As a film critic with over two decades of experience under my belt, I must say that these three cinematic missteps are as memorable for their financial flops as they are for their creative shortcomings.
Many movies carry eye-watering production costs, with Hollywood studios investing colossal sums – often hundreds of millions – in their cinematic ventures. Their aim is to create the most awe-inspiring spectacles, which in turn attract high-profile actors and provide resources such as CGI, superior sets, location filming, marketing, advertising, and a myriad other necessities.
Occasionally, the risk doesn’t yield a profitable return. Movies flop dramatically, missing their projected earnings and becoming disappointments instead of blockbusters. The producers often end up losing substantial amounts of money – sometimes even as much as they initially invested. It could be that the film was universally panned by critics and failed to connect with viewers. Alternatively, its commercial failure might have been due to poor timing or factors beyond anyone’s control. No matter the reason, here are the biggest box office flops from each year of the 2000s.
10 Titan A.E. (2000)
Titan A.E. is often overlooked among animated films due to its relatively low viewership. This is a movie set in the 3000s where Earth has been destroyed, and a young man embarks on a mission to save humanity by protecting the colossal spaceship Titan, capable of creating a new planet. The film boasts an impressive cast including Matt Damon, Bill Pullman, John Leguizamo, Nathan Lane, and Drew Barrymore.
Titan A.E. Sinks at the Box Office
Titan A.E. garnered acclaim for its striking visuals, blending classic, hand-drawn 2D animation with modern 3D computer graphics. However, these stunning visuals could not mask the movie’s unremarkable plot. Unfortunately, Titan A.E. flopped at the box office, earning just $36.8 million compared to a production budget that varied between $75 and $90 million. The film is estimated to have lost around $100 million, which equates to approximately $177 million in 2024. This commercial failure led to the closure of Fox Animation Studios, the studio responsible for its creation, only ten days after its release.
9 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
As a seasoned movie critic, I must admit that video game adaptations in Hollywood haven’t exactly set the world on fire. And sadly, “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” is one of those unfortunate flops. This animated sci-fi flick hails from the wildly popular video game series, “Final Fantasy.” Intriguingly, it was helmed by none other than Hironobu Sakaguchi, the franchise’s very own creator. A stellar cast graced this film with their voices, including heavyweights like Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, James Woods, and Steve Buscemi.
Initially, the movie “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” struggled with identifying its target demographic. At that time, the majority of animated films were catered towards children. However, the most significant challenge it faced was its exorbitant production cost.
Set Up for Failure by an Enormous Budget
Using state-of-the-art technology, Square Pictures crafted the visual effects and animations for the movie, making “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” the pioneer of photorealistic computer-animated feature films. However, this cutting-edge process significantly increased the film’s production costs, making it the most expensive video game adaptation at the time. Its astronomical budget – $137 million in 2001 or roughly $214 million in 2023 – set up “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within” for box office disappointment. It only managed to earn $85 million globally, resulting in a loss of $94 million, or approximately $162 million when inflation is considered, which ultimately led to Square Pictures’ closure.
8 The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Legendary comedian Eddie Murphy has starred in numerous amusing and memorable films throughout his career. However, “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” is definitely not one of them. This science fiction film takes place on the moon in a future society, but unfortunately, the blend of action and humor in “The Adventures of Pluto Nash” does not work effectively.
One of Eddie Murphy’s Biggest Flops
Despite attempts for two additional weeks of filming, The Adventures of Pluto Nash couldn’t avoid both critical and financial flops. Instead, these reshoots increased the movie’s production cost to an astronomical $100 million, making its downfall even more inevitable. The film only grossed a dismal $7.1 million globally, leading to a massive loss of $96 million in 1999 (equivalent to around $163 million in 2024). Known as one of the worst films of the 2000s, it’s worth noting that Eddie Murphy had some success with the Shrek series during the same period to soften this box office blow.
7 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)
In the early 2000s, Dreamworks was making its mark in the animation industry with the success of their film Shrek. Soon after, they ventured into a different realm by producing Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, an adventure movie that opted for traditional 2D animation over modern 3D computer graphics. This film focuses on the legendary sailor Sinbad, and boasts a high-profile cast consisting of Brad Pitt, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
Its Failure Nearly Destroyed Dreamworks
At the point when this movie came out, there was a noticeable decrease in public enthusiasm for 2D animation, while 3D animation was swiftly growing in popularity, as demonstrated by the success of “Shrek.” Despite these trends, Dreamworks opted to disregard such statistics and proceed with the production of “Sinbad” regardless. Adding to its issues were some outdated stereotyping, an unimpressive plotline, and ultimately, a commercial flop was born. “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas” made $80 million at the box office against a production budget of $60 million – but don’t be fooled; this is far from profitable.
In summary, the movie “Sinbad” cost DreamWorks a staggering $125 million, or approximately $207 million in 2024. This massive loss came dangerously close to bankrupting the studio, overshadowing the immense triumph they achieved with Shrek. Since then, Dreamworks has exclusively focused on producing computer-animated films.
6 The Alamo (2004)
The film “Alamo,” set against the backdrop of the Texas Revolution and the Battle of the Alamo, boasted a stellar cast, including Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, and Patrick Wilson, and was produced by industry titans like Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. However, despite its impressive pedigree, “Alamo” failed to resonate with audiences and bombed at the box office. The movie also focuses on significant characters involved in this historic battle, such as the legendary Davy Crockett.
A Massacre at the Box Office
I followed the release of “The Alamo,” a film that was heavily criticized for its conventional and lackluster approach to war cinema. This criticism proved detrimental at the box office, as it failed miserably, earning only $25.8 million against a substantial budget of $107 million. The producers ended up losing approximately $94 million, which equates to an astounding $152 million in today’s value. Initially, the tagline was “You will never forget,” but regrettably for the producers, many people did.
5 Stealth (2005)
In the film titled “Stealth,” a trio of navy fighter pilots are handpicked for a clandestine military operation aimed at creating and honing an advanced robotic stealth aircraft. Essentially, it’s a tale that explores the challenges posed by artificial intelligence. Known as “Stealth,” this movie is a unique blend of science fiction and military narrative that seems even more pertinent in today’s world than it did back in 2005. However, it wasn’t its relevance that led to poor box office performance.
Crashing and Burning at the Box Office
Due to their focus on futuristic themes, science fiction films typically require larger budgets compared to dramas, and Stealth was no exception, boasting an impressive budget of around $135 million. This film was seen as a sci-fi spin-off of Top Gun, but unlike its predecessor, Stealth failed to capture the same level of success, generating only $79.3 million at the global box office. As a result, it incurred a significant loss of approximately $96 million, equivalent to around $150 million in 2024.
As a passionate cinephile, I’ve always been intrigued by the unconfirmed plans for turning that movie into a franchise. However, the studio cleverly hinted at this possibility through the post-credits scene where the AI was shown to be “active”. Needless to say, like Stealth, any sequel plans seem to have vanished into thin air.
4 Poseidon (2006)
The title of “Poseidon” may lead one to believe it’s an epic about Ancient Greek mythology, but that’s not the case. Instead, it tells the story of a glamorous ocean liner and its passengers on a transatlantic journey to New York, which takes a dramatic turn as they plunge into the ocean’s depths. This movie is based on Paul Gallico’s 1969 novel “The Poseidon Adventure,” and it happens to be the third film adaptation of the book. If you don’t recall this movie, there might be a reason for that.
Poseidon Sinks at the Box Office
The film Poseidon received criticism for being just another typical disaster movie, a poor imitation of the iconic Titanic. As you watch the ship tumble and sink in the vast ocean, it’s hard not to feel like you’ve seen this scenario play out before, only more effectively portrayed in a superior film. Much like the ship at its center, Poseidon flopped at the box office, earning $181.7 million against a production budget of $160 million. Despite this seeming like a modest profit, Poseidon ended up losing approximately $83 million, which equates to around $125 million in 2024.
3 Evan Almighty (2007)
The movie titled “Evan Almighty” is a follow-up to the popular comedy, “Bruce Almighty”. In this installment, the character once again encounters God (portrayed by Morgan Freeman), who had appeared in the original film. However, this time God requests Evan Baxter (played by Steve Carell) to construct an ark to avert an upcoming flood – a task reminiscent of the biblical figure Noah.
Evan Almighty Can’t Stay Afloat at the Box Office
Because of the immense success of “Bruce Almighty” and Steve Carell’s growing fame, Hollywood decided to give Carell’s character from the original movie his own standalone film. However, even divine intervention couldn’t save “Evan Almighty” from a tidal wave of negative reviews and poor box office performance. The film earned $174.4 million, but considering its staggering production cost of $175 million, it actually lost around $87 million, or approximately $128 million when accounting for inflation. It may appear that “Evan Almighty” at least covered its costs, but in reality, it suffered significant financial losses.
2 Speed Racer (2008)
In 2008, the film “Speed Racer” vividly adapts the renowned manga and anime series, offering a vibrant, fast-paced adventure. The story follows Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), who strives to claim the title of world racing champion. This cinematic experience is reminiscent of the breathtaking visuals that the Wachowskis, renowned from “The Matrix” films, can create. Regrettably, even the exceptional skills of the Wachowskis couldn’t prevent “Speed Racer” from veering off course.
Speed Racer Crashes and Burns
As a movie critic, I must admit that “Speed Racer” is an undeniably stunning visual experience. However, many critics found it excessively flashy and over-the-top, with concerns about whitewashing and excessive use of CGI. The film’s impressive cast and iconic brand couldn’t save it from a disastrous box office performance. “Speed Racer” failed to recoup its $120 million budget, incurring a loss of $88 million or approximately $125 million in today’s dollars for the studio.
1 A Christmas Carol (2009)
There have been numerous movie versions of Charles Dickens’ timeless holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. Two of these were produced by Disney: the 1983 release, Mickey’s Christmas Carol, and the 1992 film, The Muppet Christmas Carol. Despite having already made two versions, Disney decided to give it another try, resulting in the creation of the 2009 movie, A Christmas Carol. This was a motion capture animated film produced by ImageMovers Digital, a subsidiary of Disney. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis and featured comedy icon Jim Carrey as one of its stars.
“Bah, Humbug!”
Although the movie boasted stunning visuals, it didn’t offer anything particularly new about A Christmas Carol. In fact, it was a familiar tale that people had watched, in one shape or form, numerous times before. The film’s somber atmosphere also drew criticism. Ultimately, A Christmas Carol turned out to be a massive flop at the box office. It earned $325.3 million, but with production and marketing costs ranging from $175–200 million, Disney ended up losing an estimated $50–100 million. If you want to make things worse, they lost around $71-$142 million in today’s dollars by 2024.
As a result of the movie’s poor box office performance, Disney closed down ImageMovers Digital, and Mark Zoradi, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group and global marketing head, was compelled to step down.
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2024-10-27 04:32