In the film and media industry, if a film released in theatres fails to break even by a large amount, it is considered a box-office bomb (or box-office flop), thus losing money for the distributor, studio, and/or production company that invested in it. Due to the secrecy surrounding costs and profit margins in the film industry, figures of losses are usually rough estimates at best, and there are often conflicting estimates over how much a film has lost. To accommodate this uncertainty, the losses are presented as ranges where this is the case, and the list is ordered alphabetically in the absence of a definitive order. Because the films on the list have been released over a large span of time, currency inflation is a material factor, so losses are adjusted for inflation using the United States Consumer Price Index to enable comparison at equivalent purchasing power.

Some films on this list grossed more than their production budgets yet are still regarded as flops. This can be due to Hollywood accounting practices that manipulate profits or keep costs secret to circumvent profit-sharing agreements,[1] but it is also possible for films to lose money legitimately even when the theatrical gross exceeds the budget. This is because a distributor does not collect the full gross, and the full cost of a film can substantially exceed its production budget once distribution and marketing are taken into account. For example, tax filings in 2010 for Cinemark Theatres show that only 54.5 percent of ticket revenues went to the distributor, with the exhibitor retaining the rest. While the distributor's cut will vary from film to film, a Hollywood studio will typically collect half the gross in the United States and less in other parts of the world. Marketing often represents a substantial share of the overall cost of the picture too: for a film with an average sized budget the promotion and advertising costs are typically half that of the production budget, and in the case of smaller films it is not unusual for the cost of the marketing to be higher than the production budget.[2] In some cases, a company can make profits from a box-office bomb when ancillary revenues are taken into account, such as streaming, home media sales and rentals, television broadcast rights, and licensing fees, so a film that loses money at the box office can still eventually break even.[3]

There are some films notorious for large production budgets and widely seen as box-office bombs that have either broken even or turned a profit. Cleopatra nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox with production and marketing costs of US$44 million and numerous delays.[4][5] It was among the top ten films of the 1960s,[6] but still failed to recoup its investment during its theatrical release.[4] However, it eventually broke even in 1966 when Fox sold the television broadcast rights to ABC for $5 million.[7] The total costs for Waterworld (1995) exceeded $300 million and it was perceived as a disaster at the time, despite grossing $264 million worldwide. It also eventually broke even through other revenue streams.[8][9] Such films are still cited as high-risk examples in evaluating the prospects of future productions.[8] For example, Cleopatra is blamed for a decline in big-budget epic films in the 1960s.[10]

The COVID-19 pandemic, starting around March 2020, caused temporary closure of movie theatres, and distributors moved several films to premier to streaming services such as HBO Max, Disney+, and Peacock with little to no box-office takes. While these films may have had successful runs on these services, the viewership or revenue from these showings are typically not reported and excluded from the box office. As a result, several films from 2020 to 2022 are included on this list, despite potentially having been profitable for their studios through streaming.[11]

Biggest box-office bombs

The following is a partial list of films that lost the most money, based on documented losses or estimated by expert analysis of various financial factors such as the production budget, marketing and distribution costs, gross box-office receipts and other ancillary revenues. The list is limited to films that are potentially among the top one hundred box-office losses, adjusted for inflation (approximately upper-bound losses of $90 million or higher as of 2022).

  † Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 29 March 2024 in theaters around the world.
§ indicates a film released for streaming less than 30 days after it was released theatrically.
Biggest box-office bombs
Title Year Net production budget
(millions) 		Worldwide gross
(millions) 		Estimated loss (millions) Ref.
Nominal Adjusted for inflation [nb 1]
The 13th Warrior 1999 $100–160 $61.7 $69–129 $126–236 [# 1]
47 Ronin 2013 $175–225 $151.8 $96 $126 [# 2]
The 355 2022 $40–75 $27.7 $93 $105 [# 3]
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen 1988 $46.6 $8.1 $38.5 $99 [# 4]
The Adventures of Pluto Nash 2002 $100 $7.1 $96 $163 [# 5]
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle 2000 $76–98.6 $35.1 $63.5 $112 [# 6]
The Alamo 2004 $107 $25.8 $94 $152 [# 7]
Alexander 2004 $155 $167.3 $71 $115 [# 8]
Ali 2001 $107 $87.7 $63 $108 [# 9]
Allied 2016 $85 $118.6 $75–90 $95–114 [# 10]
Amsterdam 2022 $80 $31.2 $108 $112 [# 11]
Around the World in 80 Days 2004 $110 $72.2 $74 $119 [# 12]
The Astronaut's Wife 1999 $75 $19.6 $65 $119 [# 13]
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever 2002 $70 $19.9 $70.1 $119 [# 14]
Battlefield Earth 2000 $73–103 $29.7 $73.3 $130 [# 15]
Battleship 2012 $209–220 $303 $150 $199 [# 16]
Beloved 1998 $80 $22.9 $68.5 $128 [# 17]
Ben-Hur 2016 $100 $94.1 $75–120 $95–152 [# 18]
The BFG 2016 $140 $179.6 $71–100 $90–127 [# 19]
Black Adam 2022 $190–260 $393 $50–100 $52–104 [# 20]
Blackhat 2015 $70 $19.7 $68–90 $87–116 [# 21]
Blade Runner 2049 2017 $150–185 $260.5 $80 $99 [# 22]
The Call of the Wild 2020 $125–150 $107.6 $50–100 $59–118 [# 23]
Cats 2019 $90–100 $73.7 $71–113.6 $85–135 [# 24]
Chaos Walking 2021 $100 $26.5 $112 $126 [# 25]
Chill Factor 1999 $34–70 $11.8 $64 $117 [# 26]
A Christmas Carol 2009 $175–200 $325.3 $50–100 $71–142 [# 27]
The Chronicles of Riddick 2004 $105–120 $115.8 $47–73 $76–118 [# 28]
The Cotton Club 1984 $47 $25.9 $32.1 $94 [# 29]
Cutthroat Island [nb 2] 1995 $98 $18.3 $105 $210 [# 30]
Dark Phoenix 2019 $200 $252.4 $79–133 $96–161 [# 31]
Deepwater Horizon 2016 $110–120 $119.5 $60–113 $76–143 [# 32]
Doctor Dolittle 1967 $17 $9 $10.8 $99 [# 33]
Dolittle 2020 $175 $227.9 $50–100 $59–118 [# 34]
Driven 2001 $94 $54.7 $67 $115 [# 35]
Dudley Do-Right 1999 $70 $10 $65 $119 [# 36]
Evan Almighty 2007 $175 $173.4 $87 $128 [# 37]
The Fall of the Roman Empire 1964 $18.4 $4.8 $14.3 $140 [# 38]
Fantastic Four 2015 $120–125 $168 $80–100 $103–129 [# 39]
Fathers' Day 1997 $85 $35.7 $67 $127 [# 40]
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 2001 $137 $85.1 $94 $162 [# 41]
The Finest Hours 2016 $70–80 $52.1 $75 $95 [# 42]
Gemini Man 2019 $138 $173.5 $111.1 $132 [# 43]
Ghost in the Shell 2017 $110–180 $169.8 $60–100 $75–124 [# 44]
Ghostbusters 2016 $144 $229.1 $75 $95 [# 45]
Gigli 2003 $75.6 $7.3 $72 $119 [# 46]
Gods of Egypt 2016 $140 $150.7 $76–90 $96–114 [# 47]
The Good Dinosaur 2015 $175–200 $332.2 $85 $109 [# 48]
The Great Raid 2005 $80 $10.8 $75 $117 [# 49]
The Great Wall 2016 $150 $332 $75 $95 [# 50]
Green Lantern 2011 $200 $219.9 $75 $102 [# 51]
Hard Rain 1998 $70 $19.9 $60 $112 [# 52]
Hart's War 2002 $70–95 $32.3 $62.7 $106 [# 53]
Heaven's Gate 1980 $44 $3.5 $40.5 $150 [# 54]
How Do You Know 2010 $100 $48.7 $104 $145 [# 55]
Hudson Hawk 1991 $65 $17.2 $47.8 $107 [# 56]
Hugo 2011 $150–170 $185.8 $91 $123 [# 57]
The Huntsman: Winter's War 2016 $115 $165 $75 $95 [# 58]
Inchon 1982 $46 $5.2 $40.8 $129 [# 59]
Instinct 1999 $80 $34.1 $63 $115 [# 60]
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny 2023 $295 $384 $134 $134 [# 61]
The Invasion 2007 $80 $40 $71 $104 [# 62]
Ishtar 1987 $51–55 $14.4 $40.6 $109 [# 63]
Jack Frost 1998 $40–85 $34.6 $68 $127 [# 64]
Jack the Giant Slayer 2013 $185–200 $197.7 $103 $135 [# 65]
John Carter 2012 $263.7 $284.1 $112–200 $149–265 [# 66]
Jungle Cruise § 2021 $200 $220.9 $150 $169 [# 67]
Jupiter Ascending 2015 $175 $184 $95–120 $122–154 [# 68]
K-19: The Widowmaker 2002 $100 $65.7 $67 $113 [# 69]
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword 2017 $175 $148.7 $112–153.2 $139–190 [# 70]
Krull 1983 $27 $16.5 $33.5 $102 [# 71]
The Last Duel 2021 $100 $30.6 $99 $111 [# 72]
Lightyear 2022 $200 $226.4 $106–122 $110–127 [# 73]
Live by Night 2016 $65 $22.3 $75 $95 [# 74]
Lolita 1997 $62 $1.1 $61 $116 [# 75]
The Lone Ranger 2013 $225–250 $260.5 $160–190 $209–249 [# 76]
The Man from U.N.C.L.E. 2015 $75 $109.8 $80 $103 [# 77]
Mars Needs Moms 2011 $150 $39 $100–144 $135–195 [# 78]
The Matrix Resurrections § 2021 $190 $156.5 $130 $146 [# 79]
Missing Link 2019 $102.3 $26.2 $101.3 $121 [# 80]
Monkeybone 2001 $75 $7.6 $71 $122 [# 81]
Monster Trucks 2016 $125 $64.5 $108–123.1 $137–156 [# 82]
Moonfall 2022 $138 $67.3 $138 $144 [# 83]
Mortal Engines 2018 $110 $83.7 $174.8 $212 [# 84]
Mulan § 2020 $200 $66.8 $141 $166 [# 85]
The Mummy 2017 $195 $410 $60–95 $75–118 [# 86]
The New Mutants 2020 $67–80 $49.2 $84 $99 [# 87]
The Nutcracker in 3D 2010 $100–160 $20.5 $82 $115 [# 88]
Onward § 2020 $175–200 $142 $130 $153 [# 89]
Osmosis Jones 2001 $70 $14 $63 $108 [# 90]
Pan 2015 $150 $128.4 $86–150 $111–193 [# 91]
Peter Pan 2003 $130.6 $122 $70 $116 [# 92]
Pixels 2015 $88 $244.9 $75 $96 [# 93]
Poseidon 2006 $160 $181.7 $83 $125 [# 94]
The Postman 1997 $80 $20.8 $70 $133 [# 95]
Power Rangers 2017 $100 $142.3 $76 $94 [# 96]
The Promise 2016 $90 $10.6 $93–102.1 $118–130 [# 97]
R.I.P.D. 2013 $130–154 $78.3 $92 $120 [# 98]
Red Planet 2000 $80 $33.5 $63 $111 [# 99]
Rise of the Guardians 2012 $145 $306.9 $87 $115 [# 100]
Robin Hood 2018 $100 $85.7 $83.7 $102 [# 101]
Sahara 2005 $160 $119.2 $78.4 $122 [# 102]
Seventh Son 2015 $95 $114.2 $85 $109 [# 103]
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas 2003 $60 $80.8 $125 $207 [# 104]
Snake Eyes 2021 $88–110 $40.1 $88 $99 [# 105]
Soldier 1998 $60–75 $14.6 $60 $112 [# 106]
Solo: A Star Wars Story 2018 $250 $393.2 $76.9 $93 [# 107]
A Sound of Thunder 2005 $80 $11.7 $74 $115 [# 108]
Space Jam: A New Legacy § 2021 $150 $162.9 $111 $125 [# 109]
Speed Racer 2008 $120 $93.9 $88 $125 [# 110]
Sphere 1998 $73–80 $50.2 $61 $114 [# 111]
Stealth 2005 $135 $79.3 $96 $150 [# 112]
Strange World 2022 $180 $73.6 $197 $205 [# 113]
The Suicide Squad § 2021 $185 $167.4 $120 $135 [# 114]
Supernova 2000 $90 $14.8 $83 $147 [# 115]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows 2016 $135 $245.6 $75 $95 [# 116]
Tenet 2020 $200 $363.7 $50–100 $59–118 [# 117]
Terminator: Dark Fate 2019 $185–196 $261.1 $110–130 $133–158 [# 118]
Titan A.E. 2000 $75–90 $36.8 $100 $177 [# 119]
Tomorrowland 2015 $180–190 $209 $90–150 $116–193 [# 120]
Town & Country 2001 $90 $10.4 $85 $146 [# 121]
Transformers: The Last Knight 2017 $217–260 $605.4 $100+ $124+ [# 122]
Treasure Planet 2002 $140 $109.6 $85 $144 [# 123]
Turning Red § 2022 $175 $19.8 $167 $174 [# 124]
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 2017 $177.2–180 $225.9 $82 $102 [# 125]
West Side Story 2021 $100 $76 $104 $117 [# 126]
Windtalkers 2002 $115–120 $77.6 $76–81 $129–137 [# 127]
The Wolfman 2010 $150 $139.8 $76 $106 [# 128]
Wonder Woman 1984 § 2020 $200 $166.5 $100–137 $118–161 [# 129]
A Wrinkle in Time 2018 $125 $133.2 $130.6 $158 [# 130]
xXx: State of the Union 2005 $113.1 $71 $78 $122 [# 131]
Zoom 2006 $75.6 $12.5 $69 $104 [# 132]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  2. ^ Cutthroat Island was once listed as having the "largest box office loss" by Guinness World Records,[12][13] but the category has since been retired.

References

Citations

  1. ^ Susman, Gary (April 14, 2015). "The 19 Biggest Box Office Bombs in Movie History". Moviefone. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  2. ^ Anders, Charlie Jane (January 31, 2011). "How much money does a movie need to make to be profitable?". io9. Retrieved July 12, 2013.
  3. ^ Davidson, Adam (June 26, 2012). "How Does the Film Industry Actually Make Money". The New York Times. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Galloway, Stephen (September 9, 2019). "Hollywood History Questions Answered: What Movie Was the Biggest Bomb Ever?". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  5. ^ Hall, Sheldon; Neale, Stephen (2010). Epics, spectacles, and blockbusters: a Hollywood history. Wayne State University Press. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-8143-3008-1. With top tickets set at an all-time high of $5.50,Cleopatra had amassed as much as $20 million in such guarantees from exhibitors even before its premiere. Fox claimed the film had cost in total $44 million, of which $31,115,000 represented the direct negative cost and the rest distribution, print and advertising expenses. (These figures excluded the more than $5 million spent on the production's abortive British shoot in 1960–61, prior to its relocation to Italy.) By 1966 worldwide rentals had reached $38,042,000 including $23.5 million from the United States.
  6. ^ King, Susan (April 3, 2001). "How 'Cleopatra' Nearly Sank Fox". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 25, 2023.
  7. ^ Block, Alex Ben; Wilson, Lucy Autrey, eds. (2010). George Lucas's Blockbusting: A Decade-by-Decade Survey of Timeless Movies Including Untold Secrets of Their Financial and Cultural Success. HarperCollins. pp. 434 & 461. ISBN 9780061778896.
  8. ^ a b Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 7, 2013). "Isn't It Time To Take 'Waterworld' Off The All-Time Flop List?". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on January 8, 2015.
  9. ^ Stewart, Andrew (August 11, 2012). "B.O. reality gets lost in perception". Variety. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  10. ^ Patterson, John (July 15, 2013). "Cleopatra, the film that killed off big-budget epics". The Guardian. Retrieved September 10, 2019.
  11. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 31, 2020). "How Covid Wiped Out The Studios' Domestic Box Office Market Share In 2020". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  12. ^ "Largest Box Office Loss". Guinness World Records. HIT Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 27, 2005. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
  13. ^ McClintock, Pamela (July 8, 2013). "Why 'Mars Needs Moms' bombed for Disney". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 16, 2013. Other infamous financial flops include Renny Harlin's pirate pic Cutthroat Island -- listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest bomb of all time -- Sahara, The Adventures of Pluto Nash and Gigli.

Chart sources

  1. ^ The 13th Warrior
  2. ^ 47 Ronin
  3. ^ The 355
  4. ^ The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
  5. ^ The Adventures of Pluto Nash
  6. ^ The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
  7. ^ The Alamo
  8. ^ Alexander
  9. ^ Ali
  10. ^ Allied
  11. ^ Amsterdam
  12. ^ Around the World in 80 Days
  13. ^ The Astronaut's Wife
  14. ^ Ballistic
  15. ^ Battlefield Earth
  16. ^ Battleship
  17. ^ Beloved
  18. ^ Ben-Hur
  19. ^ The BFG
  20. ^ Black Adam
  21. ^ Blackhat
  22. ^ Blade Runner 2049
  23. ^ The Call of the Wild
  24. ^ Cats
  25. ^ Chaos Walking
  26. ^ Chill Factor
  27. ^ A Christmas Carol
  28. ^ The Chronicles of Riddick
  29. ^ The Cotton Club
  30. ^ Cutthroat Island
  31. ^ Dark Phoenix
  32. ^ Deepwater Horizon
  33. ^ Doctor Doolittle
  34. ^ Dolittle (2020)
  35. ^ Driven
  36. ^ Dudley Do-Right
  37. ^ Evan Almighty
  38. ^ The Fall of the Roman Empire
  39. ^ Fantastic Four
  40. ^ Father's Day
  41. ^ Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
  42. ^ The Finest Hours
  43. ^ Gemini Man
  44. ^ Ghost in the Shell
  45. ^ Ghostbusters
  46. ^ Gigli
  47. ^ Gods of Egypt
  48. ^ The Good Dinosaur
  49. ^ The Great Raid
  50. ^ The Great Wall
  51. ^ Green Lantern
  52. ^ Hard Rain
  53. ^ Hart's War
  54. ^ Heaven's Gate
  55. ^ How Do You Know
  56. ^ Hudson Hawk
  57. ^ Hugo
  58. ^ The Huntsman
  59. ^ Inchon
  60. ^ Instinct
  61. ^ Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
  62. ^ The Invasion
  63. ^ Ishtar
  64. ^ Jack Frost
  65. ^ Jack the Giant Slayer
  66. ^ John Carter
  67. ^ Jungle Cruise
  68. ^ Jupiter Ascending
  69. ^ K-19: The Widowmaker
  70. ^ King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
  71. ^ Krull
  72. ^ The Last Duel
  73. ^ Lightyear
  74. ^ Live by Night
  75. ^ Lolita
  76. ^ The Lone Ranger
  77. ^ The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
  78. ^ Mars Needs Moms
  79. ^ The Matrix Resurrections
  80. ^ Missing Link
  81. ^ Monkeybone
  82. ^ Monster Trucks
  83. ^ Moonfall
  84. ^ Mortal Engines
  85. ^ Mulan
  86. ^ The Mummy
  87. ^ The New Mutants
  88. ^ The Nutcracker in 3D
  89. ^ Onward
  90. ^ Osmosis Jones
  91. ^ Pan
  92. ^ Peter Pan
  93. ^ Pixels
  94. ^ Poseidon
  95. ^ The Postman
  96. ^ Power Rangers
  97. ^ The Promise
  98. ^ R.I.P.D.
  99. ^ Red Planet
  100. ^ Rise of the Guardians
  101. ^ Robin Hood
  102. ^ Sahara
  103. ^ Seventh Son
  104. ^ Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
  105. ^ Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins
  106. ^ Soldier
  107. ^ Solo: A Star Wars Story
  108. ^ A Sound of Thunder
  109. ^ Space Jam: A New Legacy
  110. ^ Speed Racer
  111. ^ Sphere
  112. ^ Stealth
  113. ^ Strange World
  114. ^ The Suicide Squad
  115. ^ Supernova
  116. ^ Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
  117. ^ Tenet
  118. ^ Terminator: Dark Fate
  119. ^ Titan A.E.
  120. ^ Tomorrowland
  121. ^ Town & Country
  122. ^ Transformers: The Last Knight
  123. ^ Treasure Planet
  124. ^ Turning Red
  125. ^ Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
  126. ^ West Side Story
  127. ^ Windtalkers
  128. ^ The Wolfman
  129. ^ Wonder Woman 1984
  130. ^ A Wrinkle in Time
  131. ^ XXX: State of the Union
  132. ^ Zoom

Bibliography

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