i don't have a definitive answer about how many are made. it differs for some figures, but theres supposedly about 500 figures per run. with collectibles, when supply does not meet demand, it creates more demand, somehow. more people are after hot toys because its more of a novelty to own with so few floating around, and a good investment if thats what you're into. some of it also has to do with these figures being so high-end and intricate - a large scale, major toy company like hasbro, who churns out thousands of a figure, doesn't have the skilled labor or quality control needed for such expensive stuff. it takes a lot more time and effort from a personell stand point to make these things look this good. so theres less of a margin of profitability. it takes more work hours to produce one of these figures, so for a small company like hot toys (or any sixth scale company for that matter) to cut a profit, it has to jack up the price on the limited amount of figures it can make in a reasonable amount of time.
i don't know for sure. thats my best answer.