Top 20 Biggest Horror Movie Flops Of All Time
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 20 Biggest Horror Movie Flops of All Time. For this list, we’ll be looking at the worst box office bombs in the horror genre. Did you support any of these films? Let us know in the comments below!
#20: “Beau Is Afraid” (2023)
This film was destined to fail, but we have to praise A24 for giving it a shot. While it stars box office draw Joaquin Phoenix, “Beau Is Afraid” is a bizarre and uncompromising piece of horror surrealism spanning three hours in length. It’s not exactly “The Avengers,” you know? Not only was it generally unmarketable, but it received relatively lukewarm reviews, at least compared to Ari Aster’s previous two films, “Hereditary” and “Midsommar.” It had a budget of $35 million but made less than one-third of that back. Beau is afraid of many things, and those box office numbers should be one of them.
#19: “The Invasion” (2007)
Top 10 Biggest Horror Movie Flops Of All Time
This sci-fi horror film starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig is the fourth adaptation of “The Body Snatchers” novel. As you can imagine, patience for the story was wearing a little thin, especially considering the classic nature of the 1978 version. There were several problems going into this film. Not only had the story been told and retold over the years, but it received terrible reviews for its pacing and emphasis on action over tension. You could say that it’s a hollow and emotionless shell of something more complex. Sounds familiar. Warner Bros. was banking hard on the film, giving it a budget between $65 and $80 million. Unfortunately, it only recouped $40 million at the box office.
#18: “Crimes of the Future” (2022)
Top 10 Things You Missed in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
David Cronenberg is one of the biggest names in the scary movie biz, known for classic body horror films like “The Fly” and “Videodrome.” But even the masters make the odd financial dud. Released in 2022, “Crimes of the Future” stars Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux as performance artists who wow audiences with a particularly grotesque act. The film was made for $27 million but did not have the release to show for it. It opened in less than 800 theaters and finished in tenth with just $1.1 million. It spent only one week inside the top ten before finishing with a very disappointing take of $4.6 million.
#17: “Crimson Peak” (2015)
Supervillain Origins: The Crimson Dynamo
Guillermo del Toro, Victorian times, and a Gothic mansion. Who doesn’t want to see that? Well, a lot of people, apparently. A traditional haunted house tale, “Crimson Peak” contains a great cast and some truly unforgettable visuals. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to put butts in seats. For whatever reason, “Crimson Peak” greatly underperformed. Many analysts argued that it faced too much competition at the box office, especially in the midst of overperforming films like “Bridge of Spies” that were not expected to do so well. It grossed $74 million on a budget of $55 million, so while not an outright bomb, it was definitely not what Universal was hoping for.
#16: “Village of the Damned” (1995)
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.
#15: “The Monster Squad” (1987)
Top 20 Greatest Giant Movie Monster Fights of All Time
This horror comedy from director Fred Dekker attempted to revitalize the Universal monsters for a new generation. It did not do so. Reviews were tepid, and it faced a number of obstacles at the box office. The PG-13 rating prevented younger viewers from getting in, and it was unfairly compared to other popular teen movies of the time like “The Goonies.” Furthermore, it faced intense competition from “The Lost Boys,” which covered a similar premise but aimed for a more mature audience. With a budget of $14 million, “The Monster Squad” was a catastrophic failure. It opened in 12th place and was pulled after just two weeks, finishing with a gross of just $3.8 million.
#14: “Bad Moon” (1996)
Top 10 Biggest Movie Flops of 2019 (So Far)
Have you ever heard of this movie? Exactly. “Bad Moon,” as you may surmise from its title, is a werewolf film about photojournalist Ted Harrison, who turns into the scary beast and stalks his sister and nephew. The movie was poorly received upon release, with criticisms aimed at the messy tone and unconvincing monster effects. “Bad Moon” opened in over 800 theaters but failed to break a million, grossing just $607,000. This gave it a per-theater average of $735. Compare this to its opening rival “Romeo + Juliet,” which had a per-theater average of over $8,700. “Bad Moon” went on to gross a paltry $1.1 million against a $7 million budget.
#13: “The Apparition” (2012)
Top 50 Scariest Horror Movie Scenes of ALL TIME
This horror movie starring Ashley Greene was released in late August, and that is never a good sign. “The Apparition” is a by-the-numbers ghost tale that’s loosely based on the so-called “Philip experiment” of 1972. Conducted in Toronto, it aimed to see if participants could interact with a fictional ghost - in this case, the completely made-up Philip Aylesford. By all accounts, that real story is far more interesting than this film. “The Apparition” was widely lambasted for virtually every aspect of its production, resulting in just a 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite a budget of $17 million, the film opened in 12th place and never broke into the top ten. It finished its run with a take of just over $11 million.
#12: “Suspiria” (2018)
This was a hard sell if there ever was one. Dario Argento’s original is a classic, but Italian giallo isn’t exactly one of the more mainstream horror subgenres. The new “Suspiria” is also really, really weird, has a lot of heavy themes, and runs at a languid pace for two and a half hours. It’s certainly not for everyone, and that shows in its theatrical run. Reviews were lukewarm, with many calling it inferior to the original, and it never placed higher than 19th at the box office. With a budget of $20 million, “Suspiria” fell flat with a gross of just under $8 million. The poor performance was recognized by director Luca Guadagnino, who called it “a disaster at the box office.”
#11: “Alone in the Dark” (2005)
Top 20 Biggest Movie Sequel Bombs of All Time
Uwe Boll does not have a good track record. In 2003, he released the widely condemned “House of the Dead,” which served as an adaptation of the popular arcade video game. But of his many widely detested films, “Alone in the Dark” is 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.
#10: “Slither” (2006)
Before he established himself as a major player in the MCU with “Guardians of the Galaxy,” 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.
#9: “Willard” (2003)
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 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.
#8: “Renfield” (2023)
You know, maybe we should give the old Universal monsters a break. A fresh take on the “Dracula” mythos, “Renfield” experienced a delayed release following the infamous bombing of “The Mummy.” Hoping to bounce off the beloved IP while still standing alone as a unique horror comedy, “Renfield” opened to a collective shrug in the spring of 2023. The reviews were not stellar, and it faced a lot of fierce competition at the box office, playing against the likes of “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” “Renfield” spent just two weeks inside the top ten and grossed roughly $26 million on a $65 million budget. We think the titular character is going to remain in the coffin for the foreseeable future.
#7: “FeardotCom” (2002)
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 bears similarities to technophobic films that preceded it like “Videodrome” and “Ringu,” “FeardotCom” lacks 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 US, UK and Germany, it cost $40 million and only recouped $18.9 million of it.
#6: “The Rage: Carrie 2” (1999)
Top 10 Best Horror Movie Endings of ALL TIME!
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.
#5: “Virus” (1999)
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.
#4: “Grindhouse” (2007)
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 to high volume, and provided a home to the sort of cinema that goes straight to home media 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 holds 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.
#3: “Event Horizon” (1997)
Top 10 Shocking Reveals We Learned from Oprah+ Viola: A Netflix Special Event
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, 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.
#2: “The Wolfman” (2010)
Top 20 Stupidest Horror Movie Characters
If there’s one overarching theme to this list, it’s that modern audiences really don’t want Universal monster remakes. 2010’s “The Wolfman” has a few good things going for it. There’s an all-star cast consisting of Benicio del Toro, Emily Blunt, and Anthony Hopkins, and it contains Oscar-winning makeup effects by Rick Baker. Regardless, both audiences and critics bared their teeth at the film, and despite a box office gross of $142 million, it still bombed owing to its $150 million budget. Even the then-president of Universal hated the movie, saying it was “one of the worst movies [they] ever made.” You know it’s a failure when…
#1: “Psycho” (1998)
Christian Bale Bio: From American Psycho to The Dark Knight Rises
This is another oddity in the history of horror films. 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.
