Top 10 Biggest Horror Movie Flops Of All Time

Top 10 Biggest Horror Movie Flops

The scariest thing about these films is the reception they received. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be counting down the Top 10 Biggest Horror Movie Flops.

For this list, we’re looking at horror movies that got murdered at the box office. Divisive films that received mixed reviews, but still made money, like Darren Aronofsky's “Mother!”, will not be considered.

When John Wyndham’s “The Midwich Cuckoos” was first adapted for the big screen in 1960 under the title “Village of the Damned,” it turned a respectable profit, earned critical acclaim and even produced a sequel. Sadly, none of those statements can be applied to this 1995 remake, which, considering it was helmed by filmmaker John Carpenter, is more than a little disappointing. Against a budget of $22 million, it only managed to recoup $9.4 million domestically, and was critically panned as uninspired - a paint by numbers remake without merit of its own. The film went on to earn a Razzie nomination, and has been called by John Carpenter, in hindsight, a simple “contractual assignment” - nothing more.

It was inevitable. At least one Uwe Boll film had to make this list. Of his many widely detested films, this video game adaptation is nonetheless a standout. Why? Well, for starters, its poor quality and loose approach to the source material enraged fans of the long-running video game franchise. It wasn’t just those familiar with the source material who hated the movie though - critics consider it to be one of the worst films ever made. With a budget of $20 million, it saw a return of just $10.4 million. Unfortunately, it succeeded in the home video market, and therefore got a sequel in 2008.

Before he established himself as a major player in the MCU with Guardians of the Galaxy Volumes 1 and 2, James Gunn crafted this excellent little horror movie about a parasitic alien and its slug-like offspring. Funny, scary, original, and boasting a strong cast including Nathan Fillion, Elizabeth Banks and Michael Rooker, Slither was warmly received by critics and horror enthusiasts alike. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, people just didn’t go see it. Though it was made on a modest budget of just $15 million, it slipped through the cracks and failed to break even.

For the average cinemagoer, Crispin Glover is probably most recognizable as the guy ripping out and sniffing hair in “Charlie’s Angels”, or as George McFly in “Back to the Future”. But within horror circles, he’s best known for his role in this underappreciated horror remake about a social outcast who befriends and trains rats. The movie wasn’t exactly a critical darling, but it was still reasonably well-received. Glover’s performance as the titular Willard was particularly well-met, earning him a nomination in the category of Best Actor at the Saturn Awards. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate into ticket sales, with the box office falling $11.5 million short of its own budget.

It was the early 2000s. The internet was past its introductory phase and was in the process of becoming the all-encompassing force that it is today. In other words, it was the perfect basis for a horror film. Though it bore similarities to technophobic films that preceded it like “Videodrome” and “Ringu”, “FeardotCom” lacked the substance to support all the over-the-top violence. The movie is admittedly stylish at times, but not enough to overcome a fundamentally flawed script. A co-production between companies from the U.S., U.K. and Germany, it cost $40 million and only recouped $18.9 of it.

Honestly, it shouldn’t have mattered that this movie was a blatant cash grab and terrible film - that’s most horror movie sequels. Just by virtue of having “Carrie” in the title, this movie should have been able to turn a tidy little profit; Carrie is one of the most iconic movies in the history of the genre. Even with Amy Irving returning to her role as Sue Snell to create some sense of legitimate connection, the film was a pale imitation of its namesake - and cinemagoers could clearly see that. Despite coming from illustrious stock, Carrie 2 only managed to scrape together $17.8 million against its budget of $21 million.

This movie might just be the biggest sci-fi horror comic book adaptation you’ve never heard of. A whole line of toys was planned around it. The movie even had a video game tie-in in the works! With Jamie Lee Curtis in the leading role as Kelly Foster, it also had a viable lead to catch the attention of cinemagoers. On paper it sounded like an entertaining, if not overtly original premise: an energy-based alien life form comes to earth with plans of conquest via human extinction. The end result? Well… the visual effects were top notch. But that’s about it. The film was critically panned and earned just over $30 million on a budget of $75 million. Yikes.

We can really appreciate what Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino were trying to do here. Grindhouse theaters of old specialized in B movies and exploitation films. These institutions were cheap, dedicated high volume, and provided a home to the sort of cinema that goes straight to video-on-demand these days. The concept of a double feature is also largely dead nowadays, but for nostalgic filmmakers like these two, it’s one that still held appeal. Though cinephiles may have appreciated this throwback release, it didn’t resonate with the majority of cinemagoers. With a combined budget of $53 million, and despite solid reviews, “Death Proof” and “Planet Terror” only managed to recoup $25.4 million.

This is another oddity in the history of horror film. Though remakes are common, updates usually try to reinterpret the material. When Gus Van Sant decided to revisit the classic Hitchcock tale of theft, murder and mommy issues, he chose to show his reverence for the original by … remaking it shot for shot, just with a different cast and in color. Like with Carrie 2, you’d think that any remake of such a classic film would have a guaranteed draw, but ultimately, Van Sant’s ode to the original turned audiences off, and only managed to earn back $37.1 million against a bloated budget of $60 million.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few dishonorable mentions

“The Apparition” (2012)
Warner Bros.

“Bad Moon” (1996)
Warner Bros.

“Suspiria” (2018)
Amazon Studios

“The Monster Squad” (1987)
TriStar Pictures

This film has even become something of a cult classic within the sci-fi/horror genre, but with a budget of $60 million, and a domestic Box Office take of $26.7 million, it was a serious flop. With Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill and a pre-Morpheus Laurence Fishburne onboard, and a fresh-faced Paul W. S. Anderson in the director’s chair, Paramount had big expectations. At the time, Anderson had just released “Mortal Kombat”, which proved to be a hit at the box office. For his next act, he chose Event Horizon, and well… after post-production Hell, it didn’t make it out of the black hole.