Engineering:List of biggest box-office bombs

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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 also a factor that must be considered, so the losses are adjusted for inflation using the United States Consumer Price Index to enable a fair comparison.

Many films on this list grossed more than their production budgets but yet are still regarded as flops. This can be due to Hollywood accounting practices that typically manipulate profits or keep costs secret to avoid 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 is 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 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]


Biggest box office bombs

The following list is limited to films that are potentially among the top one hundred box office losses, adjusted for inflation (approximately upper-bound losses of $70 million or higher).

Template:Box office table legend

Biggest box office bombs
Title Year Production budget (net) Gross Estimated loss Ref.
Nominal Adjusted for inflation [nb 1]
13th Warrior The 13th Warrior


1999 $100,000,000–160,000,000 $61,700,000 $69,000,000–129,000,000 $106,000,000–198,000,000 [# 1]
47 Ronin 47 Ronin


2013 $175,000,000–225,000,000 $151,800,000 $97,000,000–150,000,000 $106,000,000–165,000,000 [# 2]
Adventures of Baron Munchausen The Adventures of Baron Munchausen


1988 $46,600,000 $8,100,000 $38,500,000 $83,000,000 [# 3]
Adventures of Pluto Nash The Adventures of Pluto Nash


2002 $100,000,000 $7,100,000 $96,000,000 $136,000,000 [# 4]
Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle


2000 $76,000,000–98,600,000 $35,100,000 $63,500,000 $94,000,000 [# 5]
Alamo The Alamo


2004 $107,000,000 $25,800,000 $94,000,000 $127,000,000 [# 6]
Alexander 2004 $155,000,000 $167,300,000 $71,000,000 $96,000,000 [# 7]
Ali 2001 $107,000,000 $87,700,000 $63,000,000 $91,000,000 [# 8]
Alice Through the Looking Glass 2016 $170,000,000 $299,500,000 $70,000,000+ $75,000,000+ [# 9]
Allied Allied


2016 $85,000,000 $118,600,000 $75,000,000–90,000,000 $80,000,000–96,000,000 [# 10]
Around the World in 80 Days 2004 $110,000,000 $72,200,000 $74,000,000 $100,000,000 [# 11]
Astronaut's Wife The Astronaut's Wife


1999 $75,000,000 $19,600,000 $65,000,000 $100,000,000 [# 12]
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever 2002 $70,000,000 $19,900,000 $70,100,000 $100,000,000 [# 13]
Battlefield Earth 2000 $73,000,000–103,000,000 $29,700,000 $73,300,000 $109,000,000 [# 14]
Beloved 1998 $80,000,000 $22,900,000 $68,500,000 $107,000,000 [# 15]
Ben-Hur 2016 $100,000,000 $94,100,000 $75,000,000–121,700,000 $80,000,000–128,000,000 [# 16]
BFG The BFG


2016 $140,000,000 $179,600,000 $71,000,000–100,000,000 $76,000,000–107,000,000 [# 17]
Blackhat 2015 $70,000,000 $19,700,000 $68,000,000–90,000,000 $73,000,000–97,000,000 [# 18]
Blade Runner 2049 2017 $150,000,000–$185,000,000 $259,100,000 $80,000,000 $83,000,000 [# 19]
Chill Factor 1999 $70,000,000 $11,800,000 $64,000,000 $98,000,000 [# 20]
Chronicles of Riddick The Chronicles of Riddick


2004 $105,000,000–120,000,000 $115,800,000 $47,000,000–73,000,000 $64,000,000–99,000,000 [# 21]
Conan the Barbarian 2011 $90,000,000 $48,800,000 $60,000,000–66,000,000 $68,000,000–75,000,000 [# 22]
Cotton Club The Cotton Club


1984 $47,000,000 $25,900,000 $32,100,000 $79,000,000 [# 23]
Cowboys & Aliens 2011 $163,000,000 $174,800,000 $63,000,000–75,000,000 $72,000,000–85,000,000 [# 24]
Cutthroat Island[nb 2] 1995 $98,000,000 $18,300,000 $89,000,000 $149,000,000 [# 25]
Deepwater Horizon Deepwater Horizon


2016 $110,000,000–120,000,000 $119,500,000 $60,000,000–112,000,000 $64,000,000–119,000,000 [# 26]
Doctor Dolittle 1967 $17,000,000 $9,000,000 $10,800,000 $83,000,000 [# 27]
Driven 2001 $94,000,000 $54,700,000 $67,000,000 $97,000,000 [# 28]
Dudley Do-Right 1999 $70,000,000 $10,000,000 $65,000,000 $100,000,000 [# 29]
Ender's Game 2013 $110,000,000 $125,500,000 $68,000,000 $75,000,000 [# 30]
Evan Almighty 2007 $175,000,000 $173,400,000 $88,000,000 $109,000,000 [# 31]
Fall of the Roman Empire The Fall of the Roman Empire


1964 $18,400,000 $4,800,000 $14,300,000 $118,000,000 [# 32]
Fantastic Four 2015 $120,000,000–125,000,000 $168,000,000 $80,000,000–100,000,000 $86,000,000–108,000,000 [# 33]
Fathers' Day 1997 $85,000,000 $35,700,000 $67,000,000 $107,000,000 [# 34]
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within 2001 $137,000,000 $85,100,000 $94,000,000 $136,000,000 [# 35]
Finest Hours The Finest Hours


2016 $70,000,000–80,000,000 $52,100,000 $75,000,000 $80,000,000 [# 36]
Geostorm 2017 $120,000,000 $221,600,000 $71,600,000 $75,000,000 [# 37]
Ghostbusters Ghostbusters


2016 $144,000,000 $229,100,000 $75,000,000 $80,000,000 [# 38]
Gigli 2003 $75,600,000 $7,300,000 $72,000,000 $100,000,000 [# 39]
Gods of Egypt 2016 $140,000,000 $150,700,000 $79,000,000–90,000,000 $84,000,000–96,000,000 [# 40]
Good Dinosaur The Good Dinosaur


2015 $175,000,000–200,000,000 $332,200,000 $85,000,000 $92,000,000 [# 41]
Great Raid The Great Raid


2005 $80,000,000 $10,800,000 $75,000,000 $98,000,000 [# 42]
Great Wall The Great Wall


2016 $150,000,000 $332,000,000 $75,000,000 $80,000,000 [# 43]
Green Lantern 2011 $200,000,000 $219,900,000 $75,000,000–90,000,000 $85,000,000–102,000,000 [# 44]
Happy Feet Two 2011 $135,000,000 $158,000,000 $65,000,000 $74,000,000 [# 45]
Hard Rain 1998 $70,000,000 $19,900,000 $60,000,000 $94,000,000 [# 46]
Hart's War 2002 $70,000,000–95,000,000 $32,300,000 $62,700,000 $100,000,000–135,000,000 [# 47]
Heaven's Gate 1980 $44,000,000 $3,500,000 $40,500,000 $126,000,000 [# 48]
How Do You Know 2010 $100,000,000 $48,700,000 $76,000,000–105,000,000 $89,000,000–123,000,000 [# 49]
Hudson Hawk 1991 $65,000,000 $17,200,000 $47,800,000 $90,000,000 [# 50]
Hugo 2011 $150,000,000–170,000,000 $185,800,000 $57,000,000–92,000,000 $65,000,000–105,000,000 [# 51]
Huntsman The Huntsman: Winter's War


2016 $115,000,000 $165,000,000 $75,000,000 $80,000,000 [# 52]
Inchon 1982 $46,000,000 $5,200,000 $40,800,000 $108,000,000 [# 53]
Instinct 1999 $80,000,000 $34,100,000 $63,000,000 $97,000,000 [# 54]
Invasion The Invasion


2007 $80,000,000 $40,000,000 $71,000,000 $88,000,000 [# 55]
Ishtar 1987 $51,000,000–55,000,000 $14,400,000 $40,600,000 $91,000,000 [# 56]
Jack Frost 1998 $85,000,000 $34,600,000 $68,000,000 $107,000,000 [# 57]
Jack the Giant Slayer 2013 $185,000,000–200,000,000 $197,700,000 $86,000,000–106,000,000 $94,000,000–116,000,000 [# 58]
John Carter 2012 $263,700,000 $284,100,000 $122,000,000–200,000,000 $136,000,000–223,000,000 [# 59]
Jupiter Ascending 2015 $175,000,000 $184,000,000 $87,000,000–120,000,000 $94,000,000–129,000,000 [# 60]
Justice League 2017 $300,000,000 $657,900,000 $50,000,000–100,000,000 $52,000,000–104,000,000 [# 61]
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword 2017 $175,000,000 $148,700,000 $115,000,000–153,200,000 $120,000,000–160,000,000 [# 62]
K-19: The Widowmaker 2002 $100,000,000 $65,700,000 $67,000,000 $95,000,000 [# 63]
Krull 1983 $27,000,000 $16,500,000 $33,500,000 $86,000,000 [# 64]
Land of the Lost 2009 $100,000,000 $68,800,000 $64,000,000–66,000,000 $76,000,000–79,000,000 [# 65]
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return 2014 $70,000,000 $18,700,000 $71,000,000 $77,000,000 [# 66]
Live by Night 2016 $65,000,000 $22,300,000 $75,000,000 $80,000,000 [# 67]
Lolita 1997 $62,000,000 $1,100,000 $61,000,000 $97,000,000 [# 68]
Lone Ranger The Lone Ranger


2013 $225,000,000–250,000,000 $260,500,000 $95,000,000–190,000,000 $104,000,000–209,000,000 [# 69]
Lucky You 2007 $55,000,000 $8,400,000 $61,000,000 $75,000,000 [# 70]
Man from U.N.C.L.E. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.


2015 $75,000,000 $109,800,000 $80,000,000 $86,000,000 [# 71]
Mars Needs Moms 2011 $150,000,000 $39,000,000 $100,000,000–144,000,000 $114,000,000–164,000,000 [# 72]
Monkeybone 2001 $75,000,000 $7,600,000 $71,000,000 $103,000,000 [# 73]
Monster Trucks 2016 $125,000,000 $64,500,000 $109,000,000–123,100,000 $116,000,000–131,000,000 [# 74]
Mummy The Mummy


2017 $195,000,000 $409,100,000 $95,000,000 $99,000,000 [# 75]
Nutcracker in 3D The Nutcracker in 3D


2010 $90,000,000 $16,200,000 $82,000,000 $96,000,000 [# 76]
Osmosis Jones 2001 $70,000,000 $14,000,000 $63,000,000 $91,000,000 [# 77]
Pan 2015 $150,000,000 $128,400,000 $86,000,000–150,000,000 $93,000,000–162,000,000 [# 78]
Peter Pan 2003 $130,600,000 $122,000,000 $70,000,000 $97,000,000 [# 79]
Pixels 2015 $88,000,000 $244,900,000 $75,000,000 $81,000,000 [# 80]
Poseidon 2006 $160,000,000 $181,700,000 $69,000,000–77,000,000 $88,000,000–98,000,000 [# 81]
Postman The Postman


1997 $80,000,000 $20,800,000 $70,000,000 $111,000,000 [# 82]
Power Rangers 2017 $100,000,000 $142,300,000 $76,000,000 $79,000,000 [# 83]
Promise The Promise


2016 $90,000,000 $10,500,000 $94,000,000–102,100,000 $100,000,000–109,000,000 [# 84]
R.I.P.D. 2013 $130,000,000–154,000,000 $78,300,000 $91,000,000–115,000,000 $100,000,000–126,000,000 [# 85]
Red Planet 2000 $80,000,000 $33,500,000 $63,000,000 $94,000,000 [# 86]
Rise of the Guardians 2012 $145,000,000 $306,900,000 $87,000,000 $97,000,000 [# 87]
Rollerball 2002 $70,000,000 $25,900,000 $54,000,000 $77,000,000 [# 88]
Rush Hour 3 2007 $140,000,000 $258,000,000 $59,000,000 $73,000,000 [# 89]
Sahara 2005 $160,000,000 $119,300,000 $78,400,000–100,000,000 $103,000,000–131,000,000 [# 90]
Seventh Son 2015 $95,000,000 $114,200,000 $85,000,000 $92,000,000 [# 91]
Soldier 1998 $60,000,000–75,000,000 $14,600,000 $60,000,000 $94,000,000 [# 92]
Solo: A Star Wars Story Template:† 2018 $250,000,000+ $392,800,000 $50,000,000–80,000,000 $51,000,000–81,000,000 [# 93]
Sound of Thunder A Sound of Thunder


2005 $80,000,000 $11,700,000 $74,000,000 $97,000,000 [# 94]
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas 2003 $60,000,000 $80,800,000 $125,000,000 $174,000,000 [# 95]
Speed Racer 2008 $120,000,000 $93,900,000 $73,000,000–81,000,000 $87,000,000–96,000,000 [# 96]
Sphere 1998 $73,000,000–80,000,000 $50,100,000 $61,000,000 $96,000,000 [# 97]
Stealth 2005 $135,000,000 $76,900,000 $96,000,000 $126,000,000 [# 98]
Supernova 2000 $90,000,000 $14,800,000 $83,000,000 $123,000,000 [# 99]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows 2016 $135,000,000 $245,600,000 $75,000,000 $80,000,000 [# 100]
Titan A.E. 2000 $75,000,000–90,000,000 $36,800,000 $100,000,000 $148,000,000 [# 101]
Tomorrowland 2015 $180,000,000–190,000,000 $209,200,000 $76,000,000–150,000,000 $82,000,000–162,000,000 [# 102]
Town & Country 2001 $90,000,000 $10,400,000 $85,000,000 $123,000,000 [# 103]
Treasure Planet 2002 $140,000,000 $109,600,000 $85,000,000 $121,000,000 [# 104]
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets 2017 $177,200,000–180,000,000 $225,900,000 $84,000,000 $88,000,000 [# 105]
Windtalkers 2002 $115,000,000–120,000,000 $77,600,000 $76,000,000–81,000,000 $108,000,000–115,000,000 [# 106]
Wolfman The Wolfman


2010 $150,000,000 $139,800,000 $76,000,000–80,000,000 $89,000,000–94,000,000 [# 107]
Wrinkle in Time A Wrinkle in Time


2018 $130,000,000 $132,700,000 $86,000,000–186,000,000 $88,000,000–189,000,000 [# 108]
xXx: State of the Union 2005 $113,100,000 $71,000,000 $78,000,000 $102,000,000 [# 109]
Zoom 2006 $75,600,000 $12,500,000 $69,000,000 $88,000,000 [# 110]

See also

  • List of films considered the worst
  • List of highest-grossing films
  • List of commercial failures in video gaming

Notes

  1. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". https://www.minneapolisfed.org/about-us/monetary-policy/inflation-calculator/consumer-price-index-1800-. 
  2. Cutthroat Island was once listed as having the "largest box office loss" by Guinness World Records,[4][5] but the category has since been retired.

References

  1. Susman, Gary (April 14, 2015). "The 19 Biggest Box Office Bombs in Movie History". Moviefone. http://news.moviefone.com/2015/04/14/biggest-box-office-bombs-movie-history/. Retrieved August 15, 2015. 
  2. Anders, Charlie Jane (January 31, 2011). "How much money does a movie need to make to be profitable?". io9. http://io9.com/5747305/how-much-money-does-a-movie-need-to-make-to-be-profitable. Retrieved July 12, 2013. 
  3. Davidson, Adam (June 26, 2012). "How Does the Film Industry Actually Make Money". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/magazine/how-does-the-film-industry-actually-make-money.html?_r=0. Retrieved August 15, 2015. 
  4. "Largest Box Office Loss". Guinness World Records. HIT Entertainment. Archived from the original on November 27, 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051127180839/http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50762. Retrieved July 16, 2013. 
  5. McClintock, Pamela (July 8, 2013). "Why 'Mars Needs Moms' bombed for Disney". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.today.com/id/42095009/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/why-mars-needs-moms-bombed-disney/#.UeYMj9KxSug. 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 Adventures of Baron Munchausen
  4. The Adventures of Pluto Nash
  5. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle
  6. The Alamo
  7. Alexander
  8. Ali
  9. Alice Through the Looking Glass
  10. Allied
  11. Around the World in 80 Days
  12. The Astronaut's Wife
  13. Ballistic
  14. Battlefield Earth
  15. Beloved
  16. Ben-Hur
  17. The BFG
  18. Blackhat
  19. Blade Runner 2049
  20. Chill Factor
  21. The Chronicles of Riddick
  22. Conan the Barbarian
  23. The Cotton Club
  24. Cowboys & Aliens
  25. Cutthroat Island
  26. Deepwater Horizon
  27. Doctor Doolittle
  28. Driven
  29. Dudley Do-Right
  30. Ender's Game
  31. Evan Almighty
  32. The Fall of the Roman Empire
  33. Fantastic Four
  34. Father's Day
  35. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
  36. The Finest Hours
  37. Geostorm
  38. Ghostbusters
  39. Gigli
  40. Gods of Egypt
  41. The Good Dinosaur
  42. The Great Raid
  43. The Great Wall
  44. Green Lantern
  45. Happy Feet Two
  46. Hard Rain
  47. Hart's War
  48. Heaven's Gate
  49. How Do You Know
  50. Hudson Hawk
  51. Hugo
  52. The Huntsman
  53. Inchon
  54. Instinct
  55. The Invasion
  56. Ishtar
  57. Jack Frost
  58. Jack the Giant Slayer
  59. John Carter
  60. Jupiter Ascending
  61. Justice League
  62. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
  63. K-19: The Widowmaker
  64. Krull
  65. Land of the Lost
  66. Legends of Oz
  67. Live by Night
  68. Lolita
  69. The Lone Ranger
  70. Lucky You
  71. The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
  72. Mars Needs Moms
  73. Monkeybone
  74. Monster Trucks
  75. The Mummy
  76. The Nutcracker in 3D
  77. Osmosis Jones
  78. Pan
  79. Peter Pan
  80. Pixels
  81. Poseidon
  82. The Postman
  83. Power Rangers
  84. The Promise
  85. R.I.P.D.
  86. Red Planet
  87. Rise of the Guardians
  88. Rollerball
  89. Rush Hour 3
  90. Sahara
  91. Seventh Son
  92. Soldier
  93. Solo: A Star Wars Story
  94. A Sound of Thunder
  95. Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
  96. Speed Racer
  97. Sphere
  98. Stealth
  99. Supernova
  100. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
  101. Titan A.E.
  102. Tomorrowland
  103. Town & Country
  104. Treasure Planet
  105. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
  106. Windtalkers
  107. The Wolfman
  108. A Wrinkle in Time
  109. XXX: State of the Union
  110. Zoom

Bibliography