Top 20 Movies That Surprisingly Bombed

The weird duo of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe is nothing short of comedy gold in this flick. Nice Guys is a movie about the misadventures of one bumbling private detective and a hard-boiled special enforcer who search for a missing woman, uncovering all sorts of mayhem. The odd couple pairing of Gosling and Crowe shouldve made it rain money at the box office, but that didnt happen. The movie earned around $70 million, which isnt much to write home about compared to its budget of $50 million. While an incredibly hilarious film, the amount of money The Nice Guys pulled in was ultimately not so nice.

The Northman is a Viking epic like no other. It centers around Prince Amleth, a man on a mission to get justice for his dead father and to rescue his mother. This movie pretty much had it all. An interesting premise, great blending of mythical elements, incredible cast, accomplished director, and plenty of praise from critics. Unfortunately, that wasnt enough to be a financial win. The Northman made about $69 million, which is staggeringly low since its budget was reportedly anywhere from $70-90 million. The fact that the movie went from theaters straight to video-on-demand barely a month after release didnt help their numbers. Prince Amleth conquered a lot of territories, but the box office was unfortunately not one of them.

Its a real shame that this animated feature became such a flop. Strange World is about an entire family of explorers who have to survive a bizarre new land. This was an incredibly bold Disney movie, but it didnt do very well when it was released. Thats actually a significant understatement. It only made about $73 million, and its budget was roughly $180 million. If we crunch the numbers, Strange World lost about $197 million. This makes it one of Disneys biggest box office blunders. It seems like Strange World was just too strange for some moviegoers.

What happens when you take one of the leads from Barbie, one of the leads from Oppenheimer, and put them in an action-comedy? You get The Fall Guy, a blockbuster about a director and a stuntman thrust into a mystery when an important actor goes missing. Fall Guy had a solid story and a star-studded cast. So, what went wrong? Well, the movie only grossed about $181 million on its $125 million budget. It also didnt spend much time in theaters, going to video-on-demand barely three weeks after releasing. Remember how much of a cultural phenomenon Barbenheimer was in 2023? Yeah, pretty baffling that a movie with both Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt as co-leads couldnt attract enough attention.

When a young boy meets a gigantic robot, an unlikely friendship blossoms. This is one of the most heartwarming and poignant animated movies there is. Its a classic that shows a sentient weapon choosing love and compassion over hate and destruction. Yet as great as it is, The Iron Giant wasnt a giant moneymaker. It made a heartbreakingly low $31 million on its budget of $50 million. When the movie was released in 1999, it was a time when animation was largely looked down on by studios. People didnt expect an animated movie to tackle serious themes. Warner Bros. also barely marketed the film. While this was a box office flop, the legacy of The Iron Giant will stand the test of time.

The Matrix has been a cultural juggernaut that few other franchises have rivaled. In 2021, Neo returned for Resurrections, but it didnt go as planned. The movie was a commercial flop and a pretty big one at that. You see, Resurrections cost $190 million to make, which is actually the largest budget a Matrix movie has ever had. Despite the big budget, the film received small returns. The total worldwide gross for Resurrections was under $160 million. While its disappointing, this dud can be explained pretty easily. At the same time this movie was in theaters, it was also released on streaming. Since this came out during the pandemic, we can be more forgiving of the bizarre release strategy. But the box office cant.

Set in the early 1900s, Amsterdam is about a group of friends who accidentally discover a murder and become embroiled in a wild conspiracy. The conspiracy is based on the real-life Business Plot, a scheme to overthrow President FDR. Besides that interesting tidbit, Amsterdam had a serious treasure trove of talent. Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, and John David Washington were all cast in leading roles. Even that wasnt enough to dominate the box office. Amsterdam had a worldwide gross of only $31 million. Its budget? $80 million. When the dust settled, the movie reportedly lost close to $108 million! To add insult to injury, it was a critical flop too. Sometimes, even Academy Award-caliber actors cant save a movie.

The eagerly anticipated sequel to the first Joker movie had everything going for it. A passionate fanbase, Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn, a bold new direction for the story. Whats the worst that can happen? Pretty much everything. Turns out that doing a whole movie about the man who becomes Joker only to go lol hes actually not him in the sequel is a bad idea. Folie à Deux made just over $205 million, and its budget was reportedly as high as $200 million. For comparison, the first movie cost around $55 million. Joker 2 might be one of 2024s biggest box office blunders. It ended up being a clunky mess that benefited no one.

Indiana Jones made a thrilling return to the big screen in 2023. Well, at least he hoped to make a thrilling return. Dial of Destiny didnt really do too hot, only making $384 million. Now $384 million sure sounds like an impressive number, but this blockbusters budget was reportedly anywhere from $295-387 million. Its not just one of the most expensive films in the Indiana Jones franchise. Its also one of the most expensive movies ever made, period. When you also factor in the costs for marketing, that means Disney lost over $100 million with Dial of Destiny. So yeah, that worldwide gross is suddenly a lot less impressive.

Despite Star Wars being one of the biggest entertainment IPs of all time, the Disney batch of Star Wars movies has been a mixed bag. Case in point: Solo. The film followed a younger Han Solo, played by Alden Ehrenreich, embarking on a daring heist mission. Solo had an estimated budget of around $270-330 million, earning a disappointing $393 million. At least they didnt go with a de-aged Harrison Ford for the film, but not having him still arguably hurt the movies prospects. It also had a lackluster marketing campaign. You could also argue that fan reaction to the sequels soured its chances at the box office. Either way, Solo didnt soar very high.

We were all Jacks sense of complete surprise when we found out that this dark comedy didnt do that well at first. Fight Club boasted an impressive cast that featured stars like Edward Norton, Brad Pitt, and Helena Bonham Carter. Its subversive humor and quotable lines made it memorable. And Fight Clubs features one of Hollywoods best twists. Despite all of the films advantages, it lost somewhere around 24-28 million dollars. This may have been because critics were extremely split on the films quality upon its release. Or maybe audience members didnt talk it up because they were following the first rule of Fight Club. Either way, this Fincher film managed to stay relevant after losing the battle for the top of the box office.

It turns out that the 8-bit hero of this film had to fight seven evil exes and low box office returns. On a budget that ranged from 60-85 million dollars, Scott Pilgrim sadly made less than $50 when it was first released. Its likely that audiences were just too unfamiliar with the character to give it a shot. If more moviegoers had shown up, theyd find fast-paced editing, unique visuals, and extremely catchy songs. Theyd also see a cast that was jam-packed with future superstars. Since the films release, the property had found massive success in mediums like video games and TV. Its hard to nail down why the world was against Scott Pilgrim when he first stepped on the stage.

After the young Charlie Bucket found a golden ticket, he took us on a journey unlike any other. His chocolate factory tour captured our imaginations because of great production design and the unforgettable characters he found along the way. Speaking of icons, Gene Wilders pitch perfect performance as Willy Wonka managed to unnerve us and make us smile in equal measure. But this sweet treat wasnt savored right away. While it cost a relatively small $4 million dollars to make, it failed to double its original budget. The strong reviews didnt help bring people in either. Since Willy Wonka achieved massive popularity after tv airings and a major re-release, its almost impossible to imagine a time when this movie was a financial failure.

Nearly a decade after Fury Road raced its way into moviegoers hearts, Warner Bros. released a high-octane prequel. The 2024 Furiosa-focused film delivered with an engrossing story that fleshed out the tough anti-heroine. It also contained impressive set pieces that could compete with Fury Roads best moments. Surprisingly, neither the well-reviewed story nor thrills were enough. When all was said and done, the film was calculated to have lost almost $120 million. Did Furiosa arrive too long after the initial hype for the franchise had died down? Or was it a mistake to give it a slightly higher budget than its predecessor since Fury Road barely turned a profit? Whatever the reason, Furiosas stunning failure could spell trouble for the future of the Mad Max franchise.

Despite it being all about a guy named Buzz Lightyear, the Lightyear movie lacked a lot of buzz at the box office. A Toy Story spinoff/prequel, Lightyear follows Buzz Lightyear. Well, to clarify, its not about the sentient Buzz Lightyear action figure. Instead, its about the space ranger whom the toy is based on. Does that sound a little bit confusing? Yeah, it does to us, and maybe that confusion is why the movie tanked. It earned around $220 million worldwide, but it cost about $200 million. This makes Lightyear one of Pixars rare box office bombs. Its commercial failure pierced the armor of an animation juggernaut that once seemed indestructible.

In 2012, Karl Urban starred as the violent and no-nonsense Judge Dredd. Whenever this officer went after a criminal, we knew we were in for brutal and stylized action. Dredd was also surrounded by wonderful allies and truly intimidating villains. Although good word of mouth allowed the movie to open at #1, it still lost approximately 20 million dollars. A good chunk of the audiences may have avoided the film because the 1995 Dredd FILM was so campy and terrible. At the same time, its still a mystery as to why the 2012 movie was only showered with love from legions of fans after it left the theaters.

A hefty price tag of 200 million dollars meant the odds were stacked against this historical drama as soon as the budget was approved. However, there was a lot of faith that they could make it back. While Martin Scorsese was behind multiple aspects of production, talents like Robert De Niro, Leonardo Dicaprio and Lily Gladstone were busy giving towering performances. Their efforts seemed to be for naught when the film lost around 100 million dollars. The poor returns were especially shocking in a year where the historical drama Oppneheimer broke box office records. Even though Killers of the Flower Moon earned more money after Oscar buzz surrounded it, the production couldnt recoup all of their losses.

Although the first film in this sci-fi universe failed to light the box office on fire, no one was expecting history to repeat itself. Unfortunately, Blade Runner 2049 couldnt break even on its reported $150 million dollar budget. The films failure stunned so many because it gave audiences more of what they loved from the first go around. Not only did the writers expand upon the futuristic world, but we also got to see it through a completely new point of view. The long-awaited sequel also answered lingering questions while setting enticing new mysteries. Sadly, none of the praise for 2049s production design or main performances translated into big box office receipts.

Whenever people talk about the greatest sci-fi films of all time, this John Carpenter masterpiece inevitably ends up in the conversation. The tense story followed a crew of researchers that discovered that a brutal and shapeshifting creature was hiding amongst them. Thanks to practical effects and skillful direction, the sci-fi tale felt surprisingly realistic. But the merits of this dark tale initially kept people away. Both critics and audiences werent fans of the violence, paranoia, and slow burn plot. The negativity around The Thing also caused it to get frozen out of a prime box office spot. Thankfully, moviegoers were willing to give it a second chance after its stunning early failure.

This beloved Stephen King adaptation simply couldnt win when it was first released. In early test screenings, audiences showered the movie with heaps of praise. The prison struggles, plot twists, and character journeys all stuck with the early viewers. Shawshank Redemption seemed poised for a great opening before a horrific box office opening brought it all crashing down. During the initial theater run, Shawshank Redemption didnt make its 25 million dollar budget back. A big Oscar campaign and successful tv reruns brought it back into the public consciousness in the next few years. It still routinely tops many lists of must watch films for critics and audiences. Its safe to say Shawshank Redemption overcame its shockingly bad debut.

Are there any other financial failures we missed? Let us know in the comments!