In this list we are going to go through the biggest box office bombs of all time, the greatest financial disasters of the movie industry’s storied history. Everybody knows that the film industry is a risky business; you can either make it big or fall hard, very hard, as was the case with the following movies.
Bear in mind that we will only take into account those films that failed economically during their theatrical runs worldwide, but our countdown is on ‘bombs’ rather than ‘turkeys’. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term, a ‘turkey’ is a film that was poorly rated, and considered amongst the worst movies ever made. In conclusion, we will rank the most unsuccessful movies according to their profit, or rather lack thereof, and not by their critical misfortune.
However, not everything is so gloomy in the entertainment business as these baker’s dozen plus two would have you believe. Some movies are unexpected box office hits, and other underdogs turn out to be a favorite of critics the world over. All in all, there is no singular way of flourishing in Hollywood. Whether it is financial achievement or critical acclaim, movies can certainly bring about prosperity. If you enjoy the seventh art as much as we do, make sure you don’t miss our countdown on The 20 Highest Rated Movies of All-Time.
Coming back to the box office bombs, we should explain how this list was actually compiled. Naturally, none of the films in our countdown were able to break even at the box office; that is to say, they couldn’t even cover the production costs. But bombs are not just regular losses, they could bring studios, distributors and production companies close to bankruptcy. Now, in order to rank box office bombs it is necessary to calculate the estimated losses of each project; this figure is obtained by subtracting the production budget from half of the theatrical box office revenues. Once you’ve done this operation, it is fairly easy to tell which movies failed to break even at the box office by a large amount of money.
Are you curious about the biggest box office bombs of all time? Let’s take a look at the countdown and find out which are the greatest flops in the history of the film industry.
15. Evan Almighty
Year: 2007
Production Budget: $175,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $173,418,781
Estimated losses: $88,290,610
Evan Almighty is a surprising first entrant on the list of the biggest box office bombs of all time, considering it was the sequel to a movie that grossed nearly half a billion dollars, and starred the red-hot Steve Carell. But bomb it was. Check out the even bigger bombs to come on the following pages.
14. Cutthroat Island
Year: 1995
Production Budget: $98,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $18,517,322
Estimated losses: $88,741,339
13. Green Lantern
Year: 2011
Production Budget: $200,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $219,851,172
Estimated losses: $90,074,414
12. The Alamo
Year: 2004
Production Budget: $107,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $25,819,961
Estimated losses: $94,090,020
11. The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Year: 2002
Production Budget: $100,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $7,103,973
Estimated losses: $96,448,014
10. Stealth
Year: 2005
Production Budget: $135,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $76,932,872
Estimated losses: $96,533,564
9. Sahara
Year: 2005
Production Budget: $160,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $119,269,486
Estimated losses: $100,365,257
8. Jack the Giant Slayer
Year: 2013
Production Budget: $185–200,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $197,687,603
Estimated losses: $86,156,199—101,156,199
7. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Year: 2001
Production Budget: $115–145,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $85,131,830
Estimated losses: $72,434,085—102,434,085
6. John Carter
Year: 2012
Production Budget: $250,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $282,778,100
Estimated losses: $108,610,950
5. R.I.P.D.
Year: 2013
Production Budget: $130–154,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $78,324,220
Estimated losses: $90,837,890—114,837,890
4. The Lone Ranger
Year: 2013
Production Budget: $225–250,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $260,502,115
Estimated losses: $94,748,943—119,748,943
3. The 13th Warrior
Year: 1999
Production Budget: $100–160,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $61,698,899
Estimated losses: $69,150,551—129,150,551
2. Mars Needs Moms
Year: 2011
Production Budget: $150,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $38,992,758
Estimated losses: $130,503,621
1. 47 Ronin
Year: 2013
Production Budget: $225,000,000
Worldwide Box Office Gross: $150,962,475
Estimated losses: $149,518,762
