Neymar to PSG: 15 Blockbuster movies whose budgets were less than the €222m ($263m) fee

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MSN is now just MS

There are seven players right around him as Neymar is trying to cut in from the left. He decides to take the simpler option and pass it down to his right to Lionel Messi. The Argentine, situated between the centre-circle and Bayern Munich’ D-box, is in ample of space and the lethargy of Bayern players is giving him an abundant amount of time.

Suddenly, Suarez bursts past the back of Mehdi Benatia. Messi spots it and calmly slides in a through-pass for the Uruguayan. It reaches him successfully, surely he must score now with only Manuel Neuer to beat.

It is going to be a first-time shot from Suarez... oh, no, it is not! He spots the run from Neymar with the corner of his eyes and drills it to his left as the Brazilian now has an open goal to aim at.

And we all know what happens next. Neymar scores Barcelona’s first goal of the game and equalises after Mehdi Benatia opened the scoring for Bayern. It was a goal that exuded the essence of understanding in teamwork.

Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar had a telepathic connection – note the use of ‘had’ here – between them. The trio could literally be blindfolded and still know the exact position of each other on the pitch. The level of understanding was – again, note the past-tense here – so immense that every couple could have taken a lesson or two from it to strengthen their relationship.

Remember how I insisted you to note down the uses of past tense above? Yup, the trio – fondly known as MSN – that made defenders shriek with inscrutable fear and was a much superior answer to Real Madrid’s BBC, no longer exists.

Barcelona fans might be angered at Neymar for the way things happened, but they can’t deny that they are going to be deprived of something as beautiful as walking on the grass adorned with dew-drops on a winter morning without any footwear.

Paris-Saint Germain have activated his €222 million release clause and Neymar is off to France, making him the most expensive player of all time. A lot of Hollywood blockbuster movies have been made with less than that amount of money – we will use $263 million for our convenience – and here are 15 of them.

Note: Budgets for the movies made before 2012 have been adjusted for inflation (marked with a bracketed ‘I’), it is for this reason why Titanic and Avatar are not on the list – despite seemingly costing less than $263 million at the time of production – as they go above the $263 million when accounted for inflation.

1. Wonder Woman - $140 million

Gal Gadot and Lynda Carter: The two Wonder Women

The movie, featuring the pristine-looking Gal Gadot and the magnificent Chris Pine, was the first superhero of this era that had a woman as the main character. It was directed by the glorious Patty Jenkins with a budget of ‘only’ $140 million and has been the most praised movie of the DC Universe since its reboot while making $786 million in return.

2. Beauty and the Beast - $160 million

The biggest movie of the year, in terms of worldwide Box Office collection, was none other than Beauty and the Beast as it made $1.262 billion. The Emma Watson and Dan Stevens starring movie was directed by Bill Condon (this guy must have been bullied a lot at school for his name) with a budget of $160 million.

3. Interstellar - $165 million

This sci-fi movie from Christopher Nolan was so good that some journals called for it to be shown at school to help the children understand the concept of space and time better. Nolan’s movies are always a class apart and distinctively insightful as Interstellar cost $165 million while raking in $675.1 million.

4. X-Men: Apocalypse - $178 million

X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men movies give me hope that someday, I will evolve into a mutant that has the ability to telepath and move things with the mind, i.e. telekinesis. Apocalypse was the beginning of the new phase for the X-men franchise and took $178 million to produce as it made $543.9 million.

5. Inception - $179 million (I)

This movie made me mess with my sleeping pattern since I always tried various ways to have lucid dreams then fall asleep in the dream to dream within the dream which I am already dreaming while actually not dreaming… does that make sense?

I don’t know, but what I do know is that this genius of a work from Nolan brothers had a budget of $160 million when made in 2010 – which is $179 million now – and collected $825.5 million worldwide.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 - $200 million

The comedy-action superhero movie featuring the guardians of the galaxy is perhaps the most hilarious brand of superhero movie there is. Featuring Chris Patt, GotG Vol. 2 made $860.6 million with a budget of over four times less.

7. The Dark Knight - $206.91 million (I)

The Dark Knight

Perhaps the greatest movie based on a DC superhero comic of all time. This is the third movie in this list that was directed by Nolan. The Dark Knight set the gold standard for every other comic book adaption and cost $180 million at the time of making, which is $206.91 now, and made a billion dollars at the box office.

8. Iron Man 3 - $200 million

Robert Downey Jr. is a money-magnet. Literally. In almost any movie where he plays a part, one can be assured that it is going to bring in a lot of money. Iron Man 3 was no exception either as it made $1.215 billion on a $200 budget.

9. X-Men: Days of the Future Past - $200 million

My personal favourite X-Men movie along with X-Men Origins: First Class. Days of the Future Past worked both as a prequel and a sequel to the franchise. Making around $747.9 million on a $200 million budget, Bryan Singer’s return to the X-Men franchise was a success.

10.  Avengers - $220 million

Avengers cast

The Joss Whedon directed movie set the tone for Marvel for years to come as the 2012 movie on the collection of Marvel’s greatest superheroes hit the screens with a bang. Costing $220 million and making $1.51 million in the process.

11.  Man of Steel - $225 million

The poorly executed Man of Steel movie was one of the most highly anticipated movies but failed to meet the fans’ expectations. It did, however, do well in the Box Office by making $668 million with a budget of $225 million.

12. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $230 million (I)

The Transformers series has raked in huge revenues throughout the years

The movie might have made a lot of money at $836.3 million, but it was thrashed by critics. It cost $200 million in 2009, which has been adjusted to $230 million in 2017 and was directed by Michael Bay.

13. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol I - $232 million

The first movie of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, this movie initially had a $170 million budget, but Disney later confirmed that they went above it and spent $232 million on it. It was money well spent, though, as it made $773 million worldwide.

14.  Captain America: Civil War - $250 million

This was basically just The Avengers minus Thor and Hulk. As Iron Man took on Captain America in an epic internal battle of superheroes, it made $1.132 billion, which is more than 4 times more than its budget.

15.  Fast 8 - $250 million

This is the first movie from the Fast and Furious franchise, save Tokyo Drift, that didn’t feature the late Paul Walker in it. The production cost of the money known for its actions sequences cost $250 million and made 1.163 billion in the end.

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