Green Zone
A big budget war movie starring Matt Damon helmed by the Bourne trilogy director Paul Greengrass seemed like easy money. Unfortunately for Damon, that wasn’t the case, with the movie having an eventual shortfall of $2.5 million. It’s thought that the movie’s cliche depiction of Iraq ultimately led to its downfall.
Bicentennial Man
Never heard of it? That’s probably for the best. This Robin Williams flick failed to impress both audiences and critics alike, with the movie falling short of its whopping $90 million budget, only bringing in $87.4 million for the studio. Its bland, uninspired script led to the movie becoming a complete Robo-flop.
Ben-Hur (2016)
Don’t hold out hope for a Ben-Hur sequel hitting cinema screens anytime soon – the original crashed and burned at the box office. Not even a stellar performance from Morgan Freeman could save this disaster, with the movie failing to find its identity, resulting in a loss of $3.3 million.
Peter Pan (2003)
Sometimes, movies fail to bring in audiences, no matter how beloved the source material may be. 2003’s Peter Pan only brought in $95.3 million against a $100 million budget – a disaster for all involved. However, the movie has gone down as a cult classic, with Jason Isaac’s performance as Captain Hook arguably being the best interpretation of the dastardly villain.
The Wolfman (2010)
Despite an Oscar win for Best Make-Up, The Wolf Man remake failed to make much of a splash at the box office. It was the third most expensive horror movie ever made, having a painful shortfall of $7.4 million. Despite its failure, studios are looking to reboot the movie once again, this time with Ryan Gosling in the lead role.
Treasure Planet
Although it’s one of the best Disney movies of the decade, Treasure Planet went down as one of Disney’s biggest box office flops, creating a loss of $8.2 million. Who knows – with Disney hellbent on remaking every movie they’ve ever released, a remake of the space pirate flick may cause a resurgence in appreciation for our beloved Jim Hawkins.
The Stepford Wives
Not even Nicole Kidman could save this movie from plummeting at the box office. In fact, the actress claimed she hated filming the movie, knowing that it was destined to flop, claiming that the script wasn’t up to the standards it should have been. Kidman’s instincts proved to be correct, as the movie lost $3.8 million.
In The Heart of the Sea
You may not know that Tom Holland and Chris Hemsworth worked together before their team-up in the MCU. Don’t let the allure of the cast fool you – this movie isn’t good, bringing in a measly $89.7 million against its whopping $100 million budget.
The Chronicles of Riddick
Sometimes, sequels are just destined to fail, unable to capture the magic of the original. That’s exactly the case for Vin Diesel’s Chronicles of Riddick, with the movie suffering a painful blow at the box office, despite the OG more than doubling its budget. Ultimately, it created a loss of $12.8 million.
Robin Hood (2018)
Despite stellar performances from heartthrobs Taron Egerton and Jamie Foxx, Robin Hood failed to strike a chord with audiences and critics. It’s likely that the movie’s box office failure – a loss of $13.8 million – was down to audience fatigue, with viewers unwilling to go to the cinemas to see yet another iteration of the bad boy thief.
Mortal Engines
A fantasy adventure helmed by the same screenwriters and producers for The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies seemed as though it’d print money. Unfortunately, poor marketing and a lack of word of mouth recommendations led to this actually decent movie failing to bring in any cash, suffering a huge $14.7 million shortfall.
Catwoman
It may be a cult classic now, but at the time of release, Catwoman did dismally – losing $17.9 million at the box office – with Halle Berry even earning a Razzie for her performance. It almost spelled out the end for DC, but thankfully Christopher Nolan came to its rescue, releasing the critically acclaimed Batman Begins the following year.
Ali
Will Smith scooped up his first Oscar nod for his performance in Ali, ultimately propelling his career. Unfortunately, the box office failed to reflect the Academy’s views, with the movie only making $87.7 million against a $109 million budget, creating a loss of $21.3 million.
47 Ronin
Universal’s big budget Samurai movie became one of the biggest flops of 2013, with the movie losing the studio a huge $23.28 million. Critics seemed to agree with audience views, as it received a measly 11% on the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. It seems that not even the beloved Keanu Reeves could stop this fantasy flick from becoming a disaster.
Sahara
Penelope Cruz and Matthew McConaughey were supposed to lead a new adventure franchise for Paramount, based on the Dark Pitt novels. Those plans soon came to an abrupt end, however, when the movie made a $20 million loss, as well as a messy legal battle emerging between the author and the studio.
K-19: The Widowmaker
The early 2000s were a rough time for Harrison Ford, and The Widowmaker only added to his woes. The slew of historical inaccuracies led to the film being panned by critics, while audiences found the flick to be bland, uninspired, and – quite frankly – boring, resulting in a $24.3 million shortfall.
Cats
The live action version of Cats produced lots of success for Universal. That is, if you consider incessant, viral memes about shoddy CGI to be a good thing. Despite a diverse cast featuring Taylor Swift, Dame Judi Dench, and Idris Elba, the movie was universally panned by audiences and critics alike, losing $24.5 million.
Speed Racer
Speed Racer struggled to cross the finish line at the box office, generating $93.39 million against a $120 million budget. Despite the flick failing to move out of first gear, it’s now widely regarded as being good by audiences – with some even referring to it as a cult classic.
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Even Jason Momoa’s buff pecs couldn’t get audiences in their seats to watch Conan the Barbarian, with the film having an eventual loss of $26.64 million. The original 1982 film, however, grossed around $70 million against a meagre $20 million budget, making the remake’s failure all the more painful.
The Road to El Dorado
This beloved animated tale failed to generate a buzz when it hit the big screen, losing almost $30 million. However, the movie remains beloved by fans – with a particular standout being an animated Elton John narrating the entire piece, featuring tunes by the songwriter himself.
Land of the Lost
A comedy flick led by Will Ferrell featuring CGI dinosaurs should’ve made easy money. Alas, it didn’t leave audiences roaring with laughter, resulting in a $30 million loss. The movie even received seven Golden Raspberry Award nominations, including Worst Picture, winning Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-off or Sequel.
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon depicted the biggest oil spill in US history. With Mark Wahlberg in the central role and a tale targeted at an American audience, you’d have thought that the flick would’ve been a box office smash. Unfortunately, the film only made $122.6 million against a $156 million, spelling disaster for Lionsgate.
Home on the Range
This animated Disney flick planted the seeds of doubt in the company’s mind, leading to their eventual abandonment of their traditional animation just a few years later. Though the film isn’t outwardly bad, it also wasn’t particularly good, with audiences preferring to see the much-loved Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed instead, resulting in a $33.5 million shortfall.
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Guy Ritchie’s gritty fantasy flick starring Charlie Hunnam failed to enchant audiences, leading to a hefty loss of $35.4 million. It was originally set up to be part of a sprawling franchise, though those dreams were soon left in shatters when the box office results came in, with the studio swiftly moving on from King Arthur’s adventures.
Windtalkers
This World War II drama failed to captivate viewers or reviewers. Audiences were left questioning the movie’s authenticity, while critics thought that the film was full of empty, barely-satisfying explosions. Shockingly, neither were left impressed by the flick, due to its spectacle being steeped in real-life tragedy. Overall, the film lost Warner Bros. $37.4 million.
Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
Disney thought that this movie would practically print money, with its original adaptation going on to win five Oscars, including the Best Picture. Unfortunately, the 2004 remake didn’t manage to capture the magic of the original, coming $38 million shy of its $110 million budget.
Son of the Mask
Did you know that The Mask has a sequel? If you didn’t, it’s best to stay in the dark. Made a decade after the original, the sequel put Jamie Kennedy in the central role, in place of Jim Carrey. The movie cost five times the amount of the original to make, though it grossed a meager portion of the OG’s haul, losing the studio $40.1 million.
R.I.P.D
Though Ryan Reynolds is now enjoying his Deadpool-founded success, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for the actor. Just two years after the movie Green Lantern flopped, Reynolds fired yet more blanks with R.I.P.D. – a bland, uninspired movie that grossed $79.1 million against a $130 million budget. Ouch.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Based on the popular Final Fantasy video games, The Spirits Within boasted the big claim of being the first motion-capture-animated feature film. The main reason this movie flopped was because of its ever-increasing budget, ballooning to $200 million in today’s money. Due to increasing costs, the movie ended up losing $51.9 million.
Stealth
This Jessica Biel movie has gone down in history as being one of the worst flops of all time. With a predictable plot and stale dialogue, the film failed to inspire critics. A more likely reasoning for the $61.6 million shortfall, however, is that it was directly competing with Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, which made a huge $414 million profit.
The 13th Warrior
After the resounding success of Jurassic Park, studios were eager to turn more Michael Crichton novels into blockbusters – all with varying degrees of success. The 13th Warrior, however, turned out to be a nightmare, with reshoots, an increasing budget, and a change of director resulting in the film’s failure. In the end, it lost $63.3 million.
Monster Trucks
This 2016 action/comedy failed to take a bite out of the box office, generating a tiny $61.6 million of its $125 million budget. The failure for the movie is crystal clear – who in their right mind wants to spend their hard-earned money watching monsters live inside a truck for two hours?
The Alamo (2004)
Hollywood can’t seem to understand that remaking a movie rarely leads to the same commercial success as the original. While the John Wayne-produced version of The Alamo was a resounding success – even scooping up some Oscar nominations – the 2004 version lost the studio a huge $68.1 million.
The Nutcracker in 3D
Disney’s revamp of The Nutcracker was the most expensive festive-themed film of all time. And that is the film’s failure. While audiences generally enjoyed the movie, the budget was just too large to turn over any significant money in such a short time, leading to a $69.5 million loss.
How Do You Know
While this comedy featured some big names – Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd and Jack Nicholson, to name a few – it failed to impress at the box office. Focused on the romantic woes of a softball player, the movie only created woes amongst critics and audiences alike, resulting in a $70.4 million shortfall.
Cutthroat Island
This movie’s budget spiralled so far out of control that the film company behind it filed for bankruptcy before it had even hit theaters, spelling out box office doom. The flick follows the same fate as its makers – it hemorraged money, losing a huge $73.5 million.
The Promise
Centered around Armenian genocide, The Promise struggled to find a distributor due to its themes of geopolitics, with Turkey vehemently denying that the events ever took place. Eventually, the discourse led to the movie bringing in $10.6 million – a minuscule amount compared to its $90 million budget.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Eddie Murphy is no stranger to a box office slam dunk… Nor is he unfamiliar with a box office bomb. The Adventures of Pluto Nash fall in the latter category, creating a shortfall of $92.9 million. If you’ve never seen it – don’t bother, it’s full of tired cliches and offers few laughs.
Town & Country
You’d think that being shot on location would save this movie from having a growing budget. Unfortunately, costs spiraled out of control when the movie went into production, with endless rewrites creating a two-year-long shoot. Was it worth the wait and the cost, at least? No. Audiences and critics alike shunned the bland flick, which lost $94.6 million.
Mars Needs Moms
Robert Zemeckis usually makes Hollywood smashes, including the Back to the Future trilogy and Forrest Gump. Mars Needs Moms, however, failed to replicate his earlier success. The strange animation style turned audiences away, leading to a shortfall of $110.5 million – one of the worst box office bombs of all time.