Epic Fails! The 25 Biggest box office bombs of All Time
Hollywood's Biggest Money Losers: When Blockbusters Go Bust!
Not every movie becomes a massive hit, folks! Some become legendary failures—crushing careers, genres, and even entire studios. Investing in film is always risky. Studios are trying their best to avoid massive failures and the entire business structure of Hollywood continues to be based on sequels and remakes! They generally avoid risky original properties. Why? It is quite simple – established intellectual property reduces uncertainty and gives them a potential built-in audience. It’s a smart way of hedging bets to some degree; and is widely considered to be the safest way of earning returns.
However, this strategy sometimes bites. 2023's superhero movie flops show that no genre is immune to failure. Even these once immensely reliable hits ended up causing significant problems and significant amounts of financial loss. Big-budget disasters; ambitious projects going completely off the rails; and franchise launches crashing and burning are highlighted in this article! That confidence going into production, the immense sums spent does not matter and the results here showcase the incredible unpredictability of that entire movie business – where those epic failures have seriously left marks upon Hollywood and even changed how it functions and the risks involved!
Top 25 Biggest Box Office Bombs: From Mega-Budget Disasters to Uninspired Flops
25. How Do You Know (2010): When Star Power Wasn't Enough
This one's unique. It wasn't overly ambitious. It’s a standard rom-com with Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, and Jack Nicholson! But a ridiculously inflated $120 million budget (those superstar salaries alone really show this: Witherspoon ($15M), Wilson ($10M), and Nicholson ($12M) – it’s nuts. This entire thing is totally crazy!), thanks to James L. Brooks’ painstaking filming approach and many many edits which really took way, way more time! It ended up losing an insane $140 million. Those stars' careers were unaffected, however this completely ruined Brooks' directing career!
24. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023): A Whimper, Not a Bang
Top Gun: Maverick proved that returning iconic heroes (with Tom Cruise) equals huge success. But this Indiana Jones 5, despite star Harrison Ford's final outing; sadly never found that same magical ingredient; The results are fairly self-evident, losing $143 million.
23. Heaven’s Gate (1980): The Auteur Epic That Sank a Studio
Michael Cimino’s Heaven's Gate is a total legendary case of studio arrogance. An overlong, massively expensive Western (costing an insane $44 million adjusted!), it lost $144 million (adjusted)! The result is something rather interesting; critics initially had several problems yet its lush, ambitious cinematography won some hardcore defenders over. This completely finished Cimino’s directing career!
22. Mars Needs Moms (2011): The Uncanny Valley That Killed a Studio
Disney's animation is usually amazing! This however had problems. That motion-capture animation (Polar Express and A Christmas Carol used this style) created an effect that was a bit off-putting (those characters looked uncanny!). This $145 million loss ended ImageMovers’ animation work and did nothing but damage Disney's reputation.
21. The Flash (2023): A Multiverse Mess That Couldn’t Save Itself
Superhero fatigue hit hard in 2023! The Flash, meant to launch Ezra Miller's solo adventure, brought several cameos (Michael Keaton's Batman, Ben Affleck etc.). However this failed despite attempts to incorporate some plot elements around a multiverse to add more flair into an increasingly common trope. A bunch of things added to this project’s misery; years of delays and production problems, Miller's legal issues, and its very proximity to a rebooted DCU. It was messy, and the losses added up to $150 million.
20. A Wrinkle in Time (2018): Star Power and Hype Failing to Meet Expectations
Ava DuVernay's adaptation of that amazing book, featured stars such as Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, and Oprah Winfrey! It's based on an already very famous book and even that popularity and that very high profile cast didn’t help with that terrible release; making an astonishing $152 million loss!
19. Wonder Woman 1984 (2020): Pandemic and Mixed Reviews Created Poor Numbers
COVID messed things up and made this difficult to evaluate fairly, but Wonder Woman 1984’s theatrical release plus simultaneous streaming launch meant extremely mixed results. This did affect audience turnout but poor reviews also made that movie fall flat. A big loss of $155 million. This cancellation of Wonder Woman 3 shows the real damage and that made Wonder Woman’s successful launch into a big-screen film adaptation all completely reversed, leaving many disappointed and shocked that such a promising franchise had simply run its course.
18. Mulan (2020): A Live-Action Remake That Lost Its Magic
Also hampered by the pandemic plus some really disappointing reviews (many international reviews panned the Western cultural interpretation), Mulan's live-action remake totally tanked losing $159 million; This showcases yet another disastrous and unexpected flop based upon that particular pandemic-induced failure.
17. X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019): A Franchise Finale That Went Dark
Intended as a star vehicle for Sophie Turner, Dark Phoenix, tried to retell the classic comic book plot – a significant failure even if audiences often hated it due to various criticisms surrounding a badly executed narrative. Its poor storyline; messy reshoots, and the final end of the Fox X-Men franchise meant this had $155 million loss. Those delays preceding that release likely hurt even further.
16. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001): A "Photorealistic" Failure
Video game movies were hot in the early 2000s! Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was the most expensive game movie and had many impressive aspects that never could appeal to audiences. That "photorealistic" animation alienated fans (the attempt at making things "realistic" wasn't achieved). A $155 million loss sank the studio responsible.
15. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002): Eddie Murphy’s Lunar Disaster
Eddie Murphy had several successful eras. This was not one of them, as his reputation was completely harmed because of his participation in this project. This crazy expensive sci-fi comedy is notorious and completely failed; resulting in an enormous loss of $156 million and earning absolutely horrendous reviews, resulting in a near total failure in various metrics surrounding this production, including various award nominations (those were entirely those Razzie awards!).
14. Turning Red (2022): Pixar's Tween Comedy That Couldn't Find an Audience
Pixar takes a risk; targeting a mature audience! This had questionable timing: COVID impacted it, its release strategy (limited theaters without Disney+) is suspect. It made some very smart creative decisions, with an enjoyable story but ended with losses in the $167 million range. The lack of a theatrical release severely damaged potential viewership.
13. Titan A.E. (2000): Don Bluth’s CGI Experiment That Went Wrong
Don Bluth (Anastasia) created Titan A.E.. It's amazing but it’s also overly violent. A massive budget (those crazy expensive CGI plus an amazing voice cast—Matt Damon, Nathan Lane, Drew Barrymore) This failure’s total loss adds up to $170 million and ended this particular type of animation from ever becoming main project!
12. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017): Guy Ritchie’s Arthurian Disaster
Guy Ritchie’s movies have seriously wild box office swings. After many successes and also after many commercial disappointments such as that one, and then later success again, This really complex Arthurian tale–with Charlie Hunnam and Jude Law– failed because its franchise-building really complicated this already hard-to-follow tale. It had very many changes and lacked that excitement many hoped for, adding $183 million loss.
11. Tomorrowland (2015): Brad Bird's Sci-Fi Flop
Brad Bird (The Incredibles, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol) returned to live action for this amazing and surprisingly disappointing story: a sci-fi drama with George Clooney and Britt Robertson. However that expensive production and underwhelming marketing completely failed resulting in a whopping loss of $185 million!
10. Pan (2015): A Peter Pan Prequel That Nobody Asked For
Many Peter Pan remakes! Pan is an unnecessary prequel (featuring Levi Miller and Hugh Jackman) with very mixed reviews which harmed that production. Those reasons include that simple and unnecessary nature that audiences had grown to avoid. Its budget couldn't be saved even by big names and losing almost $185 million totally shows the simple need for smart production plans!
9. Battleship (2012): When a Board Game Meets Big-Budget Disaster
Adapting board games is inherently tricky. This seriously failed action movie—based on the classic game (starring Rihanna, Liam Neeson, and Taylor Kitsch) is what hurt audiences with this action movie adaptation and never found those creative means of incorporating its themes; instead making for something simply stupid. That over $200 million budget (pre-marketing!) is truly nuts for a storyline so simply built. A $199 million loss.
8. Strange World (2023): Disney Animation's Most Expensive Flop
Disney's animation history includes enormous success, but Strange World? The story involving that incredible animated film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Quaid, and Jaboukie Young-White lost a jaw-dropping $197 million – this caused an entire discussion surrounding animation studio planning at Disney and was also the first non-Oscar-nominated Disney animated film in ages. That was very surprising and it demonstrates the deep extent of its failings and also impacts upon how production decisions for future animated releases would occur and the immense level of planning and strategical production necessary to succeed. This remains quite possibly the biggest loss yet!
7. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003): DreamWorks’ Animated Near-Death Experience
DreamWorks is amazing— creating memorable films and franchises, but its history doesn’t lack for epic failures. This one featuring the classic Sinbad (Brad Pitt!), had enormous talent (Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michelle Pfeiffer), that insane hand-drawn animation, plus an absolutely expensive budget, but couldn't handle its total lack of charm, and losing almost $200 million (adjusted) almost killed that animation studio itself. That loss changed animated films, which also ended hand-drawn animation from DreamWorks, creating a paradigm shift that completely changed those studios.
6. Cutthroat Island (1995): The Pirate Movie That Sank a Studio
Renny Harlin’s Cutthroat Island is a legend— a joke! It's this pirate movie, starring Geena Davis and Matthew Modine; that almost completely changed those movie studios for a short period. Its messy production with rewriting, numerous recasts is an ongoing meme amongst many who watched it! This became infamous after that incredibly bad outcome resulted in almost $202 million (adjusted) loss—this sunk the production company entirely! And almost stopped Pirates of the Caribbean a decade later!
5. Mortal Engines (2018): A Sci-Fi Epic That Never Took Off
This sci-fi adaptation of Philip Reeve's novel really lost an insane $204 million dollars after those huge expectations were completely overturned due to unexpectedly weak and negative reviews. A story set in a world with mobile cities devouring each other and the plot elements involved in that epic clash between factions and the political scheming ultimately couldn’t interest those viewers; and did completely not impress even most reviewers; causing this massive and surprising financial collapse!
4. The 13th Warrior (1999): An Epic Viking Adventure With a Lost Cause
Another adaptation, based on the novel "Serpent in the Desert", This Viking adventure—with the star power of Antonio Banderas –lost an enormous $227 million and those audiences just simply were not enthused enough for a production of that scale and had ultimately a terrible result even with stars that audiences previously enjoyed watching.
3. The Lone Ranger (2013): A Western Disaster
A mega-budget Western with the extremely talented and popular Johnny Depp– and also directed by that super capable individual known as Gore Verbinski. That incredibly popular director, this cast seemed absolutely invincible– that Western remake lost the extremely enormous amount of money valued at $240 million.
2. John Carter (2012): A Sci-Fi Epic with Failed Ambitions
Disney’s John Carter was hugely ambitious! A big-budget adaptation based upon Edgar Rice Burroughs; but many felt that the execution lacked the same creative punch; despite all the expensive effects and an attempt at making an expansive epic; ultimately those expectations simply could not be fulfilled by even a huge and expensive adaptation!
1. The Marvels (2023): The MCU’s Costliest Flop
The MCU itself suffered that enormous loss at the end of 2023. The Marvels lost over $237 million; this represents the biggest-ever MCU box office bomb, the biggest box-office disappointment in that entire cinematic universe. It showed this extremely huge shift from immense success and great hype to the biggest financial failure. And superhero movie fatigue really does exist.
Conclusion: A Hollywood Graveyard Filled With Big-Budget Ghosts
These monstrous flops demonstrate the immense and extreme risks involved with those mega-budget movie productions; where all those huge numbers spent, especially on mega-budget Movies don’t simply equal massive successes; there is often a hidden ingredient or simply a factor that just can’t be overcome. It doesn't simply show how much audiences could care for a movie; or what audiences want from the storytelling, but how fickle, surprising and unpredictable that business can be! There’s always room for creative failures– which really make the next great hits all the more incredible; as it proves just how hard the journey to find such success truly is.
