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15 Movies That Spent a Fortune Just to Bomb Miserably

Epic flops abound.

15 Movies That Spent a Fortune Just to Bomb Miserably

January 11, 2023

Ah, the movies. The stories they tell, the dreams they inspire, the hearts they break. The movies have always been a source of entertainment, escapism, and education. But sometimes, the movies can be a source of disappointment and frustration, too. For every blockbuster hit, there are those movies that just don’t make the cut.

This list is a tribute to the flops, the failures, the box-office bombs. These are the movies that were made with the best of intentions, but just didn’t quite make it. From The 13^th Warrior to The Astronaut’s Wife, from Ali to Beloved, these are the movies that, despite their high budgets and star power, just didn’t hit the mark.

So, without further ado, let’s take a look at some of the most epic flops in Hollywood history (and we're not counting any "Hollywood accounting shenanigans they use to get out of paying people what they should). Enjoy!

15

Big-budget flop sends Oprah into comfort-food spiral.

CRACKED BELOVED BOX OFFICE: $22.8M BUDGET: $53M Oprah Winfrey purchased the theatrical rights to Beloved in 1987 for $500,000, but the box office failure of the movie caused her to enter a massive, depressive, macaroni-and-cheese-eating tail spin. — Bomb Report / Boxoffice Mojo / IMDB

14

No stars, no sense, no success: The Battleship movie.

CRACKED BATTLESHIP BUDGET: $210M BOX OFFICE: $303M DOG-53 The Battleship movie was seen as a risky investment from the start due to its high budget, lack of star power, and all-around dumb inspiration. One industry insider said: No stars, an intellectual property play that made no sense, and nobody thought the script was good. — Hollywood Reporter / Boxoffice Mojo / Texas Monthly

13

Bad Book, Bad Script, Bad Movie: Battlefield Earth.

CRACKED BATTLEFIELD EARTH BOX OFFICE: $29.7M BUDGET: $44M An adaptation of L. Ron Hubbard's 1982 novel, Battlefield Earth was critically panned and is considered one of the worst films of all time. The executive producer even said It was a sh*t concept with a sh*t book and a sh*t script that should never have been made. — Boxoffice Mojo / Independent / Cole Smithey

12

Budget-inflating Elie Samaha’s Franchise Pictures: The movie-making disaster.

CRACKED BALLISTIC: ECKS VS SEVER BUDGET: EXTREMELY UNCLEAR BOX OFFICE: $19.9M Franchise Pictures was notorious for inflating production budgets and pocketing the rest, resulting in some of the worst movies of the early 2000s. Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever was one of these movies, and Franchise was eventually wiped out in 2004 after being successfully sued by their former partner Intertainment. — Bomb Report / Boxoffice Mojo

11

The Astronaut’s Wife: A galactic flop.

CRACKED THE ASTRONAUT'S WIFE BOX OFFICE: $19.6M BUDGET: $33M This was an absolute flop in the US, and fared even worse everywhere else on the planet, where it earned a combined $8.9M. — Bomb Report / Boxoffice Mojo / The Movie DB

10

VFX-heavy Allied: 954 shots, 776 of them with effects.

CRACKED ALLIED BOX OFFICE: $119.5M BUDGET: $85M Robert Zemeckis' World War II thriller relied heavily on VFX to stay within its $85 million budget. 776 of the film's 954 total shots involved effects and sets built and filmed in a former Gillette razor factory. — Hollywood Reporter / Box Office Mojo / RT

9

Mann's African Adventure: $12 Million More.

CRACKED ALI BOX OFFICE: $87.7M BUDGET: $118M Director Michael Mann's decision to move the production of a movie to Africa for 5 weeks increased the budget from $106 million to $118 million. — Bomb Report / Boxoffice Mojo

8

Epic journey, epic fail: 80 days, $110M, $72.1M.

CRACKED AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS BOX OFFICE: $72.1M BUDGET: $110M Walden Media took over the domestic distribution of the movie after Paramount Pictures pulled out, leaving the film to be financed by foreign sales and Walden Media's billionaire backer. — Box Office Mojo / Variety / Super Tran

7

Greek lawyers: "Alexander was not bisexual!

CRACKED ALEXANDER BUDGET: $155M BOX OFFICE: $167.3M A group of Greek lawyers threatened to sue Warner Bros. and Oliver Stone for claiming Alexander the Great was bisexual (although Warner and Intermedia were never actually contacted by the group). — Box Office Mojo / NY Times / ALTFG

6

The Alamo": Disney's Christmas Surprise - Not What They Expected.

CRACKED THE ALAMO BOX OFFICE: $25.8M BUDGET: $107M This Disney film was meant to be a prestigious showpiece for Christmas 2003, but its long and bumpy road from conception to release may be something Disney would rather forget. — NY Times / Box Office Mojo / IMDB

5

Rocky and Bullwinkle: A Flop Abroad.

CRACKED THE ADVENTURES OF ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE BUDGET: $76M BOX OFFICE: $35M ION ECH RESEARCH It grossed only $26 million domestically and $9 million overseas, with the majority of its overseas gross coming from the UK. It was also released straight to video in Germany. — Bomb Report / Boxoffice Mojo

4

Eddie Murphy's space-faring comedy: A flop of epic proportions.

CRACKED THE ADVENTURES OF PLUTO NASH BUDGET: $100M BOX OFFICE: $7M This was a near-unprecedented flop, with even its star Eddie Murphy admitting I know two or three people that liked this movie. — Time

3

Terry Gilliam’s ‘Munchausen’: Epic Adventure or Epic Disaster?

CRACKED THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN BUDGET: $20M BOX OFFICE: $8M Terry Gilliam's 1989 film was plagued with production problems and delays, casting challenges, location headaches and studio regime change, resulting in an absolute bomb. — Hollywood Reporter

2

Keanu Reeves’ Epic Flop: ’47 Ronin’.

CRACKED 47 RONIN BUDGET: $175M BOX OFFICE: $175M It was a commercial failure, despite landing Keanu Reeves and a production budget of $175 million. The movie's poor performance was likely due to a combination of factors, such as its blend of historical events and fantastical elements, its marketing, and Reeves' own track record with period pieces. — Cheatsheet / Boxoffice Mojo / Washington Post

1

Epic flop: “The 13th Warrior” loses big.

CRACKED THE 13TH WARRIOR MONEY LOST: $100M+ The movie was a riff on Beowulf, and was based on a novel by Michael Chrichton. Despite big-name inspiration, it's estimated to have lost up to $130 million (in 1999 dollars). — AV Club / Box Office Mojo / Bomb Report

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