50 Biggest Sets In Movie History

Photo Courtesy: [20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection]

In order to make a vision come to life, movie directors have had to build some massive movie sets over the past century to satisfy their dreams. Some of the biggest sets in movie history have cost millions of dollars, only for some of them to be torn down or discarded after the film was made. Whether the movie was a phenomenal success or not, the sets that are built for movies must be appreciated because they can take years and millions of dollars to make. Some of the largest movie sets have been built between the 1900s and 2000s, so come and explore with us the 50 biggest sets in movie history!

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Most of the $25 million budget for

The Grand Budapest Hotel

(2014) was used to recreate an entire luxurious hotel.

The investment made into the massive set certainly paid off after $172 million was made at the box office.

Photo Courtesy: [Martin Scali/Fox Searchlight Pictures/Everett Collection]

The Grand Budapest Hotel is a comedy-drama that takes place in the 1930s, and the entire interior of the extensive hotel was built from scratch for this film.

Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur, the 1959 historical classic, is known for having one of the most massive movie sets in history. It took an extensive amount of time to build this set and over 1,000 workers, and it was worth the effort seeing that Ben-Hur was a phenomenal success at the box office.

Photo Courtesy: [Ben-Hur/Everett Collection]

It cost around $8 million to build the massive movie set pictured above which features the arena, which required 10,000 movie extras and over 40,000 pounds of lumber to bring to life.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

first premiered in 2022 and was a fantastic success at the box office having grossed over $400 million.

The budget for the film was around $200 million, and a lot of these costs went into building an impressive movie set!

Photo Courtesy: [Warner Bros./Everett Collection]

This movie in the

Harry Potter

universe provides a back story for professor Albus Dumbledore and his archenemy and pictured above is one of the main settings for the movie.

Hogsmeade village is one of the largest movie sets and is full of exquisite architecture.

The Wonder

The Wonder is a 2022 film about a girl in 1862 who lives months without eating anything. Since this is such an extraordinary case, people from all around the world come to meet the girl, who lives in Ireland.

Photo Courtesy: [Christopher Barr/Netflix/Everett Collection]

This movie was filmed in Ireland and made over $55 million in profit at the box office.

Even though the film was shot in Ireland, it still needed a massive movie set, which was successfully built for this psychological drama the year that it debuted.

You Only Live Twice

Pictured below is a $1 million movie set that was built in 1967 for the action thriller film,

You Only Live Twice

. The movie set was inspired by volcanoes in Japan, and the set was built at the famous Pinewood Studios.

Photo Courtesy: [You Only Live Twice/Everett Collection]

The movie set pictured above is from

You Only Live Twice

, and it is known as one of the most famous lairs in the history of James Bond movies.

The volcano lair was over 148 feet tall, and it was worth it seeing that the movie is now considered a classic.

The Terminal

If you have ever seen the Dusseldorf International Airport, then the movie set for the 2004 film, The Terminal, may look all too familiar. The Terminal features stars such as Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, and it is known for having one the biggest sets in movie history.

Photo Courtesy: [Dream Works/DreamWorks/Everett Collection]

The Terminal

made over $150 million in profits at the box office, and an entire replica of an airport was made for the film.

Not only was a massive set made, but it was also functional and featured operational food and ice cream shops.

The Spy Who Loved Me

To create the 10th James Bond movie,

The Spy Who Loved Me

, an entirely new soundstage in London was constructed at Pinewood Studios.

Pictured below is one of the most massive movie sets in history, which can hold over 1.2 million gallons of water.

Photo Courtesy: [The Spy Who Loved Me/Everett Collection]

The cost was just as massive as the set, for it cost the production company about $1.8 million to build.

Despite the cost, it was a fantastic success in 1977, and thanks to the extraordinary movie set, this James Bond movie made over $170 million at the box office.

Forever Amber

Even though the movie Forever Amber did not make a profit at the box office, the directors still built a massive movie set to make their dreams for the film come true. Forever Amber was created in 1947 and is considered an American romance drama that is full of adventure.

Photo Courtesy: [20th Century-Fox Film Corporation/Everett Collection]

Forever Amber

is set during the English Civil War and features actors such as Cornel Wilde and Linda Darnell.

If you watch

Forever Amber

, you will notice the exquisite sets which were giant in size in order to tell the story of Amber St. Clair and Bruce Carlton.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

In 1988, the most expensive movie that was created in the 1980s premiered, and

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

was a massive success at the box office after making over $300 million in profit.

Photo Courtesy: [Buena Vista/Everett Collection]

Bob Hoskins, Alan Tilvern, Charles Fleischer, and Kathleen Turner were the main stars in this movie, and the massive movie set that was used was essential to tell the story in this unique cartoon film.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is a war movie that first premiered in 2022, and it is known for its detailed movie set, which is known as one of the largest in the industry.

Photo Courtesy: [Reiner Bajo/Netflix/Everett Collection]

All Quiet on the Western Front is about a war in 1914 located in Germany, and a group of young soldiers that experience the horrors of war. This movie set was so large because the directors had built war-torn villages.

Gone with the Wind

Gone with the Wind,

an American historical romance movie, first premiered in 1939 and made almost $400 million at the box office.

The home that is seen throughout the film is a constructed movie set, and it is one of the largest and most prized movie sets in history.

Photo Courtesy: [Gone with the Wind/Everett Collection]

The front of the home that is featured in the film was built the same year that the movie premiered, and the movie set was constructed in California.

Even though this is one of the largest movie sets, Desi Arnaz is known for tearing it down in 1959.

Gangs of New York

Martin Scorsese and Dante Ferretti were the creators of the giant movie set which was used for the 2002 hit movie,

Gangs of New York

. This movie set was so enormous that Martin, the director, hired Dante to start construction before the script for

Gangs of New York

was even complete.

Photo Courtesy: [Miramax/Everett Collection]

Dante went on to build a movie set that spanned 640 acres and represented a Manhattan slum neighborhood that existed in the 1800s.

Actors that worked on this set included Leonardo DiCaprio and Daniel Day-Lewis.

Hook

Robin Williams worked on countless sets that are some of the largest in movie history, and one of these sets includes the one for the 1991 adventure film,

Hook.

Photo Courtesy: [TriStar Pictures/Everett Collection]

In 1991, the directors of the movie Hook decided to use the same soundstage that was used for the NORAD center in the film, WarGames. The set for Hook took up over 30,000 square feet, which makes it one of the largest sets in movie history.

The General

The General

is a revolutionary, classic film and the directors spent over $42,000 to create one of the biggest sets in movie history in 1927.

This film is known as a silent comedy and features stars such as Buster Keaton and Marion Mack.

Photo Courtesy: [The General/Everett Collection]

The General

(1927) made over $2 million at the box office, and even though the set doesn't exist anymore, it is historically known as a large set that took thousands of dollars and days of work to construct.

The Abyss

Pictured below is one of the biggest sets in movie history, which was built for the adventure sci-fi film,

The Abyss. The Abyss

(1989) features an extraordinary underwater movie set that was created with a $47 million budget.

Photo Courtesy: [20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection]

The directors of

The Abyss

utilized an abandoned nuclear power plant to build the set, and the tanks on site held over seven million gallons of water.

Millions of gallons of water were used to film the underwater scenes, and it was known as the largest underwater movie set until it was demolished in 2007.

WarGames

The director for the 1983 movie, WarGames was dedicated to the project, especially when he created a replica of NORAD using 30,000 square feet of space. This movie set was massive, and it went on to tell a thrilling story which is set during the start of WWIII.

Photo Courtesy: [MGM/Everett Collection]

WarGames

made over $112 million at the box office, and this movie stars actors such as Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy.

This movie will forever be known as having one of the largest and most detailed movie sets.

The Goonies

Pictured below is one of the most massive movie sets in movie history, which was featured in The Goonies which first premiered in 1985. This movie was an immense success and was an adventure film about a group of kids who attempted to discover hidden treasure.

Photo Courtesy: [Warner Bros./Everett Collection]

The Goonies

profited over $100 million at the box office, and the set for One-Eyed Willie's ship was constructed on one of the biggest sound stages in the United States.

This ship took over two months to build, but the magic it created for the film was worth every minute!

Mutiny on the Bounty

Almost the entire plot of

Mutiny on the Bounty

took place on a massive boat movie set that was built for the film, and even though this movie didn't make a profit, it still is known for its phenomenal movie set.

Photo Courtesy: [Mutiny on the Bounty/Everett Collection]

The directors built the boat movie set no matter the cost because they were dedicated to telling the story of English Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) and 1st Lieutenant Fletcher Christian (Marlon Brando).

The Battle at Lake Changjin

The Battle at Lake Changjin is an extreme war film that was produced in 2021, and it made over $700 million at the box office. The success of the movie is primarily attributed to the astounding, massive movie set.

Photo Courtesy: [CMC Pictures/Everett Collection]

The movie set that The Battle at Lake Changjin was filmed on was extravagant and took months of effort to build. This movie is based on a battle between China and the United States in 1950, and the story would not have had the same effect if it didn't have such a massive movie set.

Beauty and the Beast

The 2017 live-action version of Beauty and the Beast is one of the most expensive films made to date, and it is the costliest musical ever made seeing that the budget measured out to be $254 million.

Photo Courtesy: [Laurie Sparham/Walt Disney Pictures/Everett Collection]

Much of this budget was dedicated to making massive and extraordinary movie sets that could properly tell the story of Belle and the Beast, and it paid off since the film grossed over $1 billion at the box office.

Cleopatra

In contemporary times, the budget for the famous film,

Cleopatra

(1963) was around $371 million, and the main star of this romantic war film was Elizabeth Taylor.

The movie set for

Cleopatra

is one of the largest sets in movie history, and it had to be rebuilt multiple times.

Photo Courtesy: [20th Century Fox film Corp./Everett Collection]

The movie set for

Cleopatra

was so massive that there was a building materials shortage in Italy, and John DeCuir was the production designer for the movie.

20th Century Fox almost went bankrupt to get this movie made, and it resulted in one of the largest sets in movie history to be created.

Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

(1962)

made over $50 million at the box office because of its astounding movie set and the battles that take place throughout this war drama.

This movie was filmed in Spain, and since it was in a desert, the full set had to be constructed.

Photo Courtesy: [Lawrence of Arabia/Everett Collection]

The movie set for

Lawrence of Arabia

consisted of 300 buildings and was inspired by Aqaba, a town that existed in 1917.

Along with the hundreds of buildings, horses and camels were also brought in as extras for the set.

Titanic

In 1997, one of the biggest sets in movie history was constructed for the historical fictional drama, Titanic. This movie was a massive success having earned over $1 billion in profit, and today it is known as a classic.

Photo Courtesy: [Merie W. Wallace/20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection]

The ship for the movie was built 90% to scale to the original ship which tragically sank and took 1,500 lives in April 1912.

The boat for the movie was too gigantic to fit into a studio, so it was constructed on the coast of Mexico and was over 800 feet long.

Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket first premiered in 1987 with fantastic success under the direction of Stanley Kubrick. This film is known for its giant movie set, and the majority of Full Metal Jacket was filmed in England.

Photo Courtesy: [Warner Brothers/Everett Collection]

The movie set for

Full Metal Jacket

is one of the largest in movie history because over 100,000 fake tropical plants were shipped from Hong Kong to England for the set.

Along with the fake plants, over 200 Spanish palm trees were also shipped to England to be used on the set.

King Kong

Jack Black, Adrien Brody, and Naomi Watts were a part of the 2005 movie remake,

King Kong

, which grossed almost $400 million at the box office.

This movie is about a group of adventurers who make their way from NYC to Skull Island.

Photo Courtesy: [Universal/Everett Collection]

This movie set was complex to make and massive in size, which is no surprise seeing that the producers wanted to recreate

King Kong

with fantastic success.

This movie is currently one of the most expensive movies ever to be made, and most of this budget went toward the making of the movie set.

Popeye

Robin Williams and Shelley Duvall were the stars that were featured in the 1980 family musical, Popeye. The success of this movie is attributed to the giant movie set that was used, which is now used as a museum and resort.

Photo Courtesy: [Paramount/Everett Collection]

The village built in Malta is now known as the Popeye Village, and it took almost 200 workers and seven months to build the 19 buildings on the set.

To create this masterpiece, 2,000 gallons of paint were needed, eight tons of nails, and hundreds of logs that were shipped from the Netherlands.

Wild Wild West

The movie Wild Wild West (1999) was filmed on a massive movie set in Sante Fe, New Mexico, specifically at the Cook Movie Ranch, which is now known as the Cerro Pelon Ranch.

Photo Courtesy: [Wild Wild West/Everett Collection]

Not only was the movie filmed on the ranch, but a movie set was also built to accommodate scenes like the mechanical one pictured above.

The budget for the movie was $170 million, and most of this was spent on furnishing the ranch and then creating a giant set to accommodate it.

The Shining

The Shining is one of Stanley Kubrick's most famous movies, and the film is also known for having one of the biggest sets in movie history! At the time, the set that was built for the Overlook Hotel was one of the most massive ever to be constructed!

Photo Courtesy: [Warner Brothers/Everett Collection]

In 1980, the horror genre changed forever for the better when

The Shining

premiered, and this movie wouldn't have been as successful without the magnificent set.

Even though this is one of the largest sets ever to be built, it caught on fire during filming after the director used too much lighting.

Quo Vadis

By 1951,

Quo Vadis

was one of the costliest films made at that point, and today it is still known for the massive movie set that was needed to create the thrilling romance drama film.

Photo Courtesy: [Quo Vadis/Everett Collection]

The massive movie set paid off seeing that the film was a success at the box office, and it features stars such as Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Elizabeth Taylor, and Sophia Loren.

This set was so large because it contained lavish furnishings, 30,000 extras, a bull, and 120 lions.

Oz the Great and Powerful

In 2013 the movie

Oz the Great and Powerful

premiered and more than doubled its profits at the box office since it had one of the biggest sets in movie history.

Photo Courtesy: [Walt Disney Pictures/Everett Collection]

The set for Oz the Great and Powerful was so huge because it featured countless extras and extensive detail on the set, and the film featured actors such as James Franco and Mila Kunis.

Duel in the Sun

Western drama movies are known for having extensive movie sets, and in 1946,

Duel in the Sun

was known for having one of the largest and most expensive ones in history at that point.

Photo Courtesy: [Duel in the Sun/Everett Collection]

The movie set for

Duel in the Sun

was one of the largest because it was filmed in a regional park in California, and there were countless add-ons and extras to complete the detailed set.

Batman

The 1989 version of

Batman

cost over $48 million to make and went over budget, and it was filmed on one of the largest movie sets in history.

Batman

was filmed at Pinewood Studios and a total of 95 acres was used, which is about the size of the entire production company.

Photo Courtesy: [Batman/Everett Collection]

Tim Burton was the creator behind

Batman

, and he spared no expense to construct the movie set.

The movie set took up a total of 18 sound stages and featured a cathedral that was 38 feet tall and cost over $100,000.

When Knighthood Was in Flower

Countless historical fiction movies have been made about the Tudor family, yet

When Knighthood Was in Flower

is a classic one that dramatically tells the story of the mischievous Mary Tudor and her brother, King Henry VIII.

Photo Courtesy: [When Knighthood Was in Flower/Everett Collection]

When Knighthood Was in Flower

first premiered in 1922 and was known as the most expensive film ever to be made at the time, especially since there were scenes filmed at Windsor Castle.

Recreating the insides of the castle created one of the biggest sets in movie history.

Waterworld

Kevin Costner's career almost ended after he went $75 million over his budget to make the 1995 hit film,

Waterworld

. The risk was worth it, for the movie was massively successful at the box office.

Photo Courtesy: [Universal/Everett Collection]

This movie went millions of dollars over its original budget because of the massive movie set that was required to successfully tell the story that is told in

Waterworld

An entire man-made island was built for this movie, and it ended up making history as one of the largest movie sets ever!

Foolish Wives

The movie set for

Foolish Wives,

which was a silent drama film that first premiered in 1922, was massive and expensive, especially for being created in the 1920s.

In total, the movie set was $421,000 and featured lavish constructions that made it stand out from most films.

Photo Courtesy: [Foolish Wives/Everett Collection]

The movie set for

Foolish Wives

was built at Universal Studios, and it consists of an entire exterior replica of Monte Carlo, which is accommodated by an artificial lake.

This massive movie set hosted actors such as Rudolph Christians and Maude George during the filming of

Foolish Wives.

Stalingrad

Stalingrad

is a film set in 1942 and features a series of battles between the Russian and German forces.

This movie almost tripled its profits at the box office, and most of this was attributed to the extensive movie set that was created for

Stalingrad.

Photo Courtesy: [Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection]

The creators of

Stalingrad

(2013) spent $4 million on the movie set, and this included a reconstructed bombed city and settings featuring the chaos and battles of the Second World War.

Superman

If you are an advent Superman fan, then you may already know that the 1978 film had a budget of $55 million to create the remarkable movie set that was needed to capture Christopher Reeve in all of his glory.

Photo Courtesy: [Superman/Everett Collection]

Superman (1978) was one of the highest-grossing films of that year, and it featured actors such as Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, and Margot Kidder. This film was shot at multiple locations, and for each one, substantial portions of the budget were used to create one of the largest sets in movie history.

Rear Window

Even though the budget for

Rear Window

was only $1 million, it is known for having one of the largest movie sets in history.

Rear Window

first premiered in 1954 and is known as an American mystery movie that features James Stewart and Grace Kelly.

Photo Courtesy: [Rear Window/Everett Collection]

Rear Window

ended up making over $37 million in profits at the box office, and this movie's success can be attributed to the sensational movie set.

Pictured above is a part of the massive movie set that was built at Paramount Studios for the classic film.

Hello, Dolly!

In 1969, the romance film

Hello, Dolly!

premiered, and the $25 million budget provided the directors with the money they needed to create one of the largest sets in movie history.

Photo Courtesy: [20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection]

Hello, Dolly!

barely made a profit at the box office, but it is still known for having an extraordinary movie set, which enables the producers to tell the story of a matchmaker in New York City during the 1890s.

The Matrix Reloaded

The directors did not construct the movie set for The Matrix Reloaded from scratch, and the scene pictured below features one of the most massive movie sets in movie history. The Matrix Reloaded made close to $600 million at the box office, and it wouldn't be as extraordinary of a film if it wasn't for the massive movie set.

Photo Courtesy: [Shout! Factory/Everett Collection]

In order to create the scenes for

The Matrix Reloaded

, a decommissioned air station in California was utilized, and the producers also built a 1.5-mile freeway to complete the action sci-fi scenes.

The Last of the Mohicans

The Mohicans were a Native American group and in 1992, a movie about the tribe and their troubles at the onset of the French and Indian War premiered with massive success. The Last of the Mohicans made over $100 million at the box office and is known for having one of the biggest sets in movie history.

Photo Courtesy: [20th Century-Fox Film Corporation/Everett Collection]

The Last of the Mohicans

is known for having a mind-blowing historical movie set, for it is a reconstruction of the famous Fort William Henry.

The reconstruction was built in North Carolina at Lake James State Park and measured over 160,000 square feet.

It's a Wonderful Life

Everyone cherishes the 1946 movie, It's a Wonderful Life, and Max Ree and Frank Capra were the geniuses behind the massive movie set for this film. Even though It's a Wonderful Life hardly made a profit at the box office, it is known as a treasured classic.

Photo Courtesy: [It's A Wonderful Life/Everett Collection]

The movie set for

It's a Wonderful Life

spanned over four acres, and it featured streets, city blocks, and dozens of stores, buildings, and a neighborhood.

This set was so large that the director even allowed wildlife from the surrounding area to naturalize the set.

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey made over $130 million at the box office and is known as a classic science fiction film with a giant movie set, and it first premiered in the late 1960s.

Photo Courtesy: [2001: A Space Odyssey/Everett Collection]

The majority of the $10 million budget was spent on creating the large and detailed movie set, and this space sci-fi film wouldn't be the same without the massive set that made the story come to life.

Intolerance

Some of the largest sets in movie history for the time were created in the early 1900s, and Intolerance (1916) was one of the films that were known for the size of its set.

Photo Courtesy: [Intolerance/Everett Collection]

Pictured above is only a portion of the set for this film, and the silent drama was a success at the box office, which is attributed to the extravagant and giant movie set.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

In order to create the magical world seen in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, a gigantic movie set had to be created, most of which was funded by the $250 million budget.

Photo Courtesy: [Warner Bros./Everett Collection]

In 2009,

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

grossed over $900 million at the box office, and it is the sixth movie in the series.

The entire universe was constructed, so the set for the movie spanned hundreds of acres.

One from the Heart

The creators of One from the Heart (1982) spent most of their $26 million budget on the construction of the massive movie set. Despite their hard work, the film was a complete flop at the box office.

Photo Courtesy: [Columbia Pictures/Everett Collection]

This movie set was gigantic because it consisted of an entire replica of an airport, a jetway, and a jet airliner in order to tell this 1982 story of romance.

The Fall of the Roman Empire

The Fall of the Roman Empire

was a complete failure at the box office, and it had an enormous budget of $16 million which was mostly spent on creating one of the biggest sets in movie history.

Photo Courtesy: [The Fall of the Roman Empire/Everett Collection]

This war drama film first premiered in 1964, and it is known for having one of the biggest outdoor movie sets.

The giant movie set that was made for

The Fall of the Roman Empire

was a replica of the Roman Forum which is located near Madrid, Spain.

The Ten Commandments

In 1923, one of the largest sets in movie history at the time was constructed for the classic drama, The Ten Commandments, and in today's numbers, the set cost around $21 million to make since special effects were not yet created.

Photo Courtesy: [The Ten Commandments/Everett Collection]

After this movie was complete, the famous movie set was torn down and buried underground for almost 100 years before scientists dug it up once more.

This set was so expensive to make because the Sphinx heads that were made were constructed from real plaster and weighed over 300 pounds!

The Hobbit

Everyone is familiar with the 2012 film, The Hobbit, which is a fantasy adventure movie directed by Peter Jackson. One of the things that makes this film so outstanding is the movie sets that took months of dedication to build.

Photo Courtesy: [Warner Bros. Pictures/Everett Collection]

The Hobbit

takes place in New Zealand and the movie set is so massive and beautiful that it is now a tourist attraction Altogether, the Hobbiton is 522,720 square feet and is admired by people from all across the world!