It’s wonderful to see a great movie perform well at the box-office and while some might differ on a bad movie performing well, it’s still a good thing that people are going to see a movie at the movie theater the way most filmmakers always intend for. However, it’s incredibly disappointing when a great movie flops or underperforms. Many factors can be at play for why any movie doesn’t make the studios any business. Zero interest, mediocre marketing or fatigued with the franchise/actor. In 2023 we’ve seen a variety of sequels that became the biggest opening or most successful of their particular franchise. John Wick 4, Creed III, Scream VI and Across the Spider-Verse had the biggest openings of their respected franchises but on the flip side you had movies like The Flash, Blue Beetle, Elemental and even Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One which had some good buzz but failed to meet the box-office expectations that the studios had wished for.
So instead of ranking all of these movies, we’re simply going to list off some real gems that failed to meet box-office expectations or absolutely tanked. Let’s begin!
#12 THE NORTHMAN (2022)
(Budget: $70-90 Million. Worldwide: $69.6 Million. Opening weekend: $12.2 Million)
It’s really no surprise that The Northman failed at the box-office. Sure, you’ve got a star studded cast, rich mythology and one of the best directors in the business with Robert Eggers but this kind of source material isn’t one that audiences were rushing out to see. Die-hard cinephiles were eager to see it no matter what since this was Eggers’ follow up from The Lighthouse and it was also his first movie that was distributed by A24. Considering the work that Eggers had done in the past, this was easily his biggest and arguably his most ambitious project to date and when it came to the quality of The Northman it was masterfully composed. Skarsgård was ferocious, the movie looks gorgeous and the weight and scale of it captured the epicness of the life of a viking. But why didn’t it do well? It’s not the marketing was poor because it explicitly told audiences the kind of movie it was going to be. Maybe it’s because Robert Eggers movies are the kind that scream for a $40 million opening weekend. Maybe it’s because that no matter who was cast in the movie the source material isn’t going to draw anyone in. We know that Robert Eggers is going to scale it back down with his remake of Nosferatu and while it’s budget might be smaller it ain’t going to scream box-office hit.
#11 STARDUST (2007)
(Budget: $70 million. Worldwide: $137.5 million. Opening weekend: $9.1 Million)
It’s been 16 years since the release of Matthew Vaughn’s brilliant film Stardust and if there’s one movie that deserves to be fully valued and appreciated by everyone it’s gotta be this one. I’m sure most sane people don’t want to see The Princess Bride get a remake but for arguments sake let’s say they did remake it, well I’d call that movie Stardust. Stardust happens to be based on a novel by Neil Gaiman so it doesn’t share any connection with The Princess Bride but it features strong similarities in terms of its humor, the sense of adventure and the fantasy elements. It’s the perfect movie to introduce fans to a world that feels reminiscent to The Princess Bridge but can still stand on its own. Evening having Michelle Pfeiffer or Robert De Niro wasn’t enough to elicit people to see it and many people now know who Matthew Vaughn is this was still in the early stages of his career before he went on to direct X-Men First Class and the Kingsman movies. In conclusion, Stardust is a must watch so cancel your plans today and watch it or else.
#10 STEVE JOBS (2015)
(Budget: $30 million. Worldwide: $34.4 million. Opening weekend: $521K)
Certain biopics are a tricky experiment when making a feature length motion picture. The ones that are the most successful are usually ones when focused on a particular musician. Straight Outta Compton, Bohemian Rhapsody and even last years Elvis were big hits and well-liked by audiences. The part that might turn people away is that most biopics, particularly on musicians, are all the same or some people might not want to see a biopic on a figure that never changed the way we go about our lives. Whether you liked him or not, Steve Jobs is one of the most important figures in revolutionizing technology and what the company of Apple has become. Billions of people walk around with an Apple product so you’d automatically assume that people would rush out to see a movie about the man responsible for the iPhone, right? Well, unfortunately that wasn’t the case. The biggest deterring aspect going into Steve Jobs was the notion of Michael Fassbender playing him. It’s obvious that Fassbender looks and sounds nothing like Steve Jobs but this man cooked up the best performance that he’s ever given and he surrounds himself with a great ensemble and one a clean and tight script from Aaron Sorkin. Steve Jobs is an exceptionally made biopic that captures everything that we needed to know about who Jobs was as a human and as a genius.
#9 DREDD (2012)
(Budget: $50 million. Worldwide: $41 million. Opening weekend: $6.2 million)
We live in a time where comic-book/superhero movies are the king at the box-office no matter how much of a colossal disaster The Flash or Shazam 2 were. Some might argue that there’s comic-book movie fatigue, instead I think there’s mediocrity fatigue within the genre and like many other genres. But if there’s one superhero movie that has built the reputation that it should have received when it first came out in the fall 2012 is the folk Dredd. They first tired Judge Dredd movies in 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone and to say it killed the potential of doing anymore of these movies is an understatement. Then nearly 20 years later they rebooted the brand with an entirely new cast in hopes that they could find success with a new and an inexpensive Dredd movie. Dredd was a major flop at the box-office and the underrated status of this film has changed drastically and has now become beloved and widely popular. If you’re looking for a raw, brutal and visceral superhero movie where Karl Urban gets his hands dirty, then Dredd is perfect for you.
#8 SILENCE (2016)
(Budget: $40-50 million. Worldwide: $23.8 million. Opening weekend: $130K)
Martin Scorsese spent approximately 25 years to get this project made and the finally product is a haunting and cautionary tale about religious purging but its failure to be a box-office smash is not a shock at all for a variety of reasons. First, Scorsese doesn’t put butts in seats. The days where Martin Scorsese could sell a movie is long gone and as excited a many people are for Killers of the Flower Moon, it ain’t going to be eating up the box-office this fall. Secondly, this historical event is not something most people are familiar with at all and despite having Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Liam Neeson as the films leads it didn’t justify people to see it. Thirdly and maybe the most important point, biblical epics aren’t bankable anymore. It’s a pity that Scorsese had a passion project that he spent so much of his own blood, sweat and tears into this movie and if it had come out 30 years ago it probably would have been a bigger hit. It’s also a shame this movie got zero awards contention because the Academy usually loves the work of Martin Scorsese. Silence is maybe the most important film that Scorsese has to offer but in terms of its subject matter, it should be a required watch for everyone.
#7 SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE WORLD (2010)
(Budget: $60-85 million. Worldwide: $49.4 million. Opening weekend: $10.6 million.)
It’s a blessing that Edgar Wright finally got a box-office hit with 2017’s Baby Driver but his best film to date his forever been Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Like Dredd, Scott Pilgrim has a refreshing and very unique style on how it approaches its source material. It captures the spirit of the graphic novel and delivers on moments that will make fans of anime ecstatic. The other reason why Scott Pilgrim vs. the World works is that its focus on nerd culture is infused with a charismatic ensemble of performers that elevate the material. There’s tons of familiar faces in this and it’s a great action movie, but needless to say is that still never warranted a hit movie. The source material isn’t recognized by a lot of casual movie goers and maybe the name of Edgar Wright was only a name that die-hard cinephiles were aware of. Even the re-release of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World a few years ago didn’t spark any interest for people to revisit it or be introduced to it.
#6 THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES (2007)
(Budget: $30 million. Worldwide: $15 million. Opening weekend: $147k)
Some might place Unforgiven as the greatest western ever made and it would be a hard argument to fight against that. But The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has to at least be in the discussion. Westerns used to be the hottest genre around and nowadays we don’t many and when we do they just come and go. The Assassination of Jesse James is a slow and gripping western narrative that initiates a methodical and psychological approach to the Wild West and the characters. With such great and powerful source material, the movies reflection of America damages you and cuts you open like a knife. You’ve also gotta give a special shout out to Roger Deakins for his gorgeous cinematography and Nick Cave and Warren Ellis for their stellar music. Is it a shame it bombed? Absolutely. Is this the kind of movie that the majority of movie goers will eat up? Probably not.
#5 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (2005)
(Budget: $130 million. Worldwide: $218.1 million. Opening weekend: $19.6 million)
By far and away one of Ridley Scott’s most underrated movie that since the release of the directors cut, the movie has built a stronger and well rounded reputation. It’s very rare that a directors cut can fundamentally change your overall experience and perception of a movie and while the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven is good enough, the extended cut (45 minuets of new footage) diametrically changes everything about the movie in the best way possible. It’s arguably the most important and significant directors cut that exists because even people who criticized it have come around to it thanks to the extended release. The most frustrating aspect with this movie is that it was only a few years ago before the release of this movie where Ridley Scott had another swords and sandals movie that went on to win Best Picture and that movie was callee Gladiator. Black Hawk Down and Matchstick Men were certainly great movies but not box-office hits but Ridley Scott found a natural footing with historical epics and Kingdom of Heaven should have been a bigger hit or at least on par with the numbers that Gladiator made. There’s tons off filmmaking aspects in Kingdom of Heaven that have stood the test of time but if only that was the case back in 2005.
#4 BLADE RUNNER 2049 (2017)
(Budget: $150 million. Worldwide: $267.7 million. Opening weekend: $32.7 million)
The first Blade Runner was way ahead of its time and it was a major money loser and it wasn’t well liked at the time. It’s now held as one of the greatest science-fiction movies ever made and talks of a sequel have been in the talks long before the release of Blade Runner 2049. Most people agree that this is a terrific sequel but the notion of green lighting a sequel to a cult classic is a bit perplexing. Plus, giving Denis Villeneuve this much money with a track record that doesn’t scream huge box-office numbers was also an odd choice. The other problem that Blade Runner 2049 had to deal with was the poor marketing. It didn’t tell its audience a single thing about its story but it sure did market how beautiful the movie looks. Fans of the original were going to see it no matter what and despite having Ryan Gosling as the lead and bringing back Harrison Ford, none of it cooked up an appetite for the general public to see it immediately. It’s already destined to be a classic within the genre of science fiction and yes while it made over $267 million, you have to think of marketing costs and the budget alone and that’s not enough to warrant a profit.
#3 THE IRON GIANT (1999)
(Budget: $70 million. Worldwide: $23.5 million. Opening weekend: $5.7 million)
When the name Brad Bird comes to mind, we automatically link his name to The Incredibles, Ratatouille or even Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol. But we can never forget about Brad Bird’s directorial debut with the release of 1999s The Iron Giant. Based on the 1968 novel The Iron Man (which was then later as The Iron Giant), tells a story about a young boy who befriends a 50 foot giant alien robot during the 1950s when the Cold War was happening. It acts as a wonderful and insightful kids movie but can also be a cautionary tale about nuclear warfare. The style of animation is one that generally is on par with the Warner Bros. other animated movies and it’s based on a popular children’s book. The only thing that wasn’t in The Iron Giant’s favor was going up against animated films that might be more heavily discussed, such as Toy Story 2, Tarzan or South Park Bigger Longer and Uncut. It’s a great film that still holds up and the generation that grew up int it will always cherish it.
#2 THE MAN FROM U.N.C.LE. (2015)
(Budget: $75 million. Worldwide: $107 million. Opening weekend: $13.4 million)
Guy Ritchie is one of the best directors in the business and even if his movies don’t generate a lot of money it’s great that he still gets to get more work because he’s consistently delivering quality after quality. He’s got a plethora of stylish movies that retain his style but can still be fun and quippy movies on their own terms. The Man from U.N.C.L.E. had so much potential, despite the development hiatus it had to endure. It’s based off of a popular TV show and the concert seemed to fit right in line with how Guy Ritchie directs his movies. In a way, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was Guy Ritchie attempting to make his own Bond film by playing in the spy genre by giving it his own flavor. Pairing up Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer seemed to look promising in the trailers and having the charismatic Hugh Grant pop up has to be worth every cent. But whenever you get a mid August release, you really can’t guarantee a huge it on your hands because that’s typically when people don’t go out to the movies as much because school is usually starting back up. It’s a shame but no matter when this movie came out it was never going to be a hit.
#1 JOHN CARTER (2012)
(Budget: $250 million. Worldwide: $284.1 million. Opening weekend: $30.1 million)
It’s abundantly obvious how much Disney dropped the ball with how they handled John Carter. I’m not necessarily calling John Carter the best movie on this list but perhaps one of the most underrated movies of its kind. When it primarily comes down to pure science-fiction movies, John Carter is one of the best ever. The movie went through some serious development issues and finally saw the light of day in the spring of 2012 and ended up becoming of the biggest box-office bombs in cinematic history. It’s aged like fine wine since its release and knowing we’ll never revisit this world again (unless it gets rebooted again down the road), we need to seriously cherish and praise this movie for its science-fiction glory.
Zane's take at the Cinema's 