Top 10 Biggest Movie Flops Ever
If you like to celebrate failure, then this list will be interesting for you. Sometimes Hollywood is seen as a money making machine. Quite often though, they get it wrong, badly wrong. Modern day movies cost an eye watering amount of money to make. It costs just as much money to get it wrong as well. Here are ten of the most costly movie making mistakes ever. Don't be surprised if you have never heard of them, there is a reason they flopped.
1. John Carter
Top of the list is the 2012 flop, John Carter. We don't know how bad it is going to be just yet, but the projections aren't good. Disney said, “In light of the theatrical performance of John Carter, we expect the film to generate an operating loss of approximately $200m during our second fiscal quarter ending 31 March.” I think they were hoping for a similar figure, but in the profit column. Apparently they had sequels planned. I think it might be good business sense to put those away for another day.
2. Cutthroat Island
If you look in the Guinness Book of Records, you will find the movie at the top of the list is “Cutthroat Island”, making an inflation adjusted loss of $147 million. Maybe some of the people who financed it were looking to cut their throats after this flop. I found one of the few people who saw it and was told it was an action movie involving a treasure hunt. The movie didn't find any treasure at the box office though.
3. The Alamo
Just behind Cutthroat Island is “The Alamo”. It tells the story of the famous battle of the Alamo in Texas, trying to depict the political views of both sides. Film goers didn't sit on the fence though, they were firmly on the side of not going. This resulted in the movie losing $146 million. The DVD release denied the makers the pleasure of a page in the Guinness Book of Records.
4. The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Eddie Murphy starred as a crazy spaceman in a childish space adventure that the studio was ashamed to release first of all – before deciding not to completely write it off and release it to a not so impressed public. It would have been better being binned. “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” made just $7m – possibly the lowest take of a big budget movie ever. Eddie Murphy joked that he knew the 'two people who liked the film'. I think it was an exaggeration. The meagre box office take led to a loss of $145 million.
5. Sahara
The movie “Sahara” managed to lose $145 million. Enough to leave movie executives a little dry in the mouth. Sahara sank like in quicksand, dragged down by a combination of ever expanding production costs, poor box office returns, and a series of legal disputes. It was seen by a lot more people than most other flops though – I just haven't found anyone who remembers it.
6. Mars Needs Moms
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Apparently movies with Mars in the title aren't so popular at the box office. It seemed strange then that the backers of the movie “Mars Needs Moms” thought it would be one of the biggest hits of 2011. As research had pointed out though, the public had other ideas. This disaster of a movie sent a young boy on a mission to rescue his mother from aliens in outer space. I can read a one line description of this movie and know it is going to be terrible. Who would anyone spend $175 million to make a movie with that as a story? Total loss came in at $140 million, backers may want to check the storyline before financing another movie.
7. The 13th Warrior
High up on the list of movie flops is “The 13th Warrior”. The only people who saw it were the other 12 warriors. Originally called 'Eaters of the Dead', this not so triumphant, old fashioned sword fighting romp found itself renamed 'The 13th Warrior' before its release and was then sent off to its unfortunate fate. Antonio Banderas' co-star Omar Sharif was so chastened by the experience of this awful picture, that he swiftly announced his retirement from the acting game. He still got paid though. With a loss of $137 million it would be safe to say that movie execs didn't though.
8. Town and Country
It isn't really a movie title that makes you excited, is it? Well it definitely didn't get the box office excited, bringing in a loss of $124 million. It was a movie involving dogs, that was a dog of a movie and which left backers barking mad. In fact, those puns are probably are probably more enjoyable than the movie.
9. Speed Racer
Another big loser for movie backers was “Speed Racer”. It was based on a popular Japanese anime series, but it didn't quite translate onto the big screen. The result was a bit of a car crash, the movie making a loss of $114 million. They thought it would race to the top of the charts, but were left watching from the sidelines as other movies raced by to huge profits.
10. Heaven's Gate
Back in the 1980s, “Heaven's Gate” was a big budget movie. Before the huge production costs of special effects in modern day movies it still managed to cost $44 million. It was the western to end all westerns… literally. This epic sent the Hollywood western as a genre riding into the sunset forever. The classic western as we knew it was now at heaven's gate. These days, some now regard the film as a flawed masterpiece. When it was released it was ridiculed and blanked, recouping just $1.3m of its $44m budget. Translated into modern money, this western lost $144 million.
We know that success cannot come without failure though. Next time you are enjoying something at the cinema, remember these films above that made it possible. In order to make the next generation of blockbuster movies, the costs are even higher, it is likely that in a few years this list of flops will be completely changed.
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