Mel Gibson‘s self-financed passion project was originally budgeted through his Icon Productions at $64 million. Despite the twofold increase in shooting days, that initial figure has been whittled down to $50 million for public record. However, production execs who worked on and or regularly visited the set estimate Apocalypto‘s actual budget is closer to $75 million to $80 million.” — from Sheigh Crabtree‘s L.A. Times piece on the making of it.