 Snyder hoped to have principal photography take place from June – September 2007 , but filming was delayed until September 17 , 2007 . Snyder wanted a $ 150 million budget , but Warner Bros. preferred the budget remain under $ 100 million ; the film ultimately finished with a budget of approximately $ 120 million . The production took place in Vancouver , where a New York City back lot was built . Sound stages were used for apartments and offices , while sequences on Mars and Antarctica were shot against green screens . Ten visual effects companies , Sony Pictures Imageworks and Intelligent Creatures among them , came on board to work on the film , which ended up having 1 @,@ 100 shots featuring effects , a quarter of them being computer @-@ generated imagery . 
