The 45 Biggest Movie Flops of the Last Decade
About 100 movies from big studios are released in theaters each year. That means around 1,000 Hollywood productions hit the theaters in the last decade. That’s a lot of movies vying for people’s limited time — and the stakes have never been higher. Big budget movies cost several hundred million to make and market, requiring them to achieve massive box office takes to turn a profit.
As the saying goes, the bigger they are the harder they fall. These 45 movies from the past 10 years didn’t just fall; they wiped out in spectacular fashion. Many are some of the biggest box office disasters of all time.
*Note: Losses have been adjusted for inflation. Grosses and budgets are from Box Office Mojo. Loss figures are from a variety of sources, including Filmsite, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Variety and Bomb Report.
‘The Beaver’
Year: 2011
Budget: $21 million
Domestic gross: $970,816
Worldwide gross: $7.3 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $20 million
Mel Gibson is the star of “The Beaver,” and that proved to be a poor choice. Filming for “The Beaver” wrapped in 2010, right around the time that Gibson left a furious, racist rant on his ex-girlfriend’s phone. The movie was pulled from its original release date and premiered at a later date, taking in less than $1 million domestically. Overseas it took in $7.3 million, but after theaters took their cut, Summit Entertainment was left with half of that or less. It’s not clear exactly how much “The Beaver” lost, but we’re pegging it at about $20 million after adjusting for inflation.
‘Hellboy’
Year: 2019
Budget: $50 million
Domestic gross: $21.9 million
Worldwide gross: $44.66 million
Loss: $40 million
Lionsgate chose to leave Ron Pearlman and Guillermo del Toro out of the 2019 “Hellboy” reboot, opting instead for a smaller budget movie that could turn a profit. It didn’t. The movie was a stinking pile of kitty litter with a worldwide gross that couldn’t even cover the paltry budget.
‘That’s My Boy’
Year: 2012
Budget: $70 million
Domestic gross: $36.9 million
Worldwide gross: $57.72 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $42.6 million
“That’s My Boy” was one of those garbage movies with Adam Sandler before he started making garbage movies for Netflix. Critics called it gross and offensive, while most people called it another Sandler movie they skipped.
According to Bomb Report, Sony would net about $31.7 million, meaning this movie lost a minimum of $38 million in 2012 without accounting for marketing.
‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’
Year: 2018
Budget: $275 million
Domestic gross: $213.78
Worldwide gross: $392.92
Loss (inflation adjusted): $50-$80 million
Disney’s attempt at a Han Solo backstory ended up being a ham-fisted tale that put the brakes on theatrical “Star Wars” spin-offs. Its giant budget and so-so story made “Solo” the first “Star Wars” movie to ever lose money at the box office. One industry analyst estimated the film lost between $50 and $80 million.
‘The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure’
Year: 2012
Budget: $20 million
Domestic gross: $1.1 million
Worldwide gross: $1.1 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $66 million
“Oogieloves” is a 2012 kids musical movie that marketed itself as an interactive experience, encouraging kids to sing and dance along with the Oogieloves, which appear to be a fusion of Teletubbies and Troll Dolls. Perhaps not wanting to be part of an 88-minute nightmare of multi-colored singing creatures in a theater full of rambunctious children, adults chose to skip the film.
And oh, how it bombed. On its first day, the movie made less than $103,000. And while its budget was $20 million, the Los Angeles Times reported that the movie cost a whopping $60 million all-in, meaning the movie lost $59 million in 2012.
‘The Mummy’
Year: 2017
Budget: $125 million
Domestic gross: $80.23 million
Worldwide gross: $409.2
Loss (inflation adjusted): $63-$100 million
Universal Pictures’ now-forgotten attempt at launching its “Dark Universe” franchise — a series of movies revolving around the Universal monsters — started and ended with “The Mummy.” Deadline estimated that Tom Cruise’s creature feature was tracking to lose $95 million in an article published shortly before the film left theaters. While “The Mummy” ended with a theatrical run of more than Deadline’s estimated $375 million, the least “The Mummy” likely lost was around $60 million.
‘A Wrinkle in Time’
Year: 2018
Budget: $100 million
Domestic gross: $100.47 million
Worldwide gross: $132.67 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $70 million
“A Wrinkle in Time” had a lot of goodwill before it hit theaters. With Ava DuVernay at the helm, it was the first $100-million-budget film to be directed by a black woman, it was based on the beloved children’s book of the same name and it was given the Oprah bump (granted, she also starred in the movie).
There was also a huge marketing push from Disney, but audiences didn’t seem to care — most of them were still buying tickets for “Black Panther,” which was then in its fourth weekend.
According to Bomb Report, the film lost around $70 million, offsetting some of the profits that Disney enjoyed from “Black Panther.”
‘Deepwater Horizon’
Year: 2016
Budget: $110 million
Domestic gross: $61.4 million
Worldwide gross: $121.8 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $64-$120 million
The Deepwater Horizon disaster killed 11 workers and jettisoned about four million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days. Louisiana fisherman are still dredging up mutant fish. The disaster was an epic one, yet audiences weren’t willing to pay to see a movie about the rig explosion itself.
‘How Do You Know’
Year: 2010
Budget: $120 million
Domestic gross: $30.2 million
Worldwide gross: $48.7 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $88.6-$122.4 million
On paper, “How Do You Know” should have been a smash hit. It’s a romantic comedy by James L. Brooks, starring Jack Nicholson, Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson — what could go wrong? Well, the budget was $120 million — a ridiculous amount for a romantic comedy, but these big-time stars commanded huge fees. Witherspoon received $15 million, Nicholson got $12 million and Wilson was paid $10 million, while Rudd received just $3 million, according to the Hollywood Reporter. And unfortunately, the movie just sort of stunk, so word of mouth kept people far away. “How Do You Know” is Nicholson’s last role, which is just depressing.
‘Ghostbusters’
Year: 2016
Budget: $144 million
Domestic gross: $128.35 million
Worldwide gross: $229.15 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $75 million
Some franchise fans were skeptical of an all-female “Ghostbusters” reboot, and the bar to deliver a movie on par with the beloved originals was set high. Critical responses were positive, but general audiences were lukewarm to the movie while a swarm of online trolls was downright vicious about the movie’s mere existence. The movie holds a 74 percent critics and 50 percent audience rating at Rotten Tomatoes.
‘Gemini Man’
Year: 2019
Budget: $139 million
Domestic gross: $48.5 million
Worldwide gross: $172.6 million
Loss: $75 million
“You made a person out of another person? Then you sent me to kill him?” So says an incredulous Will Smith in the “Gemini Man” trailer, which actually featured two Will Smiths. This tale of two Smiths cost an additional $100 million to market, ratcheting up total costs to the $240 million range. After theaters take their cut, the budget might be recouped.
Not many people went to see “Gemini Man,” and it didn’t help that Ang Lee’s film was to be seen in 120 fps 4k 3D technology — which might have been cool, but there were no theaters in America that could handle it.
‘The Great Wall’
Year: 2016
Budget: $150 million
Domestic gross: $44.5 million
Worldwide gross: $335 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $80 million
Universal Pictures and China Film Group backed this Matt Damon movie, with studios aiming for it to dip deep into that sweet Chinese box office honeypot. But Asian audiences may not have liked the idea of a Westerner having the lead role in a Chinese-based film, and western audiences just shrugged and went to see something else. The movie only made $171 million in China and lost an estimated $74.5 million according to Deadline.
‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows’
Year: 2016
Budget: $135 million
Domestic gross: $82 million
Worldwide gross: $245.6 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $80 million
2014’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” was a huge hit, grossing $493 million worldwide and even started a whole new toy line for the 35-year-old property. Everything was looking great, so Paramount greenlit another big-budget production. But for whatever reason, the movie completely flopped in North America but fared better overseas.
By the time theaters took their cut and the marketing budget was accounted for, there was nothing bodacious about Paramount’s bottom line for this film.
‘The Finest Hours’
Year: 2016
Budget: $80 million
Domestic gross: $27.57 million
Worldwide gross: $52 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $80.4 million
This historical drama, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, is about the United States Coast Guard’s dramatic rescue of a sinking ship in 1952. The movie received ok reviews but audiences didn’t care to see it. Disney announced it would take a $75 million loss shortly after the film flopped at the worldwide box office.
‘Rise of the Guardians’
Year: 2012
Budget: $145 million
Domestic gross: $103.4 million
Worldwide gross: $306.94 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $83 million
DreamWorks’ “Rise of the Guardians” wasn’t a bad movie — it was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 70th Golden Globes — but it had a woefully turgid budget. At the time, animated films were expected to pull in at least $150 million domestically. That proved to no longer be the case. Coupled with a “reduced” $150 million global marketing budget, the movie was fated to flop.
This movie’s failure caused the layoffs of about 350 DreamWorks employees after the company posted an $83 million loss the following quarter, all of which was due to the failure of “Rise of the Guardians.”
'Robin Hood'
Year: 2018
Budget: $100 million
Domestic gross: $30.82 million
Worldwide gross: $85.88 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $83.7 million
“Robin Hood” didn’t just miss the bullseye; it missed the entire target. The nearly two-hour feature holds a 15 percent critical rating and a 41 percent audience score at Rotten Tomatoes, indicating that the few people who paid money to see this turkey over Thanksgiving break felt robbed. Deadline estimates the movie lost Lionsgate $83.7 million.
‘Ben-Hur’
Year: 2016
Budget: $100 million
Domestic gross: $26.4 million
Worldwide gross: $94 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $81.5-$131 million
Banking on a large religious audience turnout turned out to be a blunder for MGM and Paramount’s “Ben-Hur,” which started the box office race at No. 4 on opening day and fell well behind the competition with each following weekend. MGM, which financed 80 percent of the picture, took a $47.8 million write-down, putting its 2016 Q3 earnings in the red by $20 million.
‘Rock of Ages’
Year: 2012
Budget: $75 million
Domestic gross: $38.5 million
Worldwide gross: $59.42 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $86 million
So Tom Cruise, Bryan Cranston, Alec Baldwin and Catherine Zeta-Jones made a glam band musical, singing songs like “Juke Box Hero,” “Paradise City” and “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” Here’s Cruise singing “Wanted Dead or Alive.”
According to Bomb Report, Warner Bros. netted about $33.5 million after theaters took their cut, which was also less than it took to market the $75 million picture. We’re going to low-ball this one and say it cost $110 million to make and market, meaning it lost about $77 million in 2012 dollars.
‘Fantastic Four’
Year: 2015
Budget: $120 million
Domestic gross: $56 million
Worldwide gross: $167.9 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $87 million
2015’s “Fantastic Four” was a disaster from start to finish. Director Josh Trank publicly bashed the movie before it was released, blaming studio execs for meddling with his original cut (and this past Thanksgiving, bashed Marvel movies before quitting Twitter). The movie was terrible.20th Century Fox should be thankful that it only lost $80 million.
‘Hugo’
Year: 2011
Budget: $150-$180 million
Domestic gross: $73.86 million
Worldwide gross: $185.77 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $91.5 million
Lavished with critical praise but ignored by audiences, Martin Scorsese’s dip into family-friendly territory proved to be a box office burn out. The Hollywood Reporter said losses were “north of $80 million,” and the film caused some stress between Scorsese and his financiers.
‘Tomorrowland’
Year: 2015
Budget: $190 million
Domestic gross: $93.4 million
Worldwide gross: $209.2 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $82.6-$163 million.
This Disney film was hugely expensive, with a ridiculous $190 million budget and exorbitant marketing costs of $100-$150 million. The retro-futuristic fantasy film completely tanked at the box office, bringing in $93.4 million domestically and a total of $209 million worldwide.
‘Blade Runner 2049’
Year: 2017
Budget: $150 million
Domestic gross: $92 million
Worldwide gross: $260.5 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $84 million
“Blade Runner 2049” needed to make $400 million worldwide to be a success. It limped away with $260.5 million. While it was critically praised and eventually won enough accolades to fill a Wikipedia page, moviegoers declined to check out Ridley Scott’s futuristic dystopia, which bowed to “Happy Death Day” by the second weekend and “Boo 2! A Madea Halloween” during its third weekend. The Hollywood Reporter estimated “Blade Runner 2049” lost around $80 million.
‘Seventh Son’
Year: 2014
Budget: $95 million
Domestic gross: $17.22 million
Worldwide gross: $114 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $92 million
“Seventh Son” was so bad that Legendary Entertainment took an $85 million write-down on the film a year before it even hit theaters. Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges reunite for the first time since “The Big Lebowski” in this high fantasy flick. It would have fared much better had Bridges shed the cowl for a bathrobe and Moore switched out the witchcraft for painting.
‘The Good Dinosaur’
Year: 2015
Budget: $200 million
Domestic gross: $123 million
Worldwide gross: $332.2 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $92.3
Pixar’s first — and so far, only — bomb at the box office came in the form of “The Good Dinosaur,” a movie that cost $350 million to make and market but only brought in $332 million worldwide. Production troubles caused lengthy revisions to the movie, which increased the budget. The film isn’t regarded as terrible, but it didn’t seem to live up to the high expectations audiences hold for a Pixar film.
The movie lost around $85 million, but it topped video sales charts when it was released on DVD and Blu-ray.
‘The Wolfman’
Year: 2010
Budget: $150 million
Domestic gross: $62 million
Worldwide gross: $139.8 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $93.3 million
A remake of the classic 1941 movie, “The Wolfman” features amazing special effects and a true-to-form gory and straightforward plot. But that’s just not something modern audiences want out of big-budget flicks. Extensive reshoots, studio meddling, delays and expensive special effects transformed a more modest $85 million budget into an unruly $150 million beast.
At the Savannah Film Festival in 2011, Universal Studios President Ron Meyer said, “We make a lot of s****y movies. Every one of them breaks my heart… ‘Wolfman’ and ‘Babe 2’ are two of the s******st movies we put out, but by the same token we made movies we believe in.”
‘Pan’
Year: 2015
Budget: $150 million
Domestic gross: $35 million
Worldwide gross: $128 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $93.5-$163 million
Peter Pan films just can’t catch a break. Both of the film’s last two iterations, 2003’s “Peter Pan” and 2015’s “Pan,” were dismal failures. This CGI-heavy movie is an alternate telling of the classic J.M. Barrie movie. Here, the villain is Blackbeard and Peter Pan teams up with Hook. The movie cost $250-$275 million to make and market and panned by critics and audiences.
These jokes write themselves, folks.
‘Jupiter Ascending’
Year: 2015
Budget: $176 million
Domestic gross: $47.4 million
Worldwide gross: $184 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $95-$130.5 million
Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum starring in a big-budget sci-fi movie directed by the Wachowskis. It sounds like a surefire hit, yet it was both a box office failure and a terrible movie. Deadline points the blame at the Wachowskis, who were given free reign with the movie, which was greenlit without a script. Poor test screening led to Warner Bros. throwing an extra 50 percent of its original budget for more VFX and reshoots, none of which seemed to help the film become any more coherent.
‘The Nutcracker in 3D’
Year: 2010
Budget: $90 million
Domestic gross: $195,459
Worldwide gross: $16.18 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $95.6 million
“From what dark night of the soul emerged the wretched idea for ‘The Nutcracker in 3D’?,” wrote Roger Ebert in his review. “Who considered it even remotely a plausible idea for a movie?”
Apparently, the Russians. This $90 million film was financed mainly by Russian banks, who made Andrei Konchalovsky’s dream project a reality. The live-action movie is about fascist rats with jetpacks, and John Turturro plays the Rat King. But at least it’s in 3D!
‘The Promise’
Year: 2016
Budget: $90 million
Domestic gross: $8.22 million
Worldwide gross: $12.45 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $96.5 million
“The Promise” is unique because it’s a film whose financer did not care if it made money. “The Promise” was completely financed by Kirk Kerkorian, an Armenian American businessman who simply wanted a movie about the Armenian Genocide — which was just recognized in the House of Congress, nearly 100 years later — to raise general awareness.
The film was review-bombed by online trolls in some places, although it retains a 92 percent audience score at Rotten Tomatoes. The production company, Survival Pictures, promised to donate profits to various humanitarian organizations, but there were none.
‘Blackhat’
Year: 2015
Budget: $70 million
Domestic gross: $8 million
Worldwide gross: $19.65 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $97.5 million
Michael Mann’s thriller about hacking couldn’t find an audience despite the film’s lead, Chris Hemsworth, having been one of Hollywood’s hottest new actors at the time. Universal Pictures pulled “Blackhat” from nearly every cinema after only 13 days, leaving it to gross just $8 million domestically and a paltry $19.65 million worldwide. Legendary Pictures took a $90 million write-down for the film; coupled with “Seventh Son,” 2015 was a disastrous year for the company.
‘Dark Phoenix’
Year: 2019
Budget: $200 million
Domestic gross: $65.84 million
Worldwide gross: $252.44 million
Loss: $100 million
The final “X-Men” flick flamed out in spectacular fashion, bringing in a ridiculously low $66 million in North America. Think about that — $66 million for a $200 million superhero flick. The film thankfully did better overseas, but it only pulled in $252 million, which wouldn’t even cover the budget after theaters took their cut. Deadline estimated that marketing and additional reshoots cost this movie an extra $150 million, bringing total costs to $350 million.
A Disney press release stated that its 21st Century Fox studio’s losses were “driven by the performance of ‘Dark Phoenix,’” which drove the studio $100 million into the red.
‘Green Lantern’
Year: 2011
Budget: $200 million
Domestic gross: $166.6 million
Worldwide gross: $220 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $101.7 million
Before “Deadpool,” Ryan Reynolds was the star of “Green Lantern,” a movie without a fraction of the wit, charm or creativity of the former. Reynolds would later talk about how the film sucked — he gave it a one out of 10 in one interview — but has also said he doesn’t regret making it. We’re sure Warner Bros. does.
‘Terminator: Dark Fate’
Year: 2019
Budget: $185 million
Domestic gross: $52 million
Worldwide gross: $204 million
Loss: $100 million
The swansong to the T-800 Terminator had a huge budget and $80-$100 million in global marketing costs behind it. Unfortunately, it won’t be back from the red anytime soon — “Terminator: Dark Fate” opened to a pathetic $29 million in North America, probably because fans had been burned one too many times by middling “Terminator” entries mucking up the beloved franchise.
But, unlike “Genysis,” this movie holds positive critical and audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Yeah, let’s just blame “Genysis.” And also “Salvation,” with its stupid CGI Arnold.
‘The BFG’
Year: 2016
Budget: $140 million
Domestic gross: $55.5 million
Worldwide gross: $183.3 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $106 million
Not even Steven Spielberg could save this big friendly failure. “The BFG” had an enormous budget and went head-to-head against “Finding Dory” and “The Legend of Tarzan.” “Finding Dory” was a massive success, and even “The Legend of Tarzan” had more ticket sales. That movie just about broke even.
‘R.I.P.D.’
Year: 2013
Budget: $130-$154 million
Domestic gross: $33.6 million
Worldwide gross: $78.3 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $100-$155 million
Starring Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds, “R.I.P.D.” (short for Rest in Peace Department) is an action-comedy about two dead cops set tasked with returning lingering souls on earth to the afterlife. Universal claimed the budget at $130 million, but Deadline disputes that number and says it was around $154 million with tax rebates.
Numbers vary on how much this dead-on-arrival movie lost, but Bomb Report believes it to be “at least $140 million.”
’47 Ronin’
Year: 2013
Budget: $175-$225 million
Domestic gross: $38.4 million
Worldwide gross: $151.8 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $107-$165.5 million
Before his career was resuscitated with the surprise success of “John Wick,” “47 Ronin” almost iced Keanu Reeves’ career. But it wasn’t really his fault. Director Carl Rinsch was removed from the film’s editing after the budget ballooned to $225 million, according to The Wrap (Universal execs insisted it stayed at $175 million).
Insiders called the production process a “nightmare” and reshoots were required to put the focus on Reeves, including putting him in the movie’s final battle scene — something which was apparently absent from the original shoot.
‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’
Year: 2010
Budget: $200 million
Domestic gross: $90.8 million
Worldwide gross: $336.37 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $118 million
Disney could have played it safe with “Prince of Persia” and possibly netted a decent profit, but the Mouse went all-in attempting to make a new series to rival “Pirates of the Caribbean” in its scope. The film reportedly cost $200 million to make and, according to Bomb Report, Disney would take in about $185 million after theaters took their cut. Add in a ludicrous marketing blitz with $75 million spent just in North America, and this film’s losses totaled at least $100 million.
‘Monster Trucks’
Year: 2017
Budget: $125 million
Domestic gross: $33.4 million
Worldwide gross: $64.5 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $120.74 million
“Monster Trucks” was Paramount’s shot at creating a hot new animated series for kids, starting with a feature film. Unfortunately, that feature film was “Monster Trucks.”
The movie was finished in 2014 and set to release in 2015, but the release date was continually pushed back to the dump month of January in 2017. The film reportedly cost Paramount and its parent company, Viacom, a $115 million write-down.
‘Mars Needs Moms’
Year: 2011
Budget: $150 million
Domestic gross: $21.4 million
Worldwide gross: $39 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $115-$166 million
“Mars Needs Moms” opened with a disastrous $6.9 million debut, laying the foundation for one of the biggest animated box office wipeouts of all time. Director Simon Wells helmed this weird little film, having taken a nine-year directorial hiatus after 2002’s “The Time Machine,” which also flopped (that movie was based on H.G. Wells story; Simon Wells is his great-grandson).
“Mars Needs Moms” had a really strange, somewhat unsettling visual style that didn’t resonate with audiences. And neither did the title, which made one studio exec quip, “The title shouldn't have been ‘Mars Needs Moms,’ but ‘Boys Need Not Come,’" reported The Hollywood Reporter.
‘King Arthur: Legend of the Sword’
Year: 2017
Budget: $175 million
Domestic gross: $39.2 million
Worldwide gross: $148.7 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $120-$157 million
“King Arthur: Legend of the Sword” absolutely tanked at the box office, bringing in only $15 million during its opening weekend. The movie was in developmental hell for some time in some variation or another, and by the time Warner Bros. was ready to shoot, the script was “a strange Frankenstein’s Monster-style screenplay” of old scripts and ideas, according to the Guardian.
‘Battleship’
Year: 2012
Budget: $209 million
Domestic gross: $25.5 million
Worldwide gross: $303 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $134.5 million
This movie’s special effects budget was $100 million — so overinflated that the film couldn’t afford to sign on a big Hollywood star. “Battleship,” which took board game adaptations to a whole new level of stupid, cost $209 million to make and a bunch more to market during its worldwide advertising blitz. “Battleship” caused an $83 million loss of cash flow to Universal Pictures, although the amount of cash sunk on this property was estimated to be around $120 million.
‘Jack the Giant Slayer’
Year: 2013
Budget: $195 million
Domestic gross: $65.2 million
Worldwide gross: $197 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $138-$154.66 million
“Jack the Giant Slayer” was a colossal failure with way too much money behind it. The film had an overinflated budget of $195 million, partially caused by a troubled visual effects company, which used new visual techniques that didn’t work and had to be redone. The company, Digital Domain, had such a disastrous time with the film that it was dubbed “Jack the Company Killer.”
The Hollywood Reporter estimated that “Jack the Giant Slayer” was tracking to lose $125 to $140 million at the box office even if it cleared $200 million (which it didn’t). Add in $100 million in marketing and you have one of the biggest movie flops of all time.
‘The Lone Ranger’
Year: 2013
Budget: $215 million
Domestic gross: $89.3 million
Worldwide gross: $260.5 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $166-$210 million
This Disney snoozefest was stuck in production hell for two years, had an overinflated budget and was criticized for casting Johnny Depp as the Native American Tonto. That, plus generally negative critical reviews, kept audiences far away from the movie. Estimates in 2013 put “The Lone Ranger” losses around at least $150 million.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer, after the film was thrashed by critics, predicted that the movie would “re-review” in a few years and be appreciated. Nearly seven years later, that’s still not the case.
‘Mortal Engines’
Year: 2018
Budget: $100-$110 million
Domestic gross: $16 million
Worldwide gross: $83.6 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $179 million
This post-apocalyptic fantasy epic features motorized cities wandering a hellish landscape in search of finding smaller, weaker establishments to absorb. It’s a strange concept, but at least it’s an original one. Unfortunately, the movie fared terribly at the box office, bringing in just $16 million in North America. It made only $2.8 million on its first day.
‘John Carter’
Year: 2012
Budget: $250 million
Domestic gross: $73 million
Worldwide gross: $284 million
Loss (inflation adjusted): $224 million
“John Carter” is considered the biggest box office bomb of all time. The director, Andrew Stanton, pitched it as an “Indiana Jones” on Mars movie. Stanton had written and directed “Finding Nemo” and “Wall-E,” two mega-blockbusters. Disney gave him carte blanche, but Stanton wasn’t used to live-action films, which led to lengthy reshoots.
According to The New York Times, the film was woefully mismanaged and Stanton’s creative control over marketing didn’t help — by the time the film hit theaters, it was mocked almost into meme territory online.
The title was strange— who is John Carter and who cares? — and Disney made the bewildering decision to remove “Mars” from the title of the book it was based on, “John Carter of Mars” because it might alienate women. Genius.
One guy even made a website and wrote a book about the movie’s titanic failure.
By the time “John Carter” finished its theatrical run, Disney expected a write-down of $200 million.
Related:Biggest Movie Flops of All Time