Films that are not part of a franchise, like The Grand Budapest Hotel, Southpaw, and Sicario, tend to clock in closer to $30 million. Meanwhile, each movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy cost around $93 million. Pirates of the Caribbean 3, the most expensive film made to date, cost $378 million. While $200 million is a fair calculation of the average blockbuster budget, it's worth noting that budgets can vary wildly. But don't confuse the modeler with the model-maker, who appears to earn the least amount of below-the-line dough ($7k). Some surprises: CG artists can make nearly as much as the executive producers, if not more ($1.2 million), with modelers and animators not far behind (around $900k). But the director, producers, editor, DP, and lead writers don't fare too badly, either, each earning $1 million or above. Batman exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere featuring a collection of costumes, cars and props from a line-up of Batman films. Witness the largest official Warner Bros. Unsurprisingly, above-the-line talent scores the biggest paycheck Lead Actors 1, 2, and 3 comprise 9% of the film's entire budget. WB Studio Showcase Experience the all new WB Studio Showcase - Batman Legacy now open at Warner Bros. In the video below, VF estimates the breakdown of a $200 million blockbuster.

Now, thanks to Vanity Fair, you can rest assured that the Hollywood hierarchy is alive and well.

(That didn't stop journalists from positing up a storm.) In fact, until the Sony Pictures Entertainment hack in November of 2014, there was next to no verified information on blockbuster salaries available to the public. Hollywood accounting has long been a black box.

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