Motion motion pictures are usually among the greatest performers on the field workplace, which is why Hollywood makes so lots of them. Barbie and Oppenheimer had been outliers final summer time, however the entire different prime summer time hits of 2023 had been action-oriented. But, to get the largest bang, studios have given motion movies enormous budgets, which solely creates greater field workplace bombs after they can’t come near incomes that cash again.
When assembling this checklist of the ten greatest motion film bombs of all time, we omitted the sci-fi movies as a result of we’ve already coated these flops, in addition to superhero motion pictures like The Flash, which can have misplaced as a lot cash as the highest two movies on this checklist mixed. The 2016 remake of Ben-Hur was additionally omitted because it was extra of a historic epic than a conventional motion movie. Fortunately, there’s greater than sufficient failure to go round simply by specializing in the motion flicks.
10. Hudson Hawk (1991)
Tri-Star Footage
Finances: $65 million
Worldwide gross: $17.2 million
Estimated loss: $47.8 million
Three years after Die Arduous made him into an motion star, Bruce Willis co-wrote the story for Hudson Hawk with Robert Kraft, which was rewritten by Die Arduous scribe Steven E. de Souza and Daniel Waters. The outcomes had been lower than engaging, and that is the largest bomb in Willis’ lengthy profession. Willis portrays Eddie “Hudson Hawk” Hawkins, an artwork thief who’s newly launched from jail and desirous to take pleasure in life’s easy pleasures. Sadly, a number of events quickly blackmail Eddie and his associate, Tommy “5-Tone” Messina (Danny Aiello), into pulling off a heist on behalf of Darwin (Richard E. Grant) and Minerva Mayflower (Sandra Bernhard).
The article of the heist seems to be the elements of a machine designed by Leonardo da Vinci to show lead into gold. The excellent news is that Eddie and Tommy discover an ally in Vatican undercover agent Sister Anna Baragli (Andie MacDowell). Sadly, this film was far too foolish to work as an motion movie, and audiences stayed away in droves. This was a fiasco from the phrase go.
9. Arduous Rain (1998)
Paramount
Finances: $70 million
Worldwide gross: $19.9 million
Estimated loss: $60 million
It’s straightforward to imagine that Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman can be a fairly strong pairing for an motion film. Such was not the case with Arduous Rain, a movie that forged Slater as an armored automobile driver named Tom, who goes on the run from a bunch of thieves led by Jim (Freeman) throughout a large rainstorm. Tom briefly offends after which befriends a neighborhood girl, Karen (Minnie Driver). However simply when Jim is about to get his cash, it seems that the native sheriff, Mike Collig (Randy Quaid), will fortunately kill all of them and hold the cash for himself.
As with lots of motion pictures on this checklist, Arduous Rain had a formidable supporting cas,t together with Ed Asner as Tom’s uncle, Charlie. However moviegoers simply weren’t on this movie, and it shortly sank on the field workplace.
8. Chill Issue (1999)
Warner Bros. Footage
Finances: $34 million to $70 million
Worldwide gross: $11.8 million
Estimated loss: $64 million
Time has not been sort to the legacy of Chill Issue, a buddy motion comedy starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Skeet Ulrich. The premise was type of like Velocity on an ice cream truck. When Dr. Richard Lengthy (David Paymer) is murdered by a disgraced Colonel, Andrew Brynner (Peter Firth), it falls to Richard’s good friend, Tim Mason (Ulrich), to safeguard the unstable weapon that Lengthy created. The catch is that the weapon needs to be saved under 50 levels, so Tim hijacks an ice cream truck that belongs to Arlo (Gooding).
Naturally, this initially results in some exhausting emotions between Tim and Arlo as they evade the boys that Brynner has despatched to kill them and go on a weird journey to guard the weapon. It’s just about each motion film you’ve ever seen. Besides audiences didn’t come out to see it. They didn’t even care about this film sufficient to hate it.
7. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
Warner Bros. Footage
Finances: $70 million
Worldwide gross: $19.9 million
Estimated loss: $70.1 million
Warner Bros., you’re doing all of it unsuitable! You must have an Ecks film, after which a Sever film if you happen to count on folks to care about an Ecks vs. Sever film. The studio form of discovered from that mistake by no less than having one Superman film earlier than Batman v Superman: Daybreak of Justice. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever casts Antonio Banderas as FBI Agent Jeremiah Ecks, a person who’s tasked with discovering renegade DIA Agent Sever (Lucy Liu) after she kidnaps Michael Gant (Aidan Drummond), the son of DIA Director Robert Gant (Gregg Henry).
Contemplating that the movie’s title guarantees a battle royal between Ecks and Sever, chances are you’ll be dissatisfied to be taught that this was deceptive. However you in all probability gained’t be shocked to listen to that Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever often is the worst-reviewed film within the historical past of Rotten Tomatoes with a 0% rating. Now that’s an accomplishment! Warner Bros. has buried this movie so deeply that you’ll have to purchase a DVD to seek out it.
6. Across the World in 80 Days (2004)
Buena Vista Footage
Finances: $110 million
Worldwide gross: $72.2 million
Estimated loss: $74 million
Jackie Chan reportedly received paid $18 million to star in Across the World in 80 Days, however the outcomes of this turkey can’t all be laid at his ft, despite the fact that he does get prime billing as Passepartout. Director Frank Coraci and screenwriters David Titcher, David Benullo, and David Goldstein made important modifications to the unique novel by Jules Verne — modifications that turned out to be very costly.
On this revised model of the story, Passepartout’s actual identify is Lau Xing, and he has a secret historical past and his personal agenda past serving to Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan) win the guess of a lifetime by circling the globe in 80 days. Alongside the best way, they add Monique Laroche (Cécile de France) to their group, they usually even encounter Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Prince Hapi, who briefly detains them. This movie is almost all spectacle, which might have been forgiven if it had additionally been a success. And not using a sizable viewers, the film had no hope of recouping its prices.
5. Blackhat (2015)
Common Footage
Finances: $70 million
Worldwide gross: $19.7 million
Estimated loss: $68 million to $90 million
Typically it looks as if audiences simply don’t wish to see Chris Hemsworth in something that doesn’t contain him choosing up a large hammer and enjoying Thor. The failure of Furiosa this summer time proves that miserable concept. Director Michael Mann put Hemsworth within the lead of Blackhat as an distinctive pc hacker, Nicholas Hathaway. After a collection of brazen cyberattacks on each America and China, Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang) and his sister, Chen Lien (Tang Wei), persuade FBI Particular Agent Carol Barrett (Viola Davis) to launch Hathaway from jail to help their investigation.
As motion movies go, $70 million appears fairly modest in comparison with the budgets of the largest Hollywood blockbusters. However when the worldwide take can’t even break $20 million, then it’s an absolute catastrophe. There are definitely worse motion pictures than Blackhat, however only some that managed to lose more cash.
4. The 355 (2022)
Common Footage
Finances: $40 million to $75 million
Worldwide gross: $27.7 million
Estimated loss: $93 million
It was reportedly Jessica Chastain’s concept to group up with different well-known actresses for a female-led spy franchise not not like Mission: Unimaginable or the James Bond movies. Naturally, Chastain received the main function as CIA Agent Mason “Mace” Browne, with Penélope Cruz as DNI psychologist Graciela Rivera, Diane Kruger as BND agent Marie Schmidt, Lupita Nyong’o as ex-MI6 agent Khadijah Adiyeme, and Fan Bingbing as MSS agent Lin Mi Sheng.
In concept, audiences would cheer on these kickass girls as they took on against the law lord, Elijah Clarke (Jason Flemyng). The MCU’s Sebastian Stan even had a key function as CIA Agent Nick Fowler. However audiences simply didn’t come out to see it. This movie was additionally hindered by the truth that Bingbing spent months underneath home arrest in China for tax evasion, and the producers had been pressured to movie her function with a physique double. Bingbing was finally allowed to movie her scenes individually, which allowed the particular results group to make use of CGI to place her again into the film. That couldn’t have been excellent news for the movie’s finances.
3. 47 Ronin (2013)
Common Footage
Finances: $175 tens of millions to $225 million
Worldwide gross: $151.8 million
Estimated loss: $96 million
The actual-life story of the 47 Ronin has been well-known in Japan for hundreds of years, however this 47 Ronin movie is best identified for being one of many greatest flops within the historical past of cinema. It’s not that individuals didn’t see 47 Ronin, it simply couldn’t come near recouping its bloated finances and it will definitely misplaced $96 million. That’s a feat that only a few movies have managed to attain.
This adaptation took lots of liberties with the precise historical past, most notably by making a half-English, half-Japanese character, Kai, simply so Keanu Reeves may have the main function. There are additionally splashes of fantasy, together with giants and a witch named Mizuki (Tokyo Vice‘s Rinko Kikuchi), who helps trick Lord Naganori Asano (Min Tanaka) into dishonoring himself and committing suicide. This was achieved on the behest of Lord Yoshinaka Kira (Tadanobu Asano), and Lord Asano’s remaining males vow to avenge their fallen lord despite the fact that they’ve been branded as Ronin, or masterless samurai. 47 Ronin was lately well-liked on Netflix, however that’s the one resurgence that it has loved.
2. Cutthroat Island (1995)
MGM
Finances: $98 million
Worldwide gross: $18.3 million
Estimated loss: $105 million
Cutthroat Island is the movie that helped convey down a studio (Carolco Footage), and efficiently scared Hollywood away from making extra big-budget pirate epics till Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl got here alongside eight years later. It’s not like Genna Davis wasn’t a worthy star. Davis was on the top of her fame when she portrayed Morgan Adams, the daughter of a famed pirate, “Black” Harry Adams (Harris Yulin), and the brand new captain of the Morning Star.
Partially as a result of few of the established male motion stars of that period needed second billing to Davis, Matthew Modine was forged as William Shaw, Morgan’s foil and probably her romantic associate. They go on a quest to seek out her father’s treasure and stop her rival, Dawg Brown (Frank Langella), from getting it first. Costly reshoots and lackluster field workplace outcomes killed this one. Even Davis’ profession was badly broken from her function on this bomb, however she finally weathered that storm.
1. The thirteenth Warrior (1999)
Touchstone Footage
Finances: $100 million to $160 million
Worldwide gross: $61.7 million
Estimated loss: $69 million to $129 million
For a movie that ranks as one of many all-time flops in any style, The thirteenth Warrior hasn’t left a lot of an affect on popular culture. Few even keep in mind that this film was primarily based on a novel by Michael Crichton, the writer of Jurassic Park. Crichton himself performed a job in The thirteenth Warrior‘s ill-fated launch when he took over as director from John McTiernan (Die Arduous) following disastrous check screenings. The reshoots helped drive up the finances, which in flip led to the film dropping much more cash as soon as it was lastly launched.
Antonio Banderas stars as Ahmad ibn Fadlan, the previous royal poet of the courtroom of Baghdad, who is distributed into exile. Ahmad finally meets a tribe of Norsemen, together with their chief, Buliwyf (Vladimir Kulich), who forcibly recruit Ahmad to assist them face an unimaginable enemy. The Norsemen got a prophecy that their quest would solely succeed in the event that they took a thirteenth warrior with them who was not of their tribe. However even Ahmad’s presence might do little to assist as their enemy cuts them down one after the other.
