways. Again, the world feels larger, more confidently realized, and lived-in than its immediate predecessor. You may not have enjoyed the story that was told, but the approach director Rian Johnson took to realize that story is more immersive than before. The locations look and feel more real than in The Force Awakens. The actors are all more confident in their roles. The action and choreography have moved away from pure kineticism to something a bit more grounded, with hints of strangeness that remind us how alien everything is. All of that takes money, and lots of it. Therefore, the budget is slightly higher.
