Netflix’s brand-new sci-fi movieThe Electric Stategarnered plenty of attention ahead of its March 14th, 2025, release date, but part of that attention was due to its reportedly staggering budget. The movie, which stars MCU andJurassic Worldactor Chris Pratt andStranger Thingsactor Millie Bobby Brown, is set in the 1990s in an alternate reality that has been overrun with robots.The Electric Statewas created bythe Russo brothers, well-known for directing multiple Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movies, including the box office smash-hitsAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame.
The Russo brothers are therefore no stranger to massive budgets, and they evidently brought a similar mindset toThe Electric State. One major difference, however, is thatThe Electric Stateis a Netflix original movie and therefore did not get a theatrical release. Despite that,The Electric Statereportedly had a shockingly high budget—in fact, it is Netflix’s most expensive movie to date.
The Electric State’s Budget Is Reportedly Around $300M: How It Compares To Other Netflix Movies
The Electric State Is The Most Expensive Netflix Movie Of All Time
The Electric Stateis widely reported to have had a $320 million budget, although that is not yet confirmed by Netflix. That number was reported byPuck Newslast year, and it has since been reported by myriad other news sources as well. This massive budget is enough to cause sticker shock already, but it only becomes all the more shocking in light of the fact that, based on this number,The Electric Stateis Netflix’s most expensive movie to date.
Based on this number,The Electric Stateis Netflix’s most expensive movie to date.
In recent years, several Netflix original movies have had jaw-dropping budgets. Among these areRed NoticeandThe Gray Man, two of Netflix’s most expensive movies of all time.Red Notice, which was released in 2021, had a $200 million budget. It was the single most expensive Netflix movie untilThe Gray Manwas released the following year with an identical budget.
Netflix’s New $320 Million Movie Makes Me Very Concerned About The Future Of Streaming
The Electric State’s massive $320 million budget is shocking since the Netflix-produced science fiction movie isn’t even getting a theatrical release.
Other pricey Netflix movies include6 Underground,The Irishman, andOutlaw King, all of which had budgets greater than $100 million. What makesThe Electric State’sbudget especially jarring, though, is thatThe Electric Stateis one of the most expensive movies of all time, even beyond just Netflix.The Electric State’sbudget actually ranks up there with major franchise movies likeStar Wars, the MCU,Avatar, andJurassic World.
The Electric State’s Robots Are Likely The Biggest Factor In Its Budget
The Movie’s Many Robots Are All CGI And/Or Motion Capture
There are a number of reasons whyThe Electric State’sbudget is so high, although one of the most prominent is likely the robots that are so heavily featured in the movie. As mentioned,The Electric Stateis an alternate 1990s, which has a retrofuturism aesthetic. Part ofthat includes innumerable robots, all of which are brought to life with CGI and/or motion capture. This alone would have had a significant financial demand.
What makes this all the more challenging inThe Electric Stateis the fact that many of these robots are actually quite unique.While this is fantastic from a visual and storytelling standpoint, it’s a very expensive prospect. Because the robots are so varied, they require all the more in terms of CGI and motion capture, which becomes very expensive very quickly. This also isn’t the only major factor at play.
Because the robots are so varied, they require all the more in terms of CGI and motion capture, which becomes very expensive very quickly.
The Electric State Has A Big Cast With Some Major Stars
The Salaries For The Star-Studded Cast Are Likely A Factor
In addition to the cost of CGI and motion capture,The Electric Statehas a truly star-studded cast. Yet again, while that’s great news for a movie, it’s also a major expense. In addition to Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown as the movie’s leading stars, the cast ofThe Electric Stateincludes Ke Huy Quan, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Anthony Mackie, Giancarlo Esposito, and many others.
The Electric State Review: I Think The Russos’ New Netflix Blockbuster Might Actually Be Harmful To Movies
Netflix reportedly spent $320 million on The Electric State, and I think what they ended up with might be worse than if they’d just made a bad movie.
Brown and Pratt alone no doubt brought in quite a bit for this movie, but there are clearly a number of other likely high-earning stars in the cast as well. In fact,even the Russo brothers themselves, as the directors, are a factor inThe Electric State’sbudget in terms of salaries. With both the CGI/motion capture elements and the salaries of some of these major stars taken into account, this massive budget begins to make a bit more sense.
However, given this is Netflix’s most expensive movie to date, the number remains fairly shocking, and now,The Electric State’sreviewsraise some serious questions about whether it was worth it. This can be a significant problem in the sci-fi genre, which lends itself to bigger budgets but doesn’t always land well with audiences. WithThe Electric State’scurrent critic score sitting at a dismal 18% onRotten Tomatoes, there’s certainly concern thatThe Electric Statecould fall into this category.
Does The Electric State Being So Expensive Matter?
This Budget Has Implications For The Movie And For The Industry
AlthoughThe Electric Statehas yet to release on Netflix,this massive budget paired with the wave of negative critic reviews has absolutely drawn attention. This includes generalized concerns about the ever-mounting cost of movies that are direct to streaming services rather than major theatrical releases. As is clear from just looking at other high-budget original Netflix movies, this issue has grown exponentially with time, and it has interesting (and troubling) implications for the industry.
This issue has grown exponentially with time, and it has interesting (and troubling) implications for the industry.
Streaming services' original movies were never intended to have the massive costs associated with the major box office hits. WithThe Electric Statereportedly costing well over $300 million, though, it seems times have certainly changed. What this will mean long-term remains to be seen, and that’s likely a concern for Netflix and other streaming and/or subscription services as much as it is for anyone else.
ForThe Electric State,Netflix isn’t able to recuperate its money through the box office. Rather, this will presumably be done through an increase in subscriptions, viewing minutes, and other metrics specific to the platform. That’s no doubt a daunting task given the enormity of the movie’s budget, though.
There’s also the fact that audiences have heightened expectations when the budget for a movie is this high, and, based on critic reviews, audiences may be in for a bit of disappointment. Fair or not, the knowledge that this movie cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make is likely to only increase audience frustration if they find the movie lacking. Of course, there’s a fair chance the audience and critic scores don’t align. That remains to be seen, but, as it stands,The Electric Stateis Netflix’s most expensive movie to date, and the pressure is certainly on.
