Top 10 Hollywood Blockbusters That Lost Money
#10: “Ghostbusters” (2016)
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Paul Feig's "Ghostbusters" reboot was inescapable for a few months before its release, but all that discourse did not translate into an especially great box office return. "Ghostbusters" might be an established property, but a budget of over $140 million meant the film needed to be a smash hit to turn a profit. The movie ended up pulling in a smaller worldwide gross than Feig's previous projects, and "Bridesmaids", "The Heat", and "Spy" all had significantly lower budgets than "Ghostbusters." "Ghostbusters" was pushed heavily by Sony, released right in time for the summer season, and had a solid cast; all the makings of a blockbuster, just without the figures to back it up.
#9: “The Good Dinosaur” (2015)
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Excluding movies affected by the pandemic, "The Good Dinosaur" is Pixar's lowest-grossing theatrical release; even the original "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life" outperformed the 2015 flick at the box office. On the other hand, the 2015 movie had a very high budget that is comparable to some of Pixar's highest earners such as "Toy Story 3" and "Inside Out." Following a decent but not spectacular opening, "The Good Dinosaur" suffered quite a drop in returns over the next few weeks as word of mouth spread that, perhaps, this new release wasn't peak Pixar.
#8: “A Wrinkle in Time” (2018)
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Fantasy adventure films, even ones based on well-known properties, can be a hard sell if they are not sequels. "A Wrinkle in Time" deserves credit for its diversity both in front and behind the camera, but the Disney property fell short of expectations commercially. "A Wrinkle in Time" felt like a big event, but it also came out weeks after the mammoth "Black Panther," and the Marvel blockbuster was still dominating the box office when Ava DuVernay's film dropped. A lukewarm critical reception also hurt "A Wrinkle in Time's" longevity, as the film went on to lose roughly $100 million.
#7: “Green Lantern” (2011)
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Nowadays, 2011's "Green Lantern '' has been reduced to a punchline, but the DC film did have big expectations when it originally launched. With a massive $200 million budget, Ryan Reynolds in the lead, and a strong supporting cast, "Green Lantern'' went huge and then fell flat spectacularly. Scathing reviews meant the film stagnated rather quickly at the box office, pulling in roughly $220 million globally over its entire run. With the DC Extended Universe debuting a few years later, "Green Lantern'' has been largely written off as a regrettable and expensive mistake.
#6: “Cats” (2019)
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Some box office flops are shocking, others you can see coming from a mile away. Once the movie adaptation of the hit musical "Cats" dropped its trailer and sent the internet into a fit of laughter and head-scratching, the writing was on the wall for the film. Not even morbid curiosity seemed to be enough to drag people to theatres to watch this critically eviscerated release, as "Cats" bombed on opening day and never recovered. While it did somewhat better internationally than domestically, "Cats" didn't even come close to recouping its $100 million production budget.
#5: “The BFG” (2016)
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Disney and Steven Spielberg joining forces should be a guarantee of commercial success, but reality sometimes has other plans. Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's “The BFG" struggled to find an audience big enough to justify its $140 million production budget. While reviews were above average but not glowing, "The BFG" was pretty much an instant flop commercially, debuting fourth at the box office while earning less than half of "Finding Dory's" gross in its third week. While Spielberg had directed underperforming films before, "The BFG's" blockbuster, family movie status made it an entirely different beast to something like "Empire of the Sun."
#4: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” (2016)
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After 2014's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" did well at the box office, a sequel was quickly put into production. However, in the two years separating the films' releases, something changed, and "Out of the Shadows" went from seemingly a surefire hit to an underwhelming flop. The sequel grossed roughly half of what its predecessor managed. While neither release was well received by critics, 2014's original had the fact it was the first live-action "Turtles" film in more than two decades going for it. In comparison, "Out of the Shadows" was just another sequel to a profitable but not necessarily loved blockbuster.
#3: “Dark Phoenix” (2019)
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Fox's "X-Men" franchise deserved to go out on a bang rather than a whimper. Despite being the final main entry in a beloved series and adapting a famous comic storyline, "Dark Phoenix's" hype was oddly muted. Delays saw the movie debut a few months after "Captain Marvel" and "Avengers: Endgame," while Disney's purchase of Fox made "Dark Phoenix" feel a bit superfluous. While "Dark Phoenix" certainly had a budget typical for a modern superhero film, the "X-Men" movie pulled dismal numbers and was blown out of the water by "The Secret Life of Pets 2" on its opening weekend.
#2: “Transformers: The Last Knight” (2017)
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For the longest time, it seemed like the live-action "Transformers" movies were immune to negative reviews, with the third and fourth entries both earning more than a billion at the box office. Well, the momentum finally came to a stop with "The Last Knight," as the fifth movie earned just a bit more than 50% of its predecessor's gross. While "The Last Knight" still netted more than $600 million at the box office, reports suggest the movie lost money. This decline can largely be credited to the domestic box office, as "The Last Knight" really failed to meet expectations in the US. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “The Great Wall” (2016) Because This US-China Team-Up Wasn’t a Big Enough Hit in Either Territory “The Lone Ranger” (2013) Because Pirates Are, Apparently, a Safer Bet Than Cowboys “Around the World in 80 Days” (2004) Because Few People from Around the World Wanted to See This Disney Movie “R.I.P.D.” (2013) Because Jeff Bridges & Ryan Reynolds Can Only Do So Much “Mars Needs Moms” (2011) Because This Movie Cost $150 Million, so of Course It Flopped
#1: “Justice League” (2017)
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Reshoots doomed "Justice League," as the film's production budget ballooned to $300 million. In a vacuum, the first live-action team-up of the Justice League performed well at the box office, grossing more than $650 million worldwide. However, it fell short of the earnings required to break even. "Justice League's" well-documented rocky production might have hurt its hype, but the film was also following up the critically acclaimed and commercially successful "Wonder Woman." While "Justice League" had a solid opening weekend, it didn't quite have the legs to match "Wonder Woman" or 2018's "Aquaman."
