Box-office bomb

• 1. Introduction

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  A box-office bomb is a film that loses money or is widely seen as a commercial failure during its theatrical run. The label applies most often to major studio releases that carried a large budget and heavy promotion. The phrase did not always carry that negative charge. It once meant a movie had exploded at the box office in a good way. Audiences and press in the United Kingdom kept using it that way into the 1970s. A film can fail commercially for reasons that have little to do with whether audiences like it. A marketing campaign can misfire, a budget can prove too large to recover, or a release date can land at the wrong moment in history. Some of these films eventually earn their costs back once home video, television, or overseas audiences get a chance to see them. Others take down the studios that made them. What separates a quiet money loser from a movie that becomes a byword for financial disaster? Can any of these films still find their way back into profit?

• 2. Word Of Mouth And Bad Timing

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  D. W. Griffith's film Intolerance arrived in theaters in late 1916, delayed by production troubles from its planned earlier release. Intolerance served as his follow-up to The Birth of a Nation, but by the time it reached audiences, the widespread antiwar sentiment it reflected had begun shifting toward support for American entry into World War I. That shift in public mood, rather than any flaw in the film itself, is one explanation offered for its commercial failure.

  A similar mismatch between timing and subject matter struck the 2015 docudrama United Passions. FIFA had mostly funded this glowing portrayal of itself, yet the film reached American theaters just as FIFA's leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption. United Passions grossed only $918 at the US box office in its opening weekend.

  Facebook and Twitter, once they spread in the 2000s, turned word of mouth about new films into a force that could make or break an opening weekend. A film's ability to generate positive chatter, or its failure to avoid negative chatter, can now sharply affect how it performs in theaters.

  The September 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021 all drove down ticket sales. None of these disruptions had anything to do with the quality of the films themselves. National crises and disasters can empty theaters regardless of a film's quality. Even a movie with no production troubles and no bad buzz can still fail when the world outside the cinema goes wrong. A budget that never had a realistic chance of earning out is a separate problem entirely.

• 3. The Math Of A Flop

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  A studio typically collects only about half of a film's box office gross once exhibitors and distributors take their share. Box-office gross numbers, in other words, are not always a reliable guide to a studio's actual profit.

  Sahara, released in 2005, saw its budget balloon to $281.2 million once production, distribution, and other expenses were counted. The film earned $119 million in theaters and $202.9 million overall once television and other revenue streams were included. That left Sahara with a net loss of $78.3 million despite pulling in over $200 million total.

  Disney reported a $200 million loss on John Carter in 2012, despite the film earning a considerable $234 million worldwide. That total fell short of covering its $250 million budget plus the cost of worldwide advertising.

  The Golden Compass carried a production budget of $180 million when it opened in 2007. To fund the film, New Line Cinema sold off all of its international distribution rights to separate distributors around the world. The film underperformed in the United States but succeeded internationally, though New Line kept none of that overseas revenue for itself. That contract, giving away every territory outside the US, would soon carry consequences for New Line Cinema far beyond one film's opening weekend.

• 4. Second Life

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  Waterworld, released in 1995, became the most expensive film made up to that point after a famously difficult production. Even though it performed reasonably well in the US box office, Waterworld did not turn a profit right away and picked up a reputation as a box-office flop. International box-office takings and video sales eventually pushed it into profitability.

  Beyond a single country's theaters, a film can also recover its costs through international distribution, sales to television syndication, and releases outside of cinemas such as home media.

  Vertigo, Blade Runner, and The Wizard of Oz all lost money when they first reached theaters, yet each grew into a genuine cult favorite over time. The same turnaround happened to It's a Wonderful Life, Citizen Kane, The Shawshank Redemption, Showgirls, Fight Club, The Thing, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Every one of these films lost money when first released, yet all later found a lasting audience. Not every studio survives long enough to watch a flop earn that kind of second life.

• 5. When Studios Fall

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  Universal's 1936 film Sutter's Gold turned into such a fiasco that it triggered a wholesale reorganization of the studio. The disaster forced longtime studio head Carl Laemmle out of the industry entirely.

  United Artists nearly collapsed under the weight of Heaven's Gate, and Carolco Pictures faced a comparable crisis after Cutthroat Island. Each case involved a single expensive picture doing enough damage to threaten the whole studio's future.

  The Golden Compass went on to gross $372 million worldwide, a genuine success internationally. Its weaker performance in North America was nonetheless a significant factor behind Warner Bros. Pictures' decision to take direct control of New Line Cinema.

  Square Pictures released its only film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, in 2001. The film received mixed reviews from critics and failed to recover its $145 million cost. Square Pictures made no further films afterward and now exists as a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix called Visual Works.

  Mars Needs Moms was released in 2011 as the final film from ImageMovers Digital. Disney then absorbed the company's stake into ImageMovers at a loss of nearly $140 million. In nominal dollar terms, that made Mars Needs Moms the largest box-office bomb ever recorded. The decision to shut down the production company, though, had been made a year before the film reached theaters. Not every box-office disaster involves a major studio or a nine-figure budget.

• 6. Micro-Budget Disasters

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  Zyzzyx Road, released in 2006, made just $30 at the US box office despite a $1.2 million budget. The film starred Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl, but its run was limited to six days in a single Dallas theater simply to meet Screen Actors Guild requirements. Co-star Leo Grillo said the film sold only six tickets, two of them to members of the cast.

  Offending Angels, a British film from 2000, took in less than £100, or roughly $150, at the box office. Its budget had been £70,000, or about $105,000, and critics panned it harshly. The BBC called it a truly awful pile of garbage, and Total Film called it irredeemable.

  The Worst Movie Ever!, released in 2011, opened to just $11 at the US box office while playing in a single theater. For a film showing in only one theater, an opening weekend of $11 was enough to settle its place in box-office history. Most audiences never even learned its name.