- 7/4/2025
Hollywood's biggest budget blunders take center stage! Join us as we countdown the most expensive movie failures of the last decade. From superhero flops to sci-fi disasters, these films lost studios hundreds of millions despite star power and massive marketing campaigns. Which epic misfire wasted the most potential? Let us know which box-office bomb you think deserved a better fate!
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00:00You made a choice to do this to me. Can't you see how not okay I am?
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the biggest box office bombs of the last 10 years.
00:12No one I eat will ever be good enough.
00:16There's the release. Release it.
00:19I will never be good enough.
00:23Number 50. Solo, A Star Wars Story.
00:26Back in 2018, you'd be insane for saying a major tentpole in the galaxy far, far away would be anything less than a smashing success.
00:35But despite the allure of Star Wars, Solo had just about everything going against it.
00:41We can get our own ship.
00:42See the galaxy, all of it.
00:45We won't have to take orders or be kicked around by anyone.
00:49Ever.
00:50To start, most people didn't want a Han Solo spinoff without Harrison Ford.
00:54Pair that with a very troubled production, and Disney wound up with a film no one bothered seeing in theaters.
01:01Relax. Hey, try to compose yourself.
01:04Look, all you gotta do is think a few moves ahead, anticipate your opponent.
01:08There's a lesson to be learned here.
01:10But Solo's low returns didn't just sink its own series.
01:14It also made Disney put a hold on all future theatrical Star Wars spinoffs in general.
01:20Yeah, that's gotta sting.
01:22Maybe someday you'll feel different.
01:23Don't hold your breath, kid.
01:27Number 49.
01:28The New Mutants.
01:3020th Century Fox had a good idea putting superheroes in the horror genre.
01:34It might have worked, too, if Disney hadn't bought Fox and all their Marvel characters.
01:39So you guys hang out in an attic?
01:42Yeah.
01:43It's one of the only places where I just can't watch it.
01:45What did Disney do with this leftover project, you ask?
01:48Cancel reshoots, delay it past the point where anyone cared, and dump the movie in theaters during a global pandemic?
01:56That's what.
01:57The reviews were bad, but the box office was even worse.
02:12Then again, what else did Disney expect?
02:15This whole situation reeks of an out with the old, in with the new mentality.
02:20It's just a shame that meant throwing the new mutants out to the wolves.
02:23You can do your best to save a patient, but sometimes the most humane thing to do is put it to sleep.
02:30Number 48.
02:32Devotion.
02:33Say what you will, but this movie has one important thing going for it that most bombs don't.
02:38Good reviews.
02:39Now, if only the marketing could have actually shown that.
02:42Life magazine is here.
02:44I guess the Pentagon wanted something positive for the folks back home to help them swallow the pill of another potential war.
02:50Unfortunately, the goofy poster and over-the-top trailers only succeeded in making it look like a straight-to-DVD ripoff of Top Gun Maverick.
02:59As a result, Devotion didn't command much attention over the crowded Thanksgiving weekend.
03:04This is extremely hazardous duty.
03:06I am not going to sugarcoat it.
03:08Men need help, and they need what only we can give them.
03:12The numbers were so bad, in fact, that the 2022 holiday frame became one of the lowest grossing in decades.
03:19At the end of its run, this war film cost its distributor nearly $100 million.
03:24So any Devotion here was clearly misplaced.
03:29Number 47.
03:41The Call of the Wild.
03:43With solid scores, beloved source material, and the ever-reliable Harrison Ford,
03:48there was a good chance The Call of the Wild could turn its meager opening weekend into a slow-burn success story.
03:54He spent all day looking at maps and pictures of the mountains, dreaming about what was on the other side.
04:01Places no one had been.
04:05Wild places.
04:06But we'll never know for sure.
04:08A few weeks after its release, theaters shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
04:13By that point, the movie had still yet to recover its hefty production budget.
04:17And given how long it took theaters to reopen their doors, odds are it never did.
04:27Fairytale's true.
04:28Reports estimate the Call of the Wild ended as a big write-down for 20th-century studios, like the kind with a whole lot of zeros.
04:39I'm not asking you to come with me, Buck.
04:46You got something here.
04:49Something important.
04:50There's nothing divine about these box office numbers.
04:57Despite a blockbuster budget, Gods of Egypt only got yawns and backlash when it rolled into theaters.
05:03Many found the whitewashing of historical Egyptian figures completely unacceptable.
05:08Everyone else was simply bored to tears by the lackluster story.
05:12Imagine what I'll do to you.
05:15Do that and I'll hunt you down.
05:20All together, that led to pitiful numbers for Gods of Egypt.
05:26Which had to be disappointing, given that the movie cost around $140 million to make.
05:32What was the term you used?
05:36Thiefproof.
05:37Yes.
05:38There is some light at the end of the tunnel, though.
05:41The movie allegedly broke even eight years later after a whole lot of home video releases.
05:46Better late than never, right?
05:48Of course you don't understand.
05:50How could you?
05:51Favored son of a favored son!
05:59Number 45.
06:01Snake Eyes.
06:02Expensive spin-offs are always a roll of the dice.
06:05And yet, the only Snake Eyes G.I. Joe got here came in the form of its box office.
06:10Roll!
06:15Snake Eyes.
06:16The poor reviews failed to convince moviegoers this was worth a trip to the theater.
06:21Considering it was released in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic, that was a major issue.
06:26Anyone who did want to see Snake Eyes, and that was probably a low number, most likely waited until it hit streaming.
06:33As a result, domestically, Snake Eyes couldn't even recoup a third of its production budget.
06:49While overseas numbers were stronger, they couldn't save this snooze fest from becoming a box office bomb.
06:54I have given my life to this clan!
07:00I have sacrificed everything!
07:02Tommy!
07:03It's a sad bit of irony that the most expensive European and independent film of all time is also one of the biggest box office fails of the 2010s.
07:20Yeah, we're looking at you, Valerian.
07:21While the original comics inspired much of the sci-fi genre we know today, this long-awaited film adaptation came way too late for anyone to care.
07:36Instead of fresh or nostalgic, The City of a Thousand Planets just looked generic.
07:40Evidently, most people agreed, with the movie struggling to connect across the globe.
07:45With a budget around $180 million, not even the dazzling special effects could hide the financial losses.
08:13Number 43
08:14Deepwater Horizon
08:16A final tally north of $150 million is pretty darn strong for an adult-skewing, biographical drama.
08:23The issue is Deepwater Horizon had the budget of a summer tentpole.
08:37To break it down, blockbusters are supposed to have broad appeal to make up for their large price tag.
08:44Deepwater Horizon, however, did not.
08:47Apparently, almost 70% of its opening weekend audience was over the age of 35.
08:53They left satisfied, but it wasn't enough to mobilize other demographics,
08:57which doomed Deepwater Horizon to the choppy waters of box office infamy.
09:01All right choice, right now!
09:03Just to burn or jump?
09:04Do you like it on me?
09:05Okay?
09:06Don't touch me!
09:06At the very least, it can dry its tears with its pair of Oscar nominations.
09:11Number 42
09:20Mickey 17
09:22A sci-fi comedy with not just one, not just two, but 17 Robert Pattinson sells itself.
09:29Add in Oscar-winning director Bong Joon-ho, and Mickey 17 should have been the must-see event of the year.
09:35It's only gonna get worse from here, Mickey, with a nice fever too.
09:39Truth is, you're exposed to unthinkable levels of radiation right now,
09:43which is why we sent you out in the first place.
09:46Okay.
09:47So, what happened?
09:49Well, the movie may have been a few degrees too weird for the general public.
09:53That wouldn't have been too much of an issue if the reviews were glowing or the budget was kept in check.
09:58Sadly, neither of those happened.
09:59Well, I wasn't pressing that stupid button.
10:04And why was the mom's driving either?
10:07How many times I gotta tell you?
10:09Mickey 17 isn't a bad movie by any stretch,
10:12but with a break-even point somewhere around $250 million,
10:15it needed a lot more buzz to avoid losing money.
10:19Looking good, Mickey.
10:20Yes, sir.
10:21Okay.
10:22You stand there.
10:23Arm around, please.
10:25Great.
10:25Good.
10:26Big smile, Mickey.
10:27Would you?
10:27Yeah, big smile.
10:28Great.
10:29Number 41.
10:30Gemini Man.
10:31Before the Oscar slap heard round the world,
10:34there was a good argument to be made that Will Smith was one of the last true movie stars left in Hollywood.
10:39I was the she.
10:41Take it as a compliment.
10:42Now, what if there were two of him?
10:44Paramount Pictures probably thought it would double profits,
10:48but that only works if the movie is actually good.
10:51Gemini Man is not.
10:52It's only worth seeing for some neat special effects.
10:55Otherwise, it's a contrived, boring mess that ended up costing its studio upwards of $100 million.
11:02Sorry I ran.
11:04Yeah, well, it's been a rough night.
11:06As it turns out, double the Will Smiths doesn't mean double the money.
11:09If anything, it cuts it in half.
11:11And I believe that.
11:14Do you know how that made me feel?
11:17Number 40.
11:18Doolittle.
11:19It's not uncommon for A-listers to take some time off blockbusters to do some personal passion projects.
11:25Usually, though, they end up better than Doolittle.
11:28Gather round, shall we?
11:30Let's have a look where we are now.
11:31That's the spirit, John.
11:33Even though Robert Downey Jr. was coming hot off of Avengers Endgame, bad reviews proved to be the one thing even this doctor couldn't cure.
11:41And unfortunately for RDJ, this particular strain comes with a rare, career-ruining side effect.
11:48Everybody calm down.
11:51Look at the state of him now.
11:52See, Doolittle wasn't just a disappointment.
11:55It was a bomb of epic proportions.
11:58The movie was such a misfire, it forced Downey Jr. to rethink his career and eventually return to Marvel.
12:04That should tell you everything you need to know.
12:07We are finished.
12:08What?
12:09Is this a pep talk?
12:10Because it's a weird one.
12:11Number 39.
12:13Furiosa, A Mad Max Saga.
12:15This one hurts.
12:17Mad Max is one of the most consistently brilliant movie franchises out there.
12:21But for some reason, the films have never been able to reach a very broad audience.
12:26And Furiosa suffered the worst of it.
12:28Truth?
12:29That is true.
12:29Warner Brothers spared no expense with the lavish budget and multimedia marketing campaign.
12:35But it was all for naught when opening weekend numbers came in much softer than anticipated.
12:51Furiosa failed to hold on to its already low turnout and quickly fizzled into one of the largest fumbles of its year.
13:01This is one of the most recent reminders that quality doesn't always translate to profitability.
13:05You break my heart, and it's not fair.
13:10Number 38.
13:11Blade Runner 2049.
13:13Another day, another great movie lost in the shuffle.
13:16It's especially baffling since, on paper, Blade Runner 2049 had all the makings of a four-quadrant hit.
13:23Before you were under me, you have any memories from before?
13:26I had memories, but they're not real.
13:32They're just implants.
13:33The film boasted outstanding marks, a nostalgic story, and this time, they actually got Harrison Ford back, too.
13:39I'm not here to take you in.
13:41Oh, yeah?
13:45Then what?
13:49I just have some questions.
13:51What questions?
13:52And yet, even with all of that backing it up, people just didn't show up to see 2049 in theaters.
13:59There was a lot of finger-pointing, some at the bloated runtime, some at the confusing marketing, and some at the popularity of the original.
14:06But no matter the reason, the fact of the matter is Blade Runner 2049 lost money.
14:11And a lot of it.
14:13How's it feel?
14:14Killing your own kind.
14:20I don't retire my own kind because we don't run.
14:23Number 37.
14:25Transformers The Last Knight.
14:27Soured by horrible reviews and seriously diminishing returns, the novelty of giant robots smashing into each other finally wore off in Transformers The Last Knight.
14:36The imminent destruction of everything we know and love.
14:40Yes, it's extremely cool to see Optimus Prime wave around a massive sword.
14:45No, that did not make it a good movie.
14:47As the fifth installment in a franchise that only seemed to get worse, people were not fooled into seeing The Last Knight.
14:54There is only one who can hurt us.
14:57I felt her.
14:59She must not enter.
15:00My army will stop them.
15:03It was the first of the live-action series to unequivocally flop at the box office.
15:07And really, that's putting it nicely.
15:10With how many special effects these movies have, the poor grosses are more like a cataclysmic disaster.
15:15I did good, bro.
15:17Real good.
15:18Number 36.
15:20The Flash.
15:21You've got to feel at least a little bad for Warner Brothers here.
15:24The DCEU was already on its last legs long before The Flash tripped at the starting line.
15:30But to make matters worse, the marketing campaign was marred with scandal after scandal involving lead Ezra Miller.
15:36I know sex exists.
15:38I've just never experienced it.
15:41Suddenly, the movie wasn't just the last lap of a dying universe.
15:45It was a full-on media circus.
15:47So, surprising absolutely no one, The Flash ran out of box office steam fast,
15:52with the end result allegedly costing Warner Brothers as much as $200 million.
15:57Okay, I know.
15:59I know.
15:59But I don't need to know.
16:01Sorry, can we move on?
16:02Even with super speed, no one's outrunning a bomb like that.
16:14Number 35.
16:16Missing Link.
16:17When you think about it, this title is pretty apropos considering how much is missing here.
16:22Namely, the audience.
16:23No one seemed to notice or care about the star-studded animated feature.
16:27Quite right.
16:29I never shall.
16:30You know, I really don't care to anymore.
16:33I have changed my mind.
16:35I have evolved.
16:37Reportedly, Missing Link only grossed a paltry $26 million worldwide.
16:42For those who struggle with math as much as we do, that's barely a fourth of its budget.
16:47To add insult to injury, Missing Link is, to date, the most expensive stop-motion animated film ever made.
16:54You asked me here to discover you?
16:57Oh, I'm just kidding.
16:59No, no, no.
17:00I asked you here to help me.
17:02It's a shame.
17:03But based on the sad turnout, we'd wager no one's giving them this big of a budget again.
17:08You don't say.
17:09I do say.
17:10I swear on it.
17:11And you knew I'm nothing if not a man of my-
17:13Your word.
17:13Yes.
17:13Got it.
17:14What better way to celebrate 100 years of Disney than with a good old-fashioned Disney princess?
17:24They're a proven commodity.
17:26Which is why it's so strange that Wish couldn't find any magic in theaters.
17:29So I made this wish.
17:34So what's something more for us than this?
17:37Blame politics.
17:39Blame Disney+.
17:40Blame the reviews.
17:41Whatever.
17:42Either way, there's no wish upon a star coming to save Disney's $200 million investment.
17:47It's not every day you see domestic moviegoers outright reject a movie, especially one with such an esteemed legacy behind it.
17:54How's the whole taking your wish into your own hands working out for you?
17:59Oh, wait.
18:01To be fair, Wish did find a decent audience on streaming.
18:05But for Disney's wallet, it came as too little too late.
18:08And they don't know what they're missing.
18:11But you do.
18:13And now I do.
18:15It's not fair.
18:16Number 33.
18:18Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.
18:20A long-running franchise with Harrison Ford debuted a new big-budget installment only to crash and burn.
18:27Wait, is there an echo in here?
18:29Thanks for putting up with me.
18:34Just like other failed nostalgia bait, Dial of Destiny alienated old fans while failing to appeal to new ones.
18:41The result was a lot of disappointment at the box office.
18:44The numbers themselves look decent enough.
18:46However, due to the high costs of shooting a globetrotting adventure during a pandemic,
18:51Indiana Jones turned out to be one of the most expensive features ever produced.
18:55Excuse me.
18:56The item she's talking about actually belongs to me.
18:59You do not need to intrude in this conversation.
19:01Worst people have run office.
19:03You're new, man.
19:04No.
19:04It's complicated.
19:05It needed to sell a lot more tickets to break even.
19:08But instead, it will only be remembered as one of Disney's greatest train wrecks.
19:13I'll be alright.
19:14No, you won't.
19:20Number 32.
19:21Snow White.
19:22Combine an iconic Disney princess with a well-known format of live-action remakes,
19:27and you get one of the most embarrassing bombs of the 2020s?
19:31Yeah, somehow this modern retelling of Snow White absolutely tanked.
19:36What's happening?
19:39Something's wrong.
19:40There was contention over just about every piece of this movie, from the casting, to
19:45the dwarves, to Disney's politics, to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and more.
19:50To say nothing of the film itself, which received reviews ranging from awful to downright unwatchable.
19:55All is fair when you wear the crown, to be the queen, if you do as you please.
20:04We commend Disney for trying to fix Snow White with massive reshoots.
20:08But given how few people were interested, they should have just cut their losses.
20:12Leave.
20:14Now.
20:16And never come back.
20:17Number 31.
20:19The Marvels.
20:20You can pinpoint Marvel's exact fall from grace in a movie fittingly named after it.
20:25While the brand had stumbled before, the poor quality control and reliance on Disney Plus
20:30finally affected the bottom line when the Marvels hit theaters.
20:34I was born for this.
20:36There, it didn't make waves.
20:38In fact, it barely caused a ripple.
20:40At the time, the Marvels had the lowest opening weekend for an MCU film ever,
20:45which was followed by the worst second weekend drop for the franchise, too.
20:49It doesn't take a mathematician to see those numbers don't add up to anything good.
20:53Come on, it's out!
20:54We need to save what we can.
20:58Altogether, the Marvels finished its run hundreds of millions away from earning back its money.
21:04It was a ruse.
21:05If it were, your intervention failed.
21:09We don't need your help anymore.
21:12Number 30.
21:13Joker Foliadur.
21:15Given the massive hit that was 2019's Joker,
21:18we can't fault the filmmakers or the studio for thinking the sequel also had the potential to be a big moneymaker.
21:24Maybe I could talk to Joker about it.
21:28Would he like to talk to me?
21:30But it wasn't.
21:31In fact, the film grossed just north of its estimated production budget of $200 million,
21:37not counting marketing.
21:39Projections have the studio losing anywhere from $125 to $200 million when all is said and done.
21:47Foliadur translates to madness of two as in a shared delusional disorder.
21:52And it would appear that those who thought a Dark Joker jukebox musical was a good idea
21:57all shared in a delusion until reality came and shone a big bright light on it.
22:02You don't know what it's like.
22:06Baby, you don't know what it's like.
22:11Number 29.
22:12Hellboy.
22:13After Guillermo del Toro wasn't given full writer-director powers,
22:17and Ron Perlman refused to return to the role without him,
22:21what was supposed to be a sequel became a reboot.
22:23Hellboy.
22:25No, it's Josh.
22:28People confuse us all the time.
22:30Come on, we gotta go.
22:33It also became a big flop.
22:35To be fair, we can't be sure that had del Toro and Perlman returned,
22:39the film would have been a hit.
22:40But we can be sure that without them,
22:42it only earned $55 million on a $50 million budget.
22:46Welcome back to the land of the living.
22:51Hardly a scratch left.
22:53You heal fast.
22:54It also earned a measly 17% on Rotten Tomatoes,
22:57and second place on Digital Spies' list of the biggest movie flops of 2019.
23:03Number 28.
23:04Mulan.
23:05Disney has seen huge box office numbers with live-action remakes of their classic animated movies,
23:11and no one thought Mulan would be any different.
23:14Yes.
23:14It is best.
23:21I will bring honor to us all.
23:23After its premiere in March of 2020,
23:26the film looked ready to take home plenty of box office dollars when it hit theaters later that month.
23:31But then COVID-19 hit, and everything changed.
23:35Instead of a huge theatrical push,
23:37the film went to Disney Plus Premier Access,
23:39and only into theaters in countries without Disney Plus.
23:43Money-wise, the film took home about $70 million from theaters,
23:47and an estimated $62 to $93 million from premium VOD.
23:52We will live.
23:56I guarantee it.
23:59Because I will protect you.
24:02We'll protect each other.
24:04We'll fight for each other.
24:06At best, that's $160 million or so,
24:09which ain't very good on a $200 million budget.
24:12Number 27.
24:14The Goldfinch.
24:15When Warner Brothers bought the rights to Donna Tartt's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel in 2014,
24:20they probably thought they had a hit on their hands,
24:22or at least an emotional and thought-provoking drama
24:25that would bring with it a few Oscar nominations.
24:28Are you absolutely sure you want to do that?
24:31Do what?
24:32Your rook is in danger,
24:34but I would suggest you take a look at your queen.
24:36Well, if that's what they thought,
24:38boy, were they wrong.
24:40Not only did the movie receive a critical lashing,
24:43but audiences weren't interested either.
24:45The film took home a paltry $10 million at the box office.
24:49Estimated losses for the studio came in at around $50 million.
24:53We're so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others
24:57that in the end,
25:00we become disguised to ourselves.
25:03And the cherry on top?
25:05Tartt hated the movie so much,
25:06she fired her agent and said she would never sell the rights
25:09to anything she wrote in the future.
25:12Number 26.
25:13Haunted Mansion.
25:142023's Haunted Mansion was the second time
25:17Disney had made a film
25:18based on their similarly named theme park attraction.
25:21Sounds like you're trying to see the unseen.
25:24That's exactly what we're doing.
25:26And you said it in a much better way.
25:28One thing it had in common with the 2003 version
25:30is that both were disliked by the critics,
25:33with 38 and 13% Rotten Tomatoes scores respectively.
25:37However, while the first movie was a mild success
25:40at the box office,
25:41the 2023 one bombed hard.
25:43We're looking at $117 million
25:45on a $150 million production budget.
25:49Taking all the expenses into account,
25:51Disney's losses on the movie have been estimated
25:53at almost $120 million.
25:56Now, that's scary.
26:01Number 25.
26:03Wonder Woman 1984.
26:05Following the unbelievable success of 2017's Wonder Woman,
26:09the prospects looked great for the sequel
26:11to be another massive hit.
26:13But it wasn't,
26:14or at least not in the same way.
26:16And that was because of COVID.
26:18We wouldn't be doing that today.
26:19Wonder Woman 1984 was another cinematic victim
26:22of the pandemic.
26:24The film delayed its opening multiple times
26:26before finally dropping in December of 2020.
26:29However, with so many theaters shut down,
26:32the film didn't come close to the numbers of the first film,
26:35regardless of the lesser reviews.
26:37In the end,
26:37it took in $170 million
26:40on a budget of $200 million.
26:43What did you do?
26:45It did, however,
26:46also release on HBO Max at the same time
26:48and was the most streamed movie of 2020.
26:52Number 24.
26:53Robin Hood.
26:54The Robin Hood story has been made into a movie
26:56many times over the years,
26:58but it seems like Mr. Hood has been trending down
27:00over the last three decades.
27:01We've got unfinished business.
27:03No, no business.
27:04You tried to kill me.
27:06I stowed away for three months on your ship.
27:08I could have killed you then if I wanted to.
27:10Not why I'm here.
27:12You see,
27:12Kevin Costner's Robin Hood Prince of Thieves
27:15made $390 million in 1991.
27:19Then in 2010,
27:20Russell Crowe's Robin Hood made $321 million.
27:24Eight years later,
27:25Taron Egerton took on the Robin Hood role
27:27and brought in just $86 million
27:30on a $100 million budget.
27:32Taking all expenses into account,
27:342018's Robin Hood is estimated
27:36to have lost the studio
27:37somewhere around $83 million.
27:40Well, I hope now that you're back,
27:42I get to see a lot more of you.
27:45As much as you'll allow, sir.
27:47I hope to earn your favor.
27:48There's gotta be a take from the rich joke
27:50there somewhere, right?
27:52Number 23.
27:53A Wrinkle in Time.
27:54Following the success of 2014's Selma,
27:57director Ava DuVernay
27:59was a hot commodity in Hollywood.
28:01The talented filmmaker used that new clout
28:03to get her hands on $100 plus million
28:06to make A Wrinkle in Time in 2018.
28:09You need to get up, get up, get something.
28:11How will you make it if you never even try?
28:13Based on a beloved sci-fi fantasy novel
28:15and with big stars like Oprah Winfrey
28:18and Reese Witherspoon on board,
28:20a lot was expected from this one.
28:22You should talk to them.
28:24Everyone knows that flowers
28:26are the best gospers in the entire universe.
28:29You should show them a picture of your father
28:31and ask them if they've seen him.
28:33How are we going to understand each other?
28:39At least try.
28:41Unfortunately, what they got
28:42was a not-so-great 42% Rotten Tomatoes score,
28:46a box office haul of just $133 million,
28:49and estimated losses in the staggering $130 million range.
28:55Number 22, King Arthur, Legend of the Sword.
28:59Guy Ritchie's King Arthur, Legend of the Sword
29:02was supposed to be the first
29:03in a planned six-film franchise.
29:05If you're wondering when the next five films
29:15are coming out, they aren't.
29:16After this first one flopped as hard as it did,
29:19the studios put the kibosh on the franchise's future.
29:22The film only made about $148 million
29:25at the box office,
29:26which isn't great for a franchise starter.
29:28Most of the girls are with us,
29:31but the rest of the crew pretty much
29:32got gist of your popularity
29:33and made themselves scarce.
29:35But it's even worse when they spend $175 million
29:39to make it, and even more to market it.
29:42In the end, the studios were looking down the barrel
29:44of $150 million in losses.
29:48Number 21, Shazam, Fury of the Gods.
29:522019's Shazam probably surprised a lot of people
29:55with its 90% Rotten Tomatoes score
29:58and $367 million box office.
30:02What wasn't a surprise, though,
30:03was that Warner Brothers started planning a sequel
30:05the instant the film became a hit.
30:07Circle up, fam!
30:15All right, here's the situation.
30:17We have one more job to do,
30:20and that's to keep this bridge from collapsing.
30:22But unfortunately, said sequel didn't live up
30:25to the first film in either quality
30:27or box office.
30:29Shazam, Fury of the Gods holds a 49% score
30:32on Rotten Tomatoes,
30:33and its box office haul was a rather unimpressive
30:36$134.1 million.
30:39The production budget alone
30:40was between $110 and $125 million.
30:45The studio was definitely not Shazam-ing
30:47a profit out of this one.
30:49They're a mole.
30:55Perfect.
30:56We take them all.
30:57No, it's not why we're here.
31:00Number 20, Black Adam.
31:03There's no one on this planet that can stop me.
31:05I can call in a favor and send people
31:07who aren't from this planet.
31:11Send them all.
31:12Just because you have one of the biggest stars
31:14in the world playing a DC superhero
31:16doesn't guarantee a billion-dollar hit.
31:19Black Adam fell just below grossing $400 million,
31:23which would have been solid for a film
31:25that cost $100 million.
31:27However, Black Adam was originally budgeted
31:30at $190 million,
31:32which skyrocketed to $260 million after reshoots.
31:37Taking its marketing into consideration,
31:40numerous outlets deemed the film a flop.
31:43Star Dwayne Johnson argued otherwise,
31:46although the figures he pointed to
31:47were called into question.
31:49Even if there is a road to profitability,
31:52Black Adam was far from the game-changer
31:54that was supposed to reinvigorate the DCEU.
31:57Despite Johnson's initial claims
31:59that Black Adam will absolutely fight Superman,
32:03James Gunn seems to have other plans.
32:05It's been a while since anyone's made the world
32:07this nervous.
32:15Black Adam.
32:17We should talk.
32:19Number 19.
32:20The 355.
32:21Please put the guns down.
32:23I don't listen to her.
32:24And by all means do.
32:25Eight.
32:26Seven.
32:26We all want the same thing here.
32:28No, we don't.
32:28Six.
32:29Please.
32:30Five.
32:31Four.
32:31Three.
32:32Two.
32:32One.
32:32We're not going to act like COVID hasn't factored
32:35into more than a few recent flops.
32:38The Omicron surge didn't do this espionage ensemble piece
32:42any favors.
32:43Given the lackluster reviews, though,
32:45we're not convinced that the 355 would have been
32:48a box office success even in a pre-pandemic world.
32:52As much as we like Jessica Chastain,
32:55Penelope Cruz,
32:56and the rest of the cast,
32:57there's only so much they can do with a forgettable script
33:00and a director who, quite frankly,
33:02is better off as a producer.
33:04Thanks for everything you taught me, Nick.
33:07A girl really does need a guy to explain it all to her.
33:14But I'll take it from here.
33:16Nevertheless, Universal was confident enough in the picture
33:19to pay $20 million out of Cannes.
33:21The 355 made about $7.8 million more than its distribution rights,
33:27with the budget falling between $40 and $75 million.
33:32Number 18.
33:33Amsterdam.
33:35Who knows?
33:36Maybe I'll find a new life and a new love.
33:39I hope so.
33:41Because when it comes to love,
33:42there's nothing quite so good as clarity.
33:45I agree.
33:46Amsterdam proved two things.
33:48Star power isn't what it used to be,
33:51and neither is director David O. Russell.
33:53After a lengthy hiatus,
33:55Russell returned with this star-studded,
33:57revisionist history,
33:59mystery,
34:00comedy,
34:00period picture
34:01that's also a political thriller.
34:03Yeah, you can tell from this description
34:05that Amsterdam doesn't know what it wants to be.
34:08Since the film can't pick a tone,
34:10the actors struggle to unearth any chemistry.
34:13Okay, things were a little more difficult.
34:14I had to stab a guy.
34:15I had to hit a lady with a brick one time.
34:17What?
34:18Wow.
34:18Yeah, it's a long story,
34:19but with you two,
34:20it'll be a cakewalk.
34:21Too ambiguous for its own good,
34:23Amsterdam could have used a critical boost,
34:26but reviews, unsurprisingly,
34:28were not so forgiving.
34:30Costing $80 million to produce
34:32and an estimated $70 million to promote,
34:35the film got off to a disastrous $6.5 million opening weekend,
34:40with its final worldwide total amounting to $31.2 million.
34:45Number 17.
34:47The Last Duel
34:48With a price tag of $100 million,
34:51The Last Duel got better reviews
34:52than some other awards season hopefuls.
34:55Even if you took COVID out of the equation, though,
34:58it would have been a tough sell.
34:59This land was promised to me
35:01as part of my wife's dowry.
35:03The petition is denied.
35:05In addition to the uncomfortable subject matter,
35:09the film clocks in at two and a half hours,
35:11limiting the number of potential showings
35:13and alienating those turned off by long run times.
35:17With older demographics still hesitant about returning to theaters,
35:21Ridley Scott's latest historical epic opened with $10.9 million,
35:26ultimately grossing about three times that amount.
35:29Lord, I become your man.
35:31I swear I shall serve you for life.
35:32Scott pinned the blame on millennials who,
35:36Do not ever want to be taught anything unless you are told it on the cell phone.
35:41We'd love to see Scott's TikTok remake that appears to the younger crowd.
35:45Unlike The Last Duel,
35:51West Side Story at least managed to win over Academy voters.
36:06In terms of box office, however,
36:09the pandemic's effects were once again felt.
36:11By December 2021, audiences were starting to return to theaters,
36:16although most of them were flocking to see Spider-Man No Way Home.
36:20West Side Story could have provided an alternative for the older crowd,
36:24although that demographic was still steering clear of theaters with Omicron on the rise.
36:29How do you fire it?
36:33There's police!
36:37How many bullets are left?
36:41Enough for you!
36:43It didn't help that another adaptation of the classic musical already exists,
36:47leading many to question if a remake was necessary.
36:51Steven Spielberg hasn't lost his touch as a director,
36:54but with a gross of $76 million against $100 million,
36:59his reign as box office king may be over.
37:03Number 15. Dark Phoenix
37:05While the previous X-Men movies had been critically hit and miss,
37:09all of them were financially successful.
37:11So when Fox gave Dark Phoenix the go-ahead,
37:14it seemed like another guaranteed blockbuster.
37:17Please, stop.
37:18Not until I know you're going to be okay.
37:20Unfortunately, the film was a storm of unforeseen obstacles.
37:25What was originally supposed to be a two-part movie suddenly had to be squeezed into one.
37:29If you break something, anything, I can fix it.
37:33Not anything.
37:35Reshoots were ordered due to negative test screenings,
37:37and tweaks were allegedly also made to avoid comparison to an MCU movie.
37:42Meanwhile, Disney was in the midst of acquiring Fox,
37:45which was partially blamed for the film's poor marketing.
37:48Horrible reviews were the final nail in the coffin for Dark Phoenix,
37:52which made roughly $250 million on a $200 million budget.
37:56Reportedly, it lost $100 million in total.
38:01Until New Mutants came along and made just $49 million at the box office,
38:06it was the lowest-grossing X-Men movie.
38:09Indubitably, it's indisputable that you are the absolute worst mutants I've ever seen.
38:15Number 14. Fantastic Four
38:17A couple years before Disney came along with $71 billion to burn,
38:22Fox made a last-ditch effort to prove that they could make a watchable Fantastic Four movie.
38:27I need you to manually override the re-entry, okay?
38:29Okay, okay, I got it.
38:31Manually override the re-entry!
38:33I'm trying!
38:33Did audiences embrace Fox's gritty take on the colorful superhero team?
38:38Well, by the end of its opening weekend,
38:40the film came in second at the domestic box office to Mission Impossible Rogue Nation,
38:44which had already been out for over a week.
38:47In North America, Fantastic Four grossed $56.1 million,
38:51which is about how much its 2005 predecessor made in its opening weekend alone.
38:57Gotta say, it's fantastic.
39:00With an overall intake of $167.9 million,
39:04the film lost nearly $100 million on a budget of no less than $120 million.
39:10We guess their loss was the MCU's gain.
39:14Enough!
39:14When your world is destroyed,
39:18and I'm all that's left,
39:20then it will be enough.
39:22Number 13. Monster Trucks
39:25A film about monster trucks that are literally monsters living inside trucks
39:29doesn't exactly scream bonafide hit.
39:32Nevertheless, we guess the idea offers a few possibilities for tie-in merchandise.
39:37There's something going on here.
39:39Really?
39:40Yeah, something crazy, and I don't even know how to begin to explain.
39:45Maybe this could have actually turned a respectable profit with a modest budget of $25 million.
39:50The studio unwisely decided to throw $125 million at monster trucks, however.
39:56We can only assume one of the studio heads thought this was going to be the next Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
40:06Where Ninja Turtles built a fan base with comics, toys, and a cartoon, though,
40:10monster trucks went blindly charging into the fast lane without any driving experience.
40:15Grossing $64.5 million worldwide, what was intended to jumpstart a franchise instead lost an estimated $123.1 million.
40:25We're a family.
40:29He was looking for his parents.
40:32Number 12. Justice League
40:35You're all too weak to see the truth.
40:39Well, I believe in truth.
40:44But I'm also a big fan of justice.
40:46After Marvel broke records with the Avengers, DC seemed destined to do the same.
40:52Where the MCU took its time establishing its heroes, though, the DCEU accelerated things to catch up.
40:59Along the way, they churned out five films that ranged from Awesome to Suicide Squad.
41:04Hunger, hunger!
41:05As if that wasn't enough to make moviegoers skeptical,
41:08Zack Snyder left during post-production due to a family tragedy, with Joss Whedon stepping in.
41:14When Justice League hit theaters, it was about as tonally inconsistent and rushed as people expected.
41:21So, how do I help?
41:22We buy him some time, he can stop that box from destroying all life on Earth.
41:27We help.
41:28Well, I knew you didn't bring me back because you liked me.
41:31I don't... not.
41:33Its $658 million gross would have been passable for a middle-tier superhero movie.
41:39But for a $300 million tentpole, it didn't reach the break-even point.
41:45At least Snyder eventually got to finish his version, although measuring its profitability is tricky.
41:51Not impressed.
41:53Number 11. The BFG.
41:56On paper, the BFG appeared to be too big to fail.
41:59Where am I?
42:01Joint country.
42:02It was being distributed by Disney, it was based on a cherished book by literary legend Roald Dahl,
42:08and it marked director Steven Spielberg's return to family-friendly entertainment.
42:12Unlike some of the other films on this list, the BFG also had mostly positive reviews on its side.
42:30For whatever reason, though, more people wanted to see The Purge Election Year and The Legend of Tarzan over the 4th of July weekend.
42:37You won't be like that.
42:40We'll stop the giants. We'll make them go away forever.
42:44Making just over $55 million in North America and $183.3 million in total, the BFG had much smaller returns than expected.
42:54Like Willy Wonka, BFG could become a cult classic someday, but it likely won't recoup its $140 million budget anytime soon.
43:04There's only one word for that, Magister.
43:09Scrum-diddly-umptious.
43:12People like Spider-Man. People like Star Wars.
43:29We think they still like dystopian YA adaptations?
43:33Let's throw them all together and let the money flow in.
43:35If only the formula for success was that simple.
43:38Even before the pandemic was delaying most big-budget movies, Chaos Walking was already in release window limbo as poor test screenings and reshoots spelled doom.
43:49When Chaos Walking was finally released in February 2021, four years after principal photography started, it felt like the film had been sent adrift on an ice flow.
44:00Nobody expected it to survive the cold critical reception.
44:15With an intake of $27.1 million against at least $100 million, the studio could only take solace in one thing.
44:24The almighty write-down.
44:25Considering that Terminator 2 was the highest-grossing movie of 1991, we can understand why Hollywood would want to recapture that magic.
44:44After Rise of the Machines, Salvation, and Genesis, though, studios should have learned by 2019 that it's not going to happen.
44:52Ever.
44:52Regardless, they made another attempt with dark fate, which marked the return of Linda Hamilton and James Cameron, albeit not as a director.
45:02Although better received than some other sequels, it rehashed most of the same tired plot points with several questionable new ideas thrown in.
45:11Once, I saved three billion lives.
45:16But I couldn't save my son.
45:19A machine took him from me.
45:22The budget of nearly $200 million bit off more than it could chew, reportedly losing the studio $122.6 million.
45:31If you think this is truly the end, Cameron says that a reboot is, quote, in discussion.
45:38Number 8.
45:39Lightyear.
45:40Initiate hyperlaunch.
45:41Certainly.
45:42How could a Toy Story movie possibly flop?
45:54Well, by removing most of the toys, substituting the playful tone with gritty realism, and not even bringing Tim Allen back to voice Buzz Lightyear.
46:03To its credit, Lightyear featured some stunning animation and intriguing ideas that might have worked fine in another sci-fi picture.
46:12Just not necessarily one about Buzz Lightyear.
46:14What was supposed to be Pixar's grand return to theaters only grossed $226.4 million.
46:21That would have been great for the original Toy Story, which cost $30 million in 1995.
46:27But this 2022 spinoff came with a $200 million price plus marketing and distribution costs.
46:34What's wrong?
46:37Did you not hear that?
46:39She believed I could fix the mistake I made.
46:42And that belief cost her everything.
46:44Following its failure, Pixar's CCO, Pete Docter, deduced that the film, quote,
46:49asked too much of the audience.
46:52Number 7.
46:53Tomorrowland.
46:54You can never guarantee a hit movie, but Tomorrowland seemed to have all the pieces needed to be one.
47:00Do you want to tell the story?
47:01No, you're doing fine.
47:01Because if you think you can tell the story better, I would absolutely love to hear you try.
47:05Wow, really?
47:06Really.
47:07You had director Brad Bird, who'd seen loads of box office dollars with previous films that included
47:13The Incredibles to Mission Impossible, Ghost Protocol.
47:16Then you had co-writer Damon Lindelof, best known as one of the creators of Lost.
47:21And finally, there was George Clooney in the starring role.
47:24And yet, with all those pieces, the film only brought in $209 million.
47:28Set against the film's production and marketing budget,
47:31that meant a $120 to $150 million loss for Disney.
47:36Why don't we just get you to your amazing dad?
47:38Pretend this never happened.
47:40But hey, the film did pick up three Teen Choice Award nominations.
47:44So, silver lining, right?
47:46Number 6.
47:47Cats.
47:48You've learned enough to take the view.
47:53The cats are very much like you.
47:56The stage version of Cats made almost $4 billion worldwide, breathing new life into the Broadway
48:02musical.
48:03The cinematic version of Cats was such a catastrophic flop that it probably would have killed the
48:08movie musical if Frozen 2 hadn't come out a month earlier.
48:11That said, Cats was completely overshadowed by the Frozen sequel, not to mention Rise of
48:16Skywalker.
48:17Cats is already developing a so-bad-it's-good reputation, not unlike The Room.
48:21You are tearing me apart, Lisa!
48:24Where The Room cost just $6 million to make, however, Cats had a $95 million budget.
48:30So, it's gonna take a lot of late-night screenings and home media sales for this thing to ever
48:34show a profit.
48:35Universal was estimated to have lost somewhere between $70 and $114 million from the film.
48:43Me, ouch.
48:44So, Melody, come on, and say a cat is not a dog.
48:56Number 5.
48:58Moonfall.
48:59To find out if you're ready.
49:01Ready for what?
49:02We need a human to lure the swarm away from the core so the moon will return to its orbit.
49:07We need you, Brian, to join the fight.
49:09After Sun, to Leslie, Roland Emmerich's Moonfall, what do they all have in common?
49:15They're all technically independent movies.
49:17Before you say anything, yes, Moonfall cost a lot more than the aforementioned indies with
49:23its budget ranging from $138 million to $146 million.
49:29However, rather than go the traditional funding route for a disaster picture of this magnitude,
49:34Emmerich independently financed Moonfall with help from backers like Lionsgate and Waiye Brothers.
49:41You know, if Earth gets a second chance, I think we deserve one too.
49:48I'd like that.
49:49Did Emmerich's gamble pay off?
49:51Well, Moonfall didn't make back half of its budget, bringing in $67.3 million.
49:57It didn't even open number one, losing to Jackass Forever, which cost just $10 million.
50:04If Emmerich wants to save face, he should produce a documentary about how this movie got made,
50:10which sounds far more interesting.
50:12Number 4.
50:13Strange World
50:14How badly did Strange World bomb?
50:29It made even less than Treasure Planet, which came out 20 years earlier.
50:34To be fair, the game has significantly changed since then, thanks to the rise of streaming,
50:40not to mention COVID.
50:41Disney also could have done much more to market Strange World,
50:45not receiving the same fanfare as some of their other films.
50:49If Puss in Boots' The Last Wish proved anything a month later, though,
50:53it's that positive word of mouth can still produce a sleeper hit,
50:57even after an underwhelming opening weekend against stiff competition.
51:01You're still here?
51:02Oh, amigo!
51:04Okay, okay, one more number.
51:07I call this one, the legend will never die.
51:11The word of mouth simply wasn't there for Strange World.
51:14While the film has performed better on Disney+,
51:17the financial loss of $147 million will forever be tied to its legacy.
51:23You could be right there with me when I did it.
51:27This was supposed to be our legacy.
51:30Father and son!
51:31You want to talk about legacy?
51:33I'm about to destroy mine.
51:34Number three, Jupiter Ascending.
51:37Walking out of Jupiter Ascending, audiences asked the same question.
51:42Somebody paid $176 million to $210 million for this?
51:48You begged me to do it!
51:51I am now, you damn mother.
51:54The high investment makes more sense given the involvement of the Wachowskis,
51:58the visionaries behind The Matrix.
52:00Of course, that revelation comes with another question.
52:03The people who brought us The Matrix made this?
52:06While the space opera performed better outside of the US and Canada,
52:10where it made just $47.4 million,
52:13the worldwide total of $183.9 million was a far cry from the franchise starter
52:20that the filmmakers were hoping for.
52:22We'd like to give the film credit for originality,
52:25but the characters, plot, and visuals all feel recycled from superior sci-fi stories.
52:30And I wouldn't blame them either.
52:33Besides, I'm still trying to understand exactly what it means to myself.
52:37Well, maybe it just means that your majesty's planet
52:39has a different future than the one that was planned for it.
52:41And yet, few modern films are more uniquely bad.
52:46Number two, Pan.
52:48Speaking of redundant ideas,
52:50Pan feels like a Warner Brothers executive said,
52:53we need something to fill the Harry Potter void,
52:55and Disney hasn't done a live-action Peter Pan remake yet.
52:58Let's strike while the iron is lukewarm at best.
53:03Now kneel.
53:05I said kneel!
53:08I am the son of a warrior and a prince.
53:12I will never bow to you.
53:14Pan abides by the mentality that if something is familiar,
53:17audiences will show up in droves.
53:19While Hollywood sometimes gets lucky with this philosophy,
53:22it wasn't the case for Pan.
53:24The studio sank $150 million into the production budget alone,
53:28with at least another $100 million going into its marketing.
53:33With the break-even point being in the half-a-billion-dollars range,
53:37Pan finished with an abysmal $128 million.
53:41Peter Pan may be timeless,
53:43but this movie epitomized several tropes that became dated years earlier.
53:47You've seen what Blackbeard has done to Neverland already.
53:49He'll reduce the rest of it to nothing but mind piss if we don't stop him.
53:53Has anybody ever told you you have really beautiful eyes?
53:58Before we continue,
54:00be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
54:05You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
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54:10make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
54:13With a production budget somewhere between $100 and $150 million,
54:22Mortal Engines was a risky venture for Universal.
54:26Give me everything you have!
54:32When Peter Jackson is attached as a screenwriter and producer, though,
54:36a risk can start to seem like a sure thing.
54:39I've heard that before.
54:40I just need a little more time.
54:42Always so sure of yourself.
54:44Plus, the film was based on a beloved YA novel by Philip Reeve,
54:48inviting plenty of franchise potential.
54:50The studio knew it was in big trouble when Mortal Engines only brought in $7.5 million
54:55over its opening weekend.
54:57Your heart is broken.
55:04I will take away the pain.
55:09Things went downhill from there as the film plummeted 77% during its second weekend.
55:15Grossing just $83.7 million worldwide,
55:18Mortal Engines crashed and burned thanks to unenthusiastic reviews and a crowded holiday season.
55:24High post-production costs further contributed to the studio's monumental loss of $174.8 million.
55:33You've failed.
55:35Are there any box office duds you think would thrive in a re-release?
55:39Let us know in the comments.
55:41Deep down inside, you begin to wonder,
55:45has my life been wasted?
55:54Awesome!
55:56I love you.
55:57I love you.
55:57You've got to finish away.
55:59Huh, damn it.
55:59I'm just doing.
56:00Do you want to get thisтерес?
56:01I really like it.
56:02I'mために you in the paper,
56:03but it's doing it right now.
56:05I love you.
56:05I love you.
56:06I love you.
56:07I love you.
56:09I love you.
56:10I love you.
56:10I love you.
56:11I love you.
56:12You love you.
56:12I love you.
56:14I love you.
56:14Wow, beautiful.
56:15I love you.
56:16I love you.
56:17I love you.
56:19I love you.
56:20I love you.
56:21I love you.
56:21I love you.
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