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, 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. 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.

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. It was among the top ten films of the 1960s, but still failed to recoup its investment during its theatrical release. It eventually broke even in 1966 when Fox sold the television broadcast rights to ABC for $5 million. 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. Such films are still cited as high-risk examples in evaluating the prospects of future productions. For example, Cleopatra is blamed for a decline in big-budget epic films in the 1960s.

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.

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 13 February 2026 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)
Title	Year	Net production budget (millions)	Worldwide gross (millions)	Nominal	Adjusted for inflation
The 13th Warrior	1999	$100–160	$61.7	$69–129	$130–243
The 355	2022	$40–75	$27.7	$93	$100
47 Ronin	2013	$175–225	$151.8	$96	$130
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen	1988	$46.6	$8.1	$38.5	$102
The Adventures of Pluto Nash	2002	$100	$7.1	$96	$168
The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle	2000	$76–98.6	$35.1	$63.5	$116
The Alamo	2004	$107	$25.8	$94	$156
Alexander	2004	$155	$167.3	$71	$118
Ali	2001	$107	$87.7	$63	$112
Allied	2016	$85	$118.6	$75–90	$98–118
Amsterdam	2022	$80	$31.2	$108	$116
Around the World in 80 Days	2004	$110	$72.2	$74	$123
The Astronaut's Wife	1999	$75	$19.6	$65	$123
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever	2002	$70	$19.9	$70.1	$123
Battlefield Earth	2000	$73–103	$29.7	$73.3	$134
Battleship	2012	$209–220	$303	$58–150	$79–205
Beloved	1998	$80	$22.9	$68.5	$132
Ben-Hur	2016	$100	$94.1	$75–120	$98–157
The BFG	2016	$140	$179.6	$71–100	$93–131
Black Adam	2022	$190–260	$393	$50–100	$54–107
Blackhat	2015	$70	$19.7	$68–90	$90–119
Blade Runner 2049	2017	$150–185	$260.5	$80	$103
The Call of the Wild	2020	$125–150	$107.6	$50–100	$61–121
Cats	2019	$90–100	$73.7	$71–113.6	$87–140
Chaos Walking	2021	$100	$26.5	$112	$130
Chill Factor	1999	$34–70	$11.8	$64	$121
A Christmas Carol	2009	$175–200	$325.3	$50–100	$73–147
The Chronicles of Riddick	2004	$105–120	$115.8	$47–73	$78–122
Cowboys & Aliens	2011	$163	$174.8	$63–75	$88–105
Cutthroat Island	1995	$98	$18.3	$105	$217
Dark Phoenix	2019	$200	$252.4	$79–133	$99–167
Deepwater Horizon	2016	$110–120	$119.5	$60–113	$79–148
Devotion	2022	$90	$21.8	$89–104	$96–112
Doctor Dolittle	1967	$17	$9	$10.8	$102
Dolittle	2020	$175	$227.9	$50–100	$61–121
Driven	2001	$94	$54.7	$67	$119
Dudley Do-Right	1999	$70	$10	$65	$123
Evan Almighty	2007	$175	$173.4	$87	$132
The Fall of the Roman Empire	1964	$18.4	$4.8	$14.3	$145
Fantastic Four	2015	$120–125	$168	$80–100	$106–133
Fathers' Day	1997	$85	$35.7	$67	$131
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within	2001	$137	$85.1	$94	$167
The Flash	2023	$200	$271.3	$155	$160
Flushed Away	2006	$149	$178.3	$109	$170
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga	2024	$168	$174.2	$119.6	$120
Gemini Man	2019	$138	$173.5	$111.1	$137
Ghost in the Shell	2017	$110–180	$169.8	$60–100	$77–128
Gigli	2003	$75.6	$7.3	$72	$123
Gods of Egypt	2016	$140	$150.7	$76–90	$100–118
The Good Dinosaur	2015	$175–200	$332.2	$85	$113
The Great Raid	2005	$80	$10.8	$75	$121
Green Lantern	2011	$200	$219.9	$75–90	$105–126
Hard Rain	1998	$70	$19.9	$60	$116
Hart's War	2002	$70–95	$32.3	$62.7	$110
Haunted Mansion	2023	$150	$117.4	$117–126	$121–130
Heaven's Gate	1980	$44	$3.5	$40.5	$155
Home on the Range	2004	$110	$76.5	$71.8	$120
How Do You Know	2010	$100	$48.7	$104	$150
Hudson Hawk	1991	$65	$17.2	$47.8	$110
Hugo	2011	$150–170	$185.8	$91	$127
Inchon	1981	$46	$5.2	$40.8	$141
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny	2023	$326	$384	$137–143	$141–148
Instinct	1999	$80	$34.1	$63	$119
The Invasion	2007	$80	$40	$71	$108
Ishtar	1987	$51–55	$14.4	$40.6	$112
Jack Frost	1998	$40–85	$34.6	$68	$131
Jack the Giant Slayer	2013	$185–200	$197.7	$103	$139
John Carter	2012	$263.7	$284.1	$112–200	$153–274
Joker: Folie à Deux	2024	$190–200	$206.4	$144.3	$144
Jungle Cruise §	2021	$200	$220.9	$150	$174
Jupiter Ascending	2015	$175	$184	$95–120	$126–159
K-19: The Widowmaker	2002	$100	$65.7	$67	$117
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword	2017	$175	$148.7	$112–153.2	$144–197
Krull	1983	$27	$16.5	$33.5	$106
The Last Duel	2021	$100	$30.6	$99	$115
Lightyear	2022	$200	$226.4	$106–122	$114–131
Lolita	1997	$62	$1.1	$61	$119
The Lone Ranger	2013	$225–250	$260.5	$160–190	$216–256
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.	2015	$75	$109.8	$80	$106
Mars Needs Moms	2011	$150	$39	$100–144	$140–201
The Marvels	2023	$270	$206.1	$199–237	$205–245
The Matrix Resurrections §	2021	$190	$156.5	$130	$151
Missing Link	2019	$102.3	$26.2	$101.3	$125
Monkeybone	2001	$75	$7.6	$71	$126
Monster Trucks	2016	$125	$64.5	$108–123.1	$141–161
Moonfall	2022	$138	$67.3	$138	$148
Mortal Engines	2018	$110	$83.7	$174.8	$219
Mulan §	2020	$200	$66.8	$141	$171
The Mummy	2017	$195	$410	$60–95	$77–122
The New Mutants	2020	$67–80	$49.2	$84	$102
The Nutcracker in 3D	2010	$90	$20.5	$82	$118
Onward §	2020	$175–200	$142	$130	$158
Osmosis Jones	2001	$70	$14	$63	$112
Pan	2015	$150	$128.4	$86–150	$114–199
Peter Pan	2003	$130.6	$122	$70	$120
Poseidon	2006	$160	$181.7	$83	$129
The Postman	1997	$80	$20.8	$70	$137
The Promise	2016	$90	$10.6	$93–102.1	$122–134
R.I.P.D.	2013	$130–154	$78.3	$92	$124
Red Planet	2000	$80	$33.5	$63	$115
Rise of the Guardians	2012	$145	$306.9	$87	$119
Robin Hood	2018	$100	$85.7	$83.7	$105
Sahara	2005	$160	$119.2	$78.4	$126
Seventh Son	2014	$95	$114.2	$85	$113
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas	2003	$60	$80.8	$125	$214
Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins	2021	$88–110	$40.1	$88	$102
Snow White	2025	$270	$205.2	$115	$115
Soldier	1998	$60–75	$14.6	$60	$116
Solo: A Star Wars Story	2018	$250	$393.2	$76–123	$96–154
Son of the Mask	2005	$100	$59.9	$70	$113
Soul §	2020	$150	$122	$134	$163
A Sound of Thunder	2005	$80	$11.7	$74	$119
Space Jam: A New Legacy §	2021	$150	$162.9	$111	$129
Speed Racer	2008	$120	$93.9	$88	$129
Sphere	1998	$73–80	$50.2	$61	$118
Stealth	2005	$135	$79.3	$96	$155
Strange World	2022	$180	$73.6	$178–197	$191–212
The Suicide Squad §	2021	$185	$167.4	$119	$138
Supernova	2000	$90	$14.8	$83	$152
Tenet	2020	$200	$363.7	$50–100	$61–121
Terminator: Dark Fate	2019	$185–196	$261.1	$110–130	$135–160
Timeline	2003	$80	$26.7	$66.6	$114
Titan A.E.	2000	$75–90	$36.8	$100	$183
Tomorrowland	2015	$180–190	$209	$90–150	$119–199
Town & Country	2001	$90	$10.4	$85	$151
Transformers: The Last Knight	2017	$217–260	$605.4	$100+	$128+
Treasure Planet	2002	$140	$109.6	$85	$149
Tron: Ares	2025	$220	$142.2	$132.7	$133
Turning Red §	2022	$175	$19.8	$173	$186
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets	2017	$177.2–180	$225.9	$82	$105
West Side Story	2021	$100	$76	$104	$121
Wild Wild West	1999	$170	$217.7	$66.2	$125
Windtalkers	2002	$115–120	$77.6	$76–81	$133–142
Wish	2023	$200	$254.9	$119–131	$123–135
The Wolfman	2010	$150	$139.8	$76	$110
Wonder Woman 1984 §	2020	$200	$166.5	$100–135	$121–164
A Wrinkle in Time	2018	$125	$133.2	$130.6	$164
xXx: State of the Union	2005	$113.1	$71	$78	$126
Zoom	2006	$75.6	$12.5	$69	$108

Biggest box-office bombs

See also