What is the most expensive musical ever made?

When you think of a musical, you probably picture singing, dancing, and flashy costumes. But behind those lights and curtain calls is a machine that can cost more than a small country’s annual budget. The most expensive musical ever made isn’t just a show-it’s a financial behemoth, a risk that paid off in record-breaking ticket sales and cultural legacy. And no, it’s not Les Misérables or The Phantom of the Opera, even though those are often cited. The real record holder is a show that crashed and burned in its opening week but still holds the title because of what it cost to build.

The $70 million gamble: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

In 2011, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark opened on Broadway with a price tag of $70 million. That’s not a typo. It’s more than the production budgets of many Hollywood blockbusters. The show was meant to be the next big thing: a superhero musical with aerial stunts, live web-slinging, and a score by U2’s Bono and The Edge. It was supposed to redefine what a musical could be. Instead, it became a cautionary tale.

The budget broke down in brutal detail. $12 million went into building a custom rigging system that let actors fly 30 feet above the stage while swinging on web lines. Another $8 million paid for a 120-foot-wide rotating set that moved in real time during performances. The costumes alone cost $2 million-each one had to withstand repeated aerial maneuvers without tearing. The show’s lighting system alone used over 1,000 fixtures, many of them custom-built. And then there were the lawsuits, delays, and safety incidents. One stunt went wrong, seriously injuring an actor. The show shut down for three months while engineers redesigned the entire rigging system. Those delays added millions more to the tab.

By the time it finally opened, the original creative team had left. The script had been rewritten six times. The director was fired. The original composer was replaced. And yet, the budget never came down. Producers kept pouring money in, hoping the buzz would carry it. It didn’t. The show ran for over 1,500 performances but never recouped its costs. It’s still the most expensive musical ever produced.

What makes a musical so expensive?

Not all musicals cost this much. A small Off-Broadway show might run $500,000. A mid-sized touring production might cost $5 million. But when you start adding high-tech effects, star salaries, and custom-built machinery, the numbers climb fast.

• Set design and mechanics: A rotating stage, moving platforms, or a crane system can cost $5-15 million. Spider-Man used a system that cost more than most Broadway theaters.
• Costumes and props: Custom-made, durable, and often high-tech (like LED-embedded suits) can run $1-3 million. Wicked spent $1.8 million on costumes alone.
• Lighting and sound: A Broadway-standard rig costs $1-2 million. For shows with complex choreography, like Hamilton or Hadestown, that number can double.
• Actor salaries: Top stars can earn $50,000-$100,000 per week. Wicked paid its original Elphaba over $70,000 weekly.
• Rehearsal time: A musical rehearses for 6-12 weeks before opening. That’s 40+ hours a week for 20+ cast members and 15+ crew, plus choreographers, directors, and designers-all getting paid.
• Marketing: A major opening campaign can cost $5-10 million. Spider-Man spent $8 million just on ads before opening night.

Compare that to The Phantom of the Opera, which cost $12 million in 1988 (about $30 million today adjusted for inflation). Or Les Misérables, which cost $8 million in 1985 (roughly $25 million today). Those were expensive for their time-but they didn’t push the limits of physics like Spider-Man did.

Why did producers spend so much?

There’s a logic behind the madness. Producers believed that if they could create a show that felt like a movie, audiences would pay more, stay longer, and talk about it forever. The idea was simple: if you can make someone feel like they’re in a superhero film, you don’t need to rely on just songs and dialogue. You need spectacle.

It worked-sort of. Spider-Man became a curiosity. People came not just for the story, but to see if the flying stunts would work again. It got the highest advance ticket sales in Broadway history at the time: $50 million before opening. But critics hated the script. Audiences didn’t return. The show ran for five years but lost over $50 million.

Still, it set a benchmark. After Spider-Man, producers stopped pretending they could build a musical like a movie without a movie’s budget. New shows started focusing on clever design over raw spectacle. Hadestown (2019) cost $14 million-expensive, but smart. It used shadows, minimal sets, and live musicians to create magic without a crane.

What about other big-budget musicals?

Several shows came close to Spider-Man’s price tag:

• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016): $10 million for the London production, $15 million for Broadway. It used a rotating stage and hidden trapdoors but didn’t need flying rigs.
• Miss Saigon (1989): $10 million (adjusted for inflation: $25 million). It famously had a real helicopter that descended on stage.
• The Lion King (1997): $27 million (adjusted). It used puppetry, masks, and choreography instead of tech, which made it more sustainable.
• Aladdin (2014): $17 million. It had a flying carpet and a magic lamp that lit up-but no stunts that endangered performers.

None of them reached $70 million. Even Wicked, which has run for over 20 years and grossed over $1 billion, only cost $12 million to produce. Its longevity is what made it profitable-not its upfront cost.

Can a musical ever make its money back?

Yes-but only if it runs for years. Phantom of the Opera cost $12 million in 1988. It ran for 35 years on Broadway. It made over $1 billion. That’s a 8,000% return. Les Misérables did the same: $8 million cost, $700 million earned. The Lion King has made over $1.2 billion.

But Spider-Man never had that chance. It was too expensive to run profitably. Even with packed houses, ticket prices couldn’t cover the weekly running costs. It cost $1.2 million just to open the doors each week. At $150 per ticket, it needed over 8,000 tickets sold every show to break even. No Broadway theater can sell that many seats consistently.

The lesson? Big budgets don’t guarantee success. Smart design, strong storytelling, and emotional connection do. You can spend $70 million and still lose. Or you can spend $15 million and change the world.

Will we ever see a more expensive musical?

Probably. The trend is shifting. With virtual sets, holograms, and AI-assisted stage design, the next generation of musicals could cost even more. A show using real-time projection mapping, motion-capture costumes, or AI-generated choreography could hit $100 million. But producers are learning from Spider-Man’s mistakes. They’re not just building spectacle-they’re building sustainability.

The future of musicals won’t be about how much you spend. It’ll be about how wisely you spend it.