A sinking set and a hurricane pushed Waterworld's budget from $100M to $175M

Universal Pictures greenlit Waterworld, a post-apocalyptic film starring Kevin Costner shot almost entirely on open water, with an original budget estimate around $100 million that the studio approved despite the well-known unpredictability and expense of ocean-based filming.

Production ran into severe complications from the start: poor weather, safety concerns for cast and crew, and one of the film's major floating sets sinking during a storm, extending the shoot by nearly three months and pushing the final budget to a reported $175 million.

Waterworld grossed $264 million worldwide, a number that still left Universal with an estimated $103 million theatrical loss once the studio's roughly 50% box office share is weighed against the full $235 million production and marketing cost. The film eventually turned a modest profit years later through home video, rental and television revenue.