# List of most expensive non-English-language films
The list of most expensive non-English-language films ranks feature films whose primary dialogue is not in English by their reported production budgets, expressed in United States dollars. It is described as a non-definitive list, and the entries are drawn from trade reporting, studio statements, and national film bodies rather than audited accounts.[1](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_most_expensive_non-English-language_films)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scope | A non-definitive list of non-English-language films ranked by production budget in US dollars[1](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_most_expensive_non-English-language_films) |
| Inclusion threshold | One version of the list includes only films with budgets exceeding US$36 million[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNf5PW0I_yM) |
| Highest Chinese entry cited | The Great Wall (2016), roughly $150 million, the most expensive feature ever shot in China at the time[3](https://time.com/4649913/china-remaking-global-film-industry/) |
| Data reliability | Fewer than 4% of movies have any public budget data, and tested figures are often unreliable[4](https://stephenfollows.com/p/no-one-knows-how-much-movies-cost) |
## How the list is compiled
The list converts budgets reported in native currencies into US dollars using exchange rates for the year of release. The conversion sources are the [Internal Revenue Service](https://www.edgepedia.org/internal-revenue-service) for films from 2017 onward and the [Central Intelligence Agency](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-intelligence-agency)'s World Factbook for earlier years; when the exact year is unavailable, the closest year's rate is used.[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNf5PW0I_yM) An earlier version of the list set its inclusion floor at US$36 million, so films below that production cost do not appear.[2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNf5PW0I_yM)
This matters because budget disclosure is uneven across industries: film industry analyst Stephen Follows found that fewer than 4% of the 62,298 feature films released commercially since 2000 had any public budget figure, and that when figures could be tested against real-world data, the average $100 million-plus Hollywood blockbuster actually cost $19 million (12.5%) more than stated publicly.[4](https://stephenfollows.com/p/no-one-knows-how-much-movies-cost) For non-English-language productions, where trade-press coverage is thinner, the reported numbers carry the same caveats.[5](https://stephenfollows.com/p/do-filmmakers-lie-about-their-budgets)
## Notable entries
The entries below are drawn from versions of the list and from reporting on individual films.
| Film | Country | Language(s) | Year | Budget (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Wall | China | Mandarin | 2016 | ~150,000,000[3](https://time.com/4649913/china-remaking-global-film-industry/) |
**The Battle of Neretva.** The 1969 Yugoslav war film is considered one of the world's most expensive non-English-language films ever made, a status attributed mainly to inefficient financial management during a one-and-a-half-year shoot. *Variety* estimated its budget at $12 million, while the official sum was around $4.5 million; the final expenses were never made public.[6](https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/batancev_dragan.pdf)
**The Great Wall.** Zhang Yimou's 2016 tentpole co-production cost roughly $150 million, making it the most expensive feature ever shot in China at the time.[3](https://time.com/4649913/china-remaking-global-film-industry/)
## Context: how these budgets compare
The films on the list sit far above typical national production levels. The mean budget of a European theatrical fiction film released in 2021 was EUR 2.97 million, with a median of EUR 2.12 million; median budgets ranged from EUR 2.7 million in the largest European markets to EUR 700,000 in small markets.[7](https://rm.coe.int/fiction-film-financing-in-europe-2023-edition-m-kanzler/1680af8262.pdf) A film costing $60 million or more therefore represents an exceptional commitment for most non-English-language industries, and European financing relies heavily on public funding and production incentives rather than a single studio backer.[7](https://rm.coe.int/fiction-film-financing-in-europe-2023-edition-m-kanzler/1680af8262.pdf)
Budget figures themselves are soft data. Producers may report a gross budget or a net figure after rebates, and trade estimates frequently underestimate actual costs; for the films FilmL.A. surveyed where final confirmed budgets were available, the vast majority of reported estimates in industry trades underestimated the actual cost.[4](https://stephenfollows.com/p/no-one-knows-how-much-movies-cost) • [8](https://filmla.com/wp-content/uploads/2017_film_study_v3-WEB.pdf) Rankings on the list should therefore be read as reported figures, not audited ones.
## References
1. [List of most expensive non-English-language films, Find at WIKI](https://findatwiki.com/List_of_most_expensive_non-English-language_films)
2. [Most Expensive non English Language Films, Data Tuber (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNf5PW0I_yM)
3. [How China Is Remaking the Global Film Industry, TIME](https://time.com/4649913/china-remaking-global-film-industry/)
4. [No-one knows how much movies cost to make anymore, Stephen Follows](https://stephenfollows.com/p/no-one-knows-how-much-movies-cost)
5. [Do filmmakers lie about their budgets?, Stephen Follows](https://stephenfollows.com/p/do-filmmakers-lie-about-their-budgets)
6. [Dragan Batancev, thesis on Yugoslav cinema, Central European University](https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2012/batancev_dragan.pdf)
7. [Fiction film financing in Europe: A sample analysis of films released in 2021, European Audiovisual Observatory](https://rm.coe.int/fiction-film-financing-in-europe-2023-edition-m-kanzler/1680af8262.pdf)
8. [Film Production: Budgets and Spending, FilmL.A. 2017 Feature Film Study](https://filmla.com/wp-content/uploads/2017_film_study_v3-WEB.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › National and regional cinemas by year › Box-office and grossing lists › Highest-grossing by genre and other subsets*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license