List of most expensive music videos
This article lists the most expensive music videos ever made, with costs of $500,000 or more.
David Bowie's video for the 1980 single "Ashes to Ashes" was the first music video to exceed this sum. Janet Jackson and Britney Spears have six videos each on the list, while Michael Jackson and Ayumi Hamasaki have five each. Madonna has made three appearances in the top five, and five total, making her the artist with the most expensive videos of all time combined. TLC, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Guns N' Roses, Mylène Farmer and MC Hammer appear on the list twice.
Joseph Kahn has directed seven, Paul Hunter has directed four, while Hype Williams, Cha Eun Taek and Wataru Takeishi have directed three. Nigel Dick, Mark Romanek and John Landis appear twice, the latter with videos both for Michael Jackson. This list only includes music videos with an announced or reported budget.
Romanek, who made Michael and Janet Jackson's "Scream", which was claimed to be one of the most expensive music videos ever made, has since denied this claim, saying that there were two other music videos from the same era which cost "millions more" than "Scream". In a 2017 interview, Mick Garris, a writer for Michael Jackson's Ghosts stated that after several years of production development for the Ghosts short film: "It became the most expensive music video ever made...it ended up coming in at about $15 million, all of it out of Michael's pocket."
Most expensive music videos
Rank | Title | Artist(s) | Director | Year | Cost (est.) | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominal | Adjusted | ||||||
1 | "Scream" | Michael Jackson & Janet Jackson | Mark Romanek | 1995 | $7,000,000 | $13,443,547 | |
2 | "Die Another Day" | Madonna | Traktor | 2002 | $6,100,000 | $9,924,773 | |
3 | "Express Yourself" | David Fincher | 1989 | $5,000,000 | $11,804,027 | ||
"Bedtime Story" | Mark Romanek | 1995 | $5,000,000 | $9,602,533 | |||
5 | "Estranged" | Guns N' Roses | Andy Morahan | 1993 | $5,000,000 | $10,129,003 | |
6 | "Black or White" | Michael Jackson | John Landis | 1991 | $4,000,000 | $8,594,185 | |
"Make Me Like You" | Gwen Stefani | Sophie Muller | 2016 | $4,000,000 | $4,877,427 | ||
8 | "Cartoon Heroes" | Aqua | Thomas Masin | 2000 | $3,500,000 | $5,947,633 | [citation needed] |
9 | "Rollin' (Air Raid Vehicle)" | Limp Bizkit | Fred Durst | 2000 | $3,000,000 | $4,614,581 | |
10 | "Victory" | Puff Daddy (featuring The Notorious B.I.G. & Busta Rhymes) |
Marcus Nispel | 1998 | $2,700,000 | $4,847,652 | |
11 | "2 Legit 2 Quit" | MC Hammer | Rupert Wainwright | 1991 | $2,500,000 | $5,371,366 | |
"Heartbreaker" | Mariah Carey (featuring Jay-Z) | Brett Ratner | 1999 | $2,500,000 | $4,391,730 | ||
"Doesn't Really Matter" | Janet Jackson | Joseph Kahn | 2000 | $2,500,000 | $4,391,730 | ||
14 | "What's It Gonna Be?!" | Busta Rhymes (featuring Janet Jackson) | Hype Williams | 1999 | $2,400,000 | $4,216,061 | |
15 | "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" | Celine Dion | Nigel Dick | 1996 | $2,300,000 | $4,291,576 | |
16 | "Bad" | Michael Jackson | Martin Scorsese | 1987 | $2,200,000 | $5,666,901 | |
17 | "Larger Than Life" | Backstreet Boys | Joseph Kahn | 1999 | $2,100,000 | $3,689,053 | |
18 | "Remember the Time" | Michael Jackson | John Singleton | 1992 | $2,000,000 | $4,170,737 | |
"Honey" | Mariah Carey | Paul Hunter | 1997 | $2,000,000 | $3,645,937 | ||
"Miami" | Will Smith | Wayne Isham | 1999 | $2,000,000 | $3,513,384 | [citation needed] | |
"She's a Bitch" | Missy Elliott | Hype Williams | 1999 | $2,000,000 | $3,513,384 | [citation needed] | |
"Freeek!" | George Michael | Joseph Kahn | 2002 | $2,000,000 | $3,254,024 | ||
"My Name's Women" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Wataru Takeishi | 2005 | $2,000,000 | $2,996,763 | ||
"Fairyland" | Wataru Takeishi | 2005 | $2,000,000 | $2,996,763 | |||
25 | "Me Against the Music" | Britney Spears (featuring Madonna) | Paul Hunter | 2003 | $1,750,000 | $2,783,918 | |
26 | "Green" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Kazuyoshi Shimomura | 2008 | $1,600,000 | $2,697,086 | |
"Unpretty" | TLC | Paul Hunter | 1999 | $1,600,000 | $2,810,707 | ||
28 | "November Rain" | Guns N' Roses | Andy Morahan | 1992 | $1,500,000 | $3,128,053 | |
"Girlfriend/Boyfriend" | Blackstreet & Janet Jackson (featuring Eve & Ja Rule) | Joseph Kahn | 1999 | $1,500,000 | $2,635,038 | ||
"Give Me All Your Luvin'" | Madonna (featuring Nicki Minaj & M.I.A.) | Megaforce | 2012 | $1,500,000 | $1,912,016 | ||
31 | "Here Comes the Hammer" | MC Hammer | MC Hammer | 1990 | $1,000,000 | $2,239,939 | |
"Ready or Not" | Fugees | Marcus Nispel | 1996 | $1,300,000 | $2,425,674 | [citation needed] | |
33 | "Work Bitch" | Britney Spears | Ben Mor | 2013 | $1,200,000 | $1,507,543 | |
"Stronger" | Kanye West | Hype Williams | 2007 | $1,200,000 | $1,693,597 | ||
33 | "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" | Grace Jones | Grace Jones | 1986 | $1,200,000 | $3,203,643 | |
36 | "Jewel" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Wataru Takeishi | 2006 | $1,100,000 | $1,596,798 | [citation needed] |
37 | "Party All Night" | Yo Yo Honey Singh & Meet Bros | Anthony D'Souza | 2013 | $1,025,000 | $1,655,352 | |
"Hurt" | Oliver Tree | Oliver Tree | 2018 | $1,024,000 | $1,193,355 | [citation needed] | |
39 | "The Wild Boys" | Duran Duran | Russell Mulcahy | 1984 | $1,000,000 | $2,816,784 | [citation needed] |
"Dominion/Mother Russia" | The Sisters of Mercy | Andrew Eldritch | 1988 | $1,000,000 | $2,474,395 | [citation needed] | |
"Love Is Strong" | The Rolling Stones | David Fincher | 1994 | $1,000,000 | $1,974,405 | [citation needed] | |
"Waterfalls" | TLC | F. Gary Gray | 1995 | $1,000,000 | $1,920,507 | [citation needed] | |
"I Get Lonely" (remix) | Janet Jackson | Paul Hunter | 1998 | $1,000,000 | $1,795,427 | [citation needed] | |
"L'Âme-stram-gram" | Mylène Farmer | Ching Siu-tung | 1999 | $1,000,000 | $1,756,692 | [citation needed] | |
"Love" | S.E.S. | Hong JongHo | 1999 | $1,000,000 | $1,756,692 | [citation needed] | |
"Thong Song" (remix) | Sisqó & Foxy Brown | Little X | 2000 | $1,000,000 | $1,699,324 | [citation needed] | |
"Don't Say Goodbye" | Paulina Rubio | The Brothers Strause | 2002 | $1,000,000 | $1,627,012 | ||
"Toxic" | Britney Spears | Joseph Kahn | 2004 | $1,000,000 | $1,549,331 | ||
"Touch the Sky" | Kanye West (featuring Lupe Fiasco) | Chris Milk | 2006 | $1,000,000 | $1,451,634 | ||
"Call on Me" | Janet Jackson & Nelly | Hype Williams | 2006 | $1,000,000 | $1,451,634 | ||
"Virgin Road" | Ayumi Hamasaki | Masashi Muto | 2010 | $1,000,000 | $1,341,981 | [citation needed] | |
"A New Day Has Come" | Celine Dion | Dave Meyers | 2002 | $1,000,000 | $1,300,888 | [citation needed] | |
"Cry Cry/Lovey Dovey" | T-ara | Cha Eun Taek | 2011 | $1,000,000 | $1,300,888 | ||
"The Ghost of You" | My Chemical Romance | Marc Webb | 2005 | $1,000,000 | $1,300,888 | ||
55 | "God's Plan" | Drake | Karena Evans | 2018 | $996,632 | $1,161,461 | |
56 | "One Shot" | B.A.P | Kang Ji Won & Kim Ki-bum |
2013 | $915,000 | $1,149,501 | |
57 | "Honey Honey" | Gangkiz | Cha Eun Taek | 2012 | $900,000 | $1,147,210 | [citation needed] |
58 | "Destiny" | Infinite | Hong Won-ki | 2013 | $890,000 | $1,118,094 | |
59 | "Kilimanjaro" | A. R. Rahman, Javed Ali, & Chinmayi | S. Shankar | 2010 | $875,000 | $1,174,233 | |
60 | "Malang" | Pritam (featuring Siddharth Mahadevan & Shilpa Rao) | Vijay Krishna Acharya | 2013 | $850,000 | $1,655,352 | |
61 | "Super Lady" | (G)I-dle | Son Seung-hee | 2024 | $820,000 | $820,000 | |
62 | "Heartbeat of Love" | Pia Zadora | Dominic Sena | 1989 | $800,000 | $1,888,644 | |
"Saturnz Barz" | Gorillaz | Jamie Hewlett | 2017 | $800,000 | $955,091 | ||
"Triumph" | Wu-Tang Clan | Brett Ratner | 1997 | $800,000 | $1,458,375 | ||
65 | "California" | Mylène Farmer | Abel Ferrara | 1996 | $788,000 | $1,470,331 | |
66 | "Applause" | Lady Gaga | Vinoodh Matadin | 2013 | $767,000 | $963,571 | |
67 | "Push It" | Garbage | Andrea Giacobbe | 1998 | $750,000 | $1,346,570 | |
"Oops!... I Did It Again" | Britney Spears | Nigel Dick | 2000 | $750,000 | $1,274,493 | ||
69 | "Sad Promise" | Speed | Cha Eun Taek | 2012 | $706,000 | $899,922 | |
70 | "Pillow Talking" | Lil' Dicky | Tony Yacenda | 2017 | $700,000 | $835,705 | |
71 | "Tunak Tunak Tun" | Daler Mehndi | Daler Mehndi | 1998 | $610,000 | $1,519,780 | |
72 | "Ashes to Ashes" | David Bowie | David Bowie and David Mallet | 1980 | $581,000 | $2,063,536 | |
73 | "Azeem-O-Shaan Shahenshah" | A.R. Rahman & Javed Akhtar (featuring Mohammed Aslam & Bonnie Chakraborty) |
Ashutosh Gowariker | 2008 | $575,000 | $1,955,993 | |
74 | "The Centre of the Heart" | Roxette | Jonas Akerlund | 2001 | $575,000 | $2,793,391 | |
75 | "Dola Re Dola" | Ismail Darbar, Shreya Ghoshal, & KK | Sanjay Leela Bhansali | 2002 | $514,300 | $2,832,473 | |
76 | "Thriller" | Michael Jackson | John Landis | 1983 | $500,000 | $1,469,095 | |
77 | "Livin' la Vida Loca" | Ricky Martin | Wayne Isham | 1999 | $500,000 | $878,346 | |
78 | "Piece of Me" | Britney Spears | Wayne Isham | 2007 | $500,000 | $705,665 | |
79 | "Hold It Against Me" | Jonas Åkerlund | 2011 | $500,000 | $650,444 | ||
80 | "Come Back Home" | 2NE1 | Dee Shin | 2014 | $470,000 | $580,992 | |
81 | "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" | Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni, Lata Mangeshkar | K. Asif | 1960 | $320,000 | $3,165,444 |
Most expensive of all time at the time of production
Year | Title | Artist(s) | Director | Cost (est.) | Ref | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nominal | Adjusted | |||||
1960 | "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" | Naushad, Shakeel Badayuni, Lata Mangeshkar | K. Asif | $320,000 | $3,165,444 | |
1980 | "Ashes to Ashes" | David Bowie | David Bowie and David Mallet | $582,000 | $2,067,087 | |
1984 | "The Wild Boys" | Duran Duran | Russell Mulcahy | $1,000,000 | $2,816,784 | |
1986 | "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect for You)" | Grace Jones | Grace Jones | $1,200,000 | $3,203,643 | |
1987 | "Bad" | Michael Jackson | Martin Scorsese | $2,200,000 | $5,666,901 | |
1989 | "Express Yourself" | Madonna | David Fincher | $5,000,000 | $11,804,027 | |
1995 | "Bedtime Story" | Mark Romanek | $9,602,533 | |||
"Scream" | Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson | $7,000,000 | $13,443,547 |