1986 — “Howard the Duck”
Believe it or not this actually Marvel’s first film ever. Clearly they’ve learned a thing or two since “Howard,” but at the time the loss was so bad that then-president of Universal Frank Price resigned after the failure.
1987 — “Ishtar”
This movie was plagued with problems pervasive with most box office flops: delays, overspending, and feuds between co-stars.
“Ishtar” only made $14 million from a $51 million budget.
1988 — “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”
Remember this classic gem? Me neither. An acclaimed film nominated for four Oscars: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Visual Effects, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, that ultimately led to a huge production budget. In the end, the film lost $38.5 million.
1989 — “Pink Cadillac”
You can’t hate on Clint Eastwood, but people sure can ignore him. According to IMDB, the movie limped in making only $12 million at the box office with an estimated budget of $19 million.
1990 — “The Bonfire of the Vanities”
Yet another film I didn’t know even existed until now. This star-studded cast, including Tom Hanks & Bruce Willis, managed to net a loss of $31 million.
1991 — “Hudson Hawk”
Is this a comedy? Is it an action flick? Truth is it’s really just a big bomb. Terrible reviews helped the film lose almost $50 million at the box office.
1992 — “Hero”
Despite an acting icon like Dustin Hoffman, and an above-average Rotten Tomatoes score (68%), audiences just couldn’t care less about this film and so they passed on it in droves.
1993 — “Addams Family Values”
The sequel to the massive hit ‘The Addams Family’ only managed to make about a third of its predecessor.
1994 — “North”
Famed movie critic Roger Ebert said it best about this film when he wrote “I hated this movie. Hated, hated, hated, hated, hated this movie. Hated it.” The film made back only 7 million of its 40 million dollar budget.
1995 — “Cutthroat Island”
At one time this hot mess held the Guinness World Record for History’s Biggest Box Office Bomb costing $98 million to make and opening to $2.3 million. Adjusted to inflation, it lost about $147 million.
1996 — “Mary Reilly”
The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as told from the housekeeper’s perspective peak your interest? No. Well, that’s about how audiences responded to this film, that made just 12 of its 40 million dollar budget.
1997 — “The Postman”
I love vintage Kevin Costner, but the man has made some flops (Waterworld, anyone?). With a dismal 9% on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s reported that the movie made just $18 million on its $80 million budget.
1998 — “Beloved”
Clearly not loved by audiences, this film based on a novel by Toni Morrison about a mother haunted by her slave past (as well as a poltergeist), made just $8 million during its opening weekend, and saw a 50% drop-off by the next weekend.
1999 — “The 13th Warrior”
This film, loosely based on the tale of Beowulf, on paper had all the elements that could’ve made for a hit film. But the film ran way over budget at $160 million, and only made back $61 million (TIME estimates a $137 million dollar loss).
2000 — “Titan A.E.”
This film performed so poorly that just ten days after the sci-fi flick premiered Fox Animation closed its doors for good. According to Digital Spy, Fox took a $100 million loss on the animated film.
2001 — “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within”
Another sci-fi film that shit the bed, losing nearly $95 million all said, forced “Final Fantasy,” to quit the movie business and shut down their animation facility in Hawaii. Ouch.
2002 — “The Adventures of Pluto Nash”
The name alone makes me cringe. Costly reshoots, pushed back release dates, abysmal audience reactions at test screenings were so bad that Eddie Murphy refused to do any publicity for the film. TIME estimates a loss of $145 million, adjusted for inflation.
2003 — “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas”
“Sinbad” lost almost $125 million, nearly putting Dreamworks out of business at the time. Thankfully the studio learned from their mistake, pivoted away from hand-drawn animation, and instead focused on computer-generated films like “Shrek 2” and “Madagascar” which raked in the dough.
2004 — “The Alamo”
Do you remember the Alamo?! Probably not, as the film based on the 1836 standoff between Texan and Mexican soldiers ended up taking on a $146 million dollar loss.
2005 — “Stealth”
‘Stealth’ opened to stiff competition as that same weekend hits ‘Wedding Crashers,’ ‘Sky High,’ and ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ all ate into potential sales of the action flick. In addition, bad reviews added further insult to injury and Box Office Scoop reported an eventual $111.7 million loss.
2006 — “Poseidon”
The terribly reviewed disaster film was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Remake or Ripoff, and much like the name of the film it sank and lost $69 million.
2007 — “Evan Almighty”
Remember ‘Bruce Almighty?’ Remember walking away thinking they should totally do a sequel based on the 3 minutes of airtime Steve Carrell’s character got? Yeah, me neither. The film bombed so hard that it cost the most expensive comedy-produced film ever ($175 million production budget) far more than it ever brought back.
2008 — “Speed Racer”
The Wachowski brothers could not even come close to the success of the ‘Matrix’ franchise, and they followed up the series with this monumental piece of trash. Thrillist reported that the film made only $44 million against a $120 million budget.
2009 — “Land of the Lost”
A film I actually watched the opening weekend, that I remember wishing I had walked out of during the showing. The film lost its studio $31.3 million, but personally, I wish it had lost even more.
2010 — “The Nutcracker in 3D”
Nazi rats, sharks, a singing Albert Einstein, sounds fun to you? Well, it didn’t sound appealing to audiences either and it ended up losing $81.9 million.
2011 — “Mars Needs Moms”
According to NME, “Mars Needs Moms” has the honor of having the worst box office numbers of ANY Disney film ever made. TIME estimates a loss of $140 million.
2012 — “John Carter”
Poor marketing of “John Carter” led many confused as to what the Hell the film was about. Walt Disney Studios eventually confessed that they netted a $200 million second-quarter loss due to the film’s performance.
2013 — “47 Ronin”
Who doesn’t love Keanu Reeves? Unfortunately, the remake, based on a Japanese warrior replaced by Keanu for some weird casting reason, ultimately led to a $175 million dollar loss. Thank God for John Wick bringing Keanu back into the public’s good graces.
2014 — “Legends of Oz: Dorothy’s Return”
“Legends of Oz” earned only $19 million worldwide, despite the movies’s $70 million budget. And it makes sense, again, seeing as I never even knew of it’s existence until right now.
2015 — “Pan”
Even Hugh Jackman gets it wrong every now and then, and audiences were left confused, uninspired and annoyed by the prequel to J. M. Barrie’s “Peter Pan.” In a nutshell, this was no ‘Hook,’ and the film lost Warner Bros. up to $150 million.
2016 — “Ben-Hur”
A Hollywood reboot that absolutely nobody wanted. The movie was horrifically panned with a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was declared the biggest box office flop of 2016.
2017 — “King Arthur: Legend of the Sword”
Camelot! Camelot! Camelot! Nobody gave two shits. Sadly. The King Arthur themed film made just $15.4 million its opening weekend, and is rumored to have lost at least $150 million total.
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