The Most Expensive Things Destroyed During Filming

Making a movie is an expensive business and to make them even more spectacular some directors go over the top. Here are the most expensive items that were destroyed on purpose, and by accident, during the making of a movie.

‘The Fugitive’ (1993) – A Train and a Bus
Value: $1.5 million

The pulse pounding scene when fugitive Richard Kimble, played by Harrison Ford, was spectacular because the director actually crashed a real train and bus.

‘The General’ (1923) – A Train
Value: $682,000

In this famous silent movie, the star, Buster Keaton destroyed a train. The scene involved a train hitting a burning bridge and crashing into the river below. Except, back then, there were no special effects. The stunt cost US$42,000, which is about $682,000 in today’s money.

‘Con Air’ (1997) – The Sands Casino
Value: $110 million

One of the movie’s most famous scenes features a plane crashing into the Las Vegas Strip which destroyed the Sands Casino. It was actually the real Casino, but technically, the casino had already been partly demolished by the new owners for a new one. So the producers just asked them to hold off until they had finished filming that scene.

‘The Hateful Eight’ (2015) – 145 Year Old Martin Guitar
Value: Priceless

Kurt Russell thought that a guitar in one of the scenes was a replica prop which he proceeded to smash. Jennifer Jason Leigh, who was also in the scene, did know that it was actually a priceless Martin, on loan from the Martin Guitar Museum, which hailed from the 1870s. Her reaction in the scene was totally genuine.

‘The Dark Knight’ (2008) – An IMAX camera
Value: $500,000

The movements in a scene where Batman was in a high-speed chase proved too violent for an IMAX camera and it was destroyed. Unfortunately the camera was one of only four in the world and was very expensive.