List of biggest box-office bombs

In the film and media industry, if a film released in theatres fails to break even by a large amount, it is considered a box-office bomb (or box-office flop), thus losing money for the distributor, studio, and/or production company that invested in it. Due to the secrecy surrounding costs and profit margins in the film industry, figures of losses are usually rough estimates at best, and there are often conflicting estimates over how much a film has lost. To accommodate this uncertainty, the losses are presented as ranges where this is the case, and the list is ordered alphabetically in the absence of a definitive order. Because the films on the list have been released over a large span of time, currency inflation is a material factor, so losses are adjusted for inflation using the United States Consumer Price Index to enable comparison at equivalent purchasing power.

Some films on this list grossed more than their production budgets yet are still regarded as flops. This can be due to Hollywood accounting practices that manipulate profits or keep costs secret to circumvent profit-sharing agreements,^[1] but it is also possible for films to lose money legitimately even when the theatrical gross exceeds the budget. This is because a distributor does not collect the full gross, and the full cost of a film can substantially exceed its production budget once distribution and marketing are taken into account. For example, tax filings in 2010 for Cinemark Theatres show that only 54.5 percent of ticket revenues went to the distributor, with the exhibitor retaining the rest. While the distributor's cut will vary from film to film, a Hollywood studio will typically collect half the gross in the United States and less in other parts of the world. Marketing often represents a substantial share of the overall cost of the picture too: for a film with an average sized budget the promotion and advertising costs are typically half that of the production budget, and in the case of smaller films it is not unusual for the cost of the marketing to be higher than the production budget.^[2] In some cases, a company can make profits from a box-office bomb when ancillary revenues are taken into account, such as streaming, home media sales and rentals, television broadcast rights, and licensing fees, so a film that loses money at the box office can still eventually break even.^[3]

There are some films notorious for large production budgets and widely seen as box-office bombs that have either broken even or turned a profit. Cleopatra nearly bankrupted 20th Century Fox with production and marketing costs of US$44 million and numerous delays.^[4][5] It was among the top ten films of the 1960s,^[6] but still failed to recoup its investment during its theatrical release.^[4] It eventually broke even in 1966 when Fox sold the television broadcast rights to ABC for $5 million.^[7] The total costs for Waterworld (1995) exceeded $300 million and it was perceived as a disaster at the time, despite grossing $264 million worldwide. It also eventually broke even through other revenue streams.^[8][9] Such films are still cited as high-risk examples in evaluating the prospects of future productions.^[8] For example, Cleopatra is blamed for a decline in big-budget epic films in the 1960s.^[10]

The COVID-19 pandemic, starting around March 2020, caused temporary closure of movie theatres, and distributors moved several films to premier to streaming services such as HBO Max, Disney+, and Peacock with little to no box-office takes. While these films may have had successful runs on these services, the viewership or revenue from these showings are typically not reported and excluded from the box office. As a result, several films from 2020 to 2022 are included on this list, despite potentially having been profitable for their studios through streaming.^[11]

Biggest box-office bombs

The following is a partial list of films that lost the most money, based on documented losses or estimated by expert analysis of various financial factors such as the production budget, marketing and distribution costs, gross box-office receipts and other ancillary revenues. The list is limited to films that are potentially among the highest box-office losses, adjusted for inflation (approximately upper-bound losses of $100 million or higher as of 2024^[update]).

  † Background shading indicates films playing in the week commencing 1 May 2025 in theaters around the world.

§ indicates a film released for streaming less than 30 days after it was released theatrically.

Biggest box-office bombs

Title	Year	Net production budget (millions)	Worldwide gross (millions)	Estimated loss (millions)		Ref.
				Nominal	Adjusted for inflation	[nb 1]
The 13th Warrior	1999	$100–160	$61.7	$69–129	$130–243	[# 1]
The 355	2022	$40–75	$27.7	$93	$100	[# 2]
47 Ronin	2013	$175–225	$151.8	$96	$130	[# 3]
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	1988	$46.6	$8.1	$38.5	$102	[# 4]
The Adventures of Pluto Nash	2002	$100	$7.1	$96	$168	[# 5]
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle	2000	$76–98.6	$35.1	$63.5	$116	[# 6]
The Alamo	2004	$107	$25.8	$94	$156	[# 7]
Alexander	2004	$155	$167.3	$71	$118	[# 8]
Ali	2001	$107	$87.7	$63	$112	[# 9]
Allied	2016	$85	$118.6	$75–90	$98–118	[# 10]
Amsterdam	2022	$80	$31.2	$108	$116	[# 11]
Around the World in 80 Days	2004	$110	$72.2	$74	$123	[# 12]
The Astronaut's Wife	1999	$75	$19.6	$65	$123	[# 13]
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever	2002	$70	$19.9	$70.1	$123	[# 14]
Battlefield Earth	2000	$73–103	$29.7	$73.3	$134	[# 15]
Battleship	2012	$209–220	$303	$58–150	$79–205	[# 16]
Beloved	1998	$80	$22.9	$68.5	$132	[# 17]
Ben-Hur	2016	$100	$94.1	$75–120	$98–157	[# 18]
The BFG	2016	$140	$179.6	$71–100	$93–131	[# 19]
Black Adam	2022	$190–260	$393	$50–100	$54–107	[# 20]
Blackhat	2015	$70	$19.7	$68–90	$90–119	[# 21]
Blade Runner 2049	2017	$150–185	$260.5	$80	$103	[# 22]
The Call of the Wild	2020	$125–150	$107.6	$50–100	$61–121	[# 23]
Cats	2019	$90–100	$73.7	$71–113.6	$87–140	[# 24]
Chaos Walking	2021	$100	$26.5	$112	$130	[# 25]
Chill Factor	1999	$34–70	$11.8	$64	$121	[# 26]
A Christmas Carol	2009	$175–200	$325.3	$50–100	$73–147	[# 27]
The Chronicles of Riddick	2004	$105–120	$115.8	$47–73	$78–122	[# 28]
Cowboys & Aliens	2011	$163	$174.8	$63–75	$88–105	[# 29]
Cutthroat Island [nb 2]	1995	$98	$18.3	$105	$217	[# 30]
Dark Phoenix	2019	$200	$252.4	$79–133	$99–167	[# 31]
Deepwater Horizon	2016	$110–120	$119.5	$60–113	$79–148	[# 32]
Devotion	2022	$90	$21.8	$89–104	$96–112	[# 33]
Doctor Dolittle	1967	$17	$9	$10.8	$102	[# 34]
Dolittle	2020	$175	$227.9	$50–100	$61–121	[# 35]
Driven	2001	$94	$54.7	$67	$119	[# 36]
Dudley Do-Right	1999	$70	$10	$65	$123	[# 37]
Evan Almighty	2007	$175	$173.4	$87	$132	[# 38]
The Fall of the Roman Empire	1964	$18.4	$4.8	$14.3	$145	[# 39]
Fantastic Four	2015	$120–125	$168	$80–100	$106–133	[# 40]
Fathers' Day	1997	$85	$35.7	$67	$131	[# 41]
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within	2001	$137	$85.1	$94	$167	[# 42]
The Flash	2023	$200	$271.3	$155	$160	[# 43]
Flushed Away	2006	$149	$178.3	$109	$170	[# 44]
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	2024	$168	$174.2	$119.6	$120	[# 45]
Gemini Man	2019	$138	$173.5	$111.1	$137	[# 46]
Ghost in the Shell	2017	$110–180	$169.8	$60–100	$77–128	[# 47]
Gigli	2003	$75.6	$7.3	$72	$123	[# 48]
Gods of Egypt	2016	$140	$150.7	$76–90	$100–118	[# 49]
The Good Dinosaur	2015	$175–200	$332.2	$85	$113	[# 50]
The Great Raid	2005	$80	$10.8	$75	$121	[# 51]
Green Lantern	2011	$200	$219.9	$75–90	$105–126	[# 52]
Hard Rain	1998	$70	$19.9	$60	$116	[# 53]
Hart's War	2002	$70–95	$32.3	$62.7	$110	[# 54]
Haunted Mansion	2023	$150	$117.4	$117–126	$121–130	[# 55]
Heaven's Gate	1980	$44	$3.5	$40.5	$155	[# 56]
Home on the Range	2004	$110	$76.5	$71.8	$120	[# 57]
How Do You Know	2010	$100	$48.7	$104	$150	[# 58]
Hudson Hawk	1991	$65	$17.2	$47.8	$110	[# 59]
Hugo	2011	$150–170	$185.8	$91	$127	[# 60]
Inchon	1981	$46	$5.2	$40.8	$141	[# 61]
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	2023	$326	$384	$137–143	$141–148	[# 62]
Instinct	1999	$80	$34.1	$63	$119	[# 63]
The Invasion	2007	$80	$40	$71	$108	[# 64]
Ishtar	1987	$51–55	$14.4	$40.6	$112	[# 65]
Jack Frost	1998	$40–85	$34.6	$68	$131	[# 66]
Jack the Giant Slayer	2013	$185–200	$197.7	$103	$139	[# 67]
John Carter	2012	$263.7	$284.1	$112–200	$153–274	[# 68]
Joker: Folie à Deux	2024	$190–200	$206.4	$144.3	$144	[# 69]
Jungle Cruise §	2021	$200	$220.9	$150	$174	[# 70]
Jupiter Ascending	2015	$175	$184	$95–120	$126–159	[# 71]
K-19: The Widowmaker	2002	$100	$65.7	$67	$117	[# 72]
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword	2017	$175	$148.7	$112–153.2	$144–197	[# 73]
Krull	1983	$27	$16.5	$33.5	$106	[# 74]
The Last Duel	2021	$100	$30.6	$99	$115	[# 75]
Lightyear	2022	$200	$226.4	$106–122	$114–131	[# 76]
Lolita	1997	$62	$1.1	$61	$119	[# 77]
The Lone Ranger	2013	$225–250	$260.5	$160–190	$216–256	[# 78]
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	2015	$75	$109.8	$80	$106	[# 79]
Mars Needs Moms	2011	$150	$39	$100–144	$140–201	[# 80]
The Marvels	2023	$270	$206.1	$199–237	$205–245	[# 81]
The Matrix Resurrections §	2021	$190	$156.5	$130	$151	[# 82]
Missing Link	2019	$102.3	$26.2	$101.3	$125	[# 83]
Monkeybone	2001	$75	$7.6	$71	$126	[# 84]
Monster Trucks	2016	$125	$64.5	$108–123.1	$141–161	[# 85]
Moonfall	2022	$138	$67.3	$138	$148	[# 86]
Mortal Engines	2018	$110	$83.7	$174.8	$219	[# 87]
Mulan §	2020	$200	$66.8	$141	$171	[# 88]
The Mummy	2017	$195	$410	$60–95	$77–122	[# 89]
The New Mutants	2020	$67–80	$49.2	$84	$102	[# 90]
The Nutcracker in 3D	2010	$90	$20.5	$82	$118	[# 91]
Onward §	2020	$175–200	$142	$130	$158	[# 92]
Osmosis Jones	2001	$70	$14	$63	$112	[# 93]
Pan	2015	$150	$128.4	$86–150	$114–199	[# 94]
Peter Pan	2003	$130.6	$122	$70	$120	[# 95]
Poseidon	2006	$160	$181.7	$83	$129	[# 96]
The Postman	1997	$80	$20.8	$70	$137	[# 97]
The Promise	2016	$90	$10.6	$93–102.1	$122–134	[# 98]
R.I.P.D.	2013	$130–154	$78.3	$92	$124	[# 99]
Red Planet	2000	$80	$33.5	$63	$115	[# 100]
Rise of the Guardians	2012	$145	$306.9	$87	$119	[# 101]
Robin Hood	2018	$100	$85.7	$83.7	$105	[# 102]
Sahara	2005	$160	$119.2	$78.4	$126	[# 103]
Seventh Son	2014	$95	$114.2	$85	$113	[# 104]
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas	2003	$60	$80.8	$125	$214	[# 105]
Snake Eyes	2021	$88–110	$40.1	$88	$102	[# 106]
Soldier	1998	$60–75	$14.6	$60	$116	[# 107]
Solo: A Star Wars Story	2018	$250	$393.2	$76–123	$96–154	[# 108]
Son of the Mask	2005	$100	$59.9	$70	$113	[# 109]
Soul §	2020	$150	$122	$134	$163	[# 110]
A Sound of Thunder	2005	$80	$11.7	$74	$119	[# 111]
Space Jam: A New Legacy §	2021	$150	$162.9	$111	$129	[# 112]
Speed Racer	2008	$120	$93.9	$88	$129	[# 113]
Sphere	1998	$73–80	$50.2	$61	$118	[# 114]
Stealth	2005	$135	$79.3	$96	$155	[# 115]
Strange World	2022	$180	$73.6	$178–197	$191–212	[# 116]
The Suicide Squad §	2021	$185	$167.4	$119	$138	[# 117]
Supernova	2000	$90	$14.8	$83	$152	[# 118]
Tenet	2020	$200	$363.7	$50–100	$61–121	[# 119]
Terminator: Dark Fate	2019	$185–196	$261.1	$110–130	$135–160	[# 120]
Timeline	2003	$80	$26.7	$66.6	$114	[# 121]
Titan A.E.	2000	$75–90	$36.8	$100	$183	[# 122]
Tomorrowland	2015	$180–190	$209	$90–150	$119–199	[# 123]
Town & Country	2001	$90	$10.4	$85	$151	[# 124]
Transformers: The Last Knight	2017	$217–260	$605.4	$100+	$128+	[# 125]
Treasure Planet	2002	$140	$109.6	$85	$149	[# 126]
Turning Red §	2022	$175	$19.8	$173	$186	[# 127]
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	2017	$177.2–180	$225.9	$82	$105	[# 128]
West Side Story	2021	$100	$76	$104	$121	[# 129]
Wild Wild West	1999	$170	$217.7	$66.2	$125	[# 130]
Windtalkers	2002	$115–120	$77.6	$76–81	$133–142	[# 131]
Wish	2023	$200	$254.9	$119–131	$123–135	[# 132]
The Wolfman	2010	$150	$139.8	$76	$110	[# 133]
Wonder Woman 1984 §	2020	$200	$166.5	$100–135	$121–164	[# 134]
A Wrinkle in Time	2018	$125	$133.2	$130.6	$164	[# 135]
xXx: State of the Union	2005	$113.1	$71	$78	$126	[# 136]
Zoom	2006	$75.6	$12.5	$69	$108	[# 137]

See also

• Film portal
• Lists portal

• List of films considered the worst
• Lists of highest-grossing films
  • List of highest-grossing films
• List of commercial failures in video games

Notes

1. 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
2. Cutthroat Island was once listed as having the "largest box office loss" by Guinness World Records^[12][13] but the category has since been retired.