Most of the movies on this list from the outset had no chance of making any kind of money because well lets face it -- they sucked! Mars Needs Moms on the other hand had the kiddie audience to appease to and still failed miserably. That says a lot more about the people behind these films than the films themselves.
I'm pretty sure the studio execs that get paid these tremendous salaries believe they are the smartest people in the room but us moviegoers are a lot smarter than we're given credit for. When it comes to actually paying for our movie-going experience we avoided these list of films at all costs and I think that makes us pretty damn smart if you ask me.
So enough with my rambling. On to the list shall we...
BOX OFFICE BOMBS
Film | Year | Total cost (production + marketing) (USD) | Worldwide theater gross (USD) | Net losses (USD) | Net losses inflation adjusted (2008 USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cutthroat Island | 1995 | 115,000,000 | 10,017,322 | -104,982,678 | -146,947,958 |
| The Alamo | 2004 | 145,000,000 | 25,819,961 | -119,180,039 | -134,784,016 |
| The Adventures of Pluto Nash | 2002 | 120,000,000 | 7,103,973 | -112,896,027 | -134,396,524 |
| Sahara | 2005 | 241,000,000 | 119,269,486 | -121,730,514 | -133,141,605 |
| The 13th Warrior | 1999 | 160,000,000 | 61,698,899 | -98,301,101 | -125,887,312 |
| Town & Country | 2001 | 105,000,000 | 10,372,291 | -94,627,709 | -115,352,672 |
| Speed Racer | 2008 | 200,000,000 | 93,945,766 | -106,054,254 | -106,054,254 |
| Heaven's Gate | 1980 | 44,000,000* | 3,484,331 | -40,515,669 | -104,542,449 |
| Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within | 2001 | 167,000,000 | 85,131,830 | -81,868,170 | -99,798,592 |
| How Do You Know | 2010 | 120,000,000 | 42,861,997 | -77,138,003 | -77,138,003 |
| Inchon | 1982 | 46,000,000* | 5,200,986 | -40,799,014 | -89,870,942 |
| The Nutcracker in 3D | 2010 | 90,000,000 | 234,928 | -89,765,072 | -89,765,072 |
| Treasure Planet | 2002 | 180,000,000 | 109,578,115 | -70,421,885 | -83,833,389 |
| The Postman | 1997 | 80,000,000* | 17,626,234 | -62,373,766 | -83,346,947 |
| Red Planet | 2000 | 100,000,000 | 33,463,969 | -66,536,031 | -82,406,208 |
| Soldier | 1998 | 75,000,000* | 15,000,000 | -60,000,000 | -78,912,404 |
| Gigli | 2003 | 74,000,000 | 7,266,209 | -66,733,791 | -77,961,644 |
| Around the World in 80 Days | 2004 | 140,000,000 | 72,178,895 | -67,821,105 | -76,700,771 |
| Ishtar | 1987 | 55,000,000* | 14,375,181 | -40,624,819 | -76,015,712 |
| A Sound of Thunder | 2005 | 80,000,000* | 11,665,465 | -68,334,535 | -74,740,255 |
| Hart's War | 2002 | 95,000,000 | 32,287,044 | -62,712,956 | -74,656,332 |
| Hudson Hawk | 1991 | 65,000,000* | 17,218,080 | -47,781,920 | -74,619,989 |
| Adventures of Baron Munchausen | 1988 | 46,630,000* | 8,083,123 | -38,546,877 | -69,286,783 |
| Stealth | 2005 | 138,000,000* | 76,932,872 | -61,067,128 | -66,791,597 |
| Rollerball | 2002 | 70,000,000* | 18,990,798 | -51,009,202 | -60,723,655 |
| Catwoman | 2004 | 135,000,000 | 82,102,379 | -52,897,621 | -59,823,389 |
| Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever | 2002 | 70,000,000* | 19,924,033 | -50,075,967 | -59,612,690 |
| The Scarlet Letter | 1995 | 50,000,000 | 10,382,407 | -39,617,593 | -55,454,143 |
| Gods and Generals | 2003 | 60,000,000* | 12,923,936 | -47,076,064 | -54,996,536 |
| The Last Castle | 2001 | 72,000,000* | 27,642,707 | -44,357,293 | -54,072,241 |
| Battlefield Earth | 2000 | 73,000,000* | 29,725,663 | -43,274,337 | -53,596,134 |
| The Bonfire of the Vanities | 1990 | 47,000,000* | 15,691,192 | -31,308,808 | -50,947,847 |
| Nothing but Trouble | 1991 | 40,000,000* | 8,479,793 | -31,520,207 | -49,224,424 |
| All the King's Men | 2006 | 55,000,000* | 9,450,897 | -45,549,103 | -48,603,808 |
| The Avengers | 1998 | 60,000,000* | 23,384,939 | -36,615,061 | -48,156,375 |
| Son of the Mask | 2005 | 100,000,000 | 57,552,641 | -42,447,359 | -46,426,400 |
| Money Train | 1995 | 68,000,000 | 35,431,113 | -32,568,887 | -45,587,820 |
| Windtalkers | 2002 | 115,000,000* | 77,628,265 | -37,371,735 | -44,488,999 |
| Man on the Moon | 1999 | 82,000,000* | 47,434,430 | -34,565,570 | -44,265,696 |
| The Majestic | 2001 | 72,000,000* | 37,317,558 | -34,682,442 | -42,278,444 |
| Timeline | 2003 | 80,000,000* | 43,935,763 | -36,064,237 | -42,131,987 |
| K-19: The Widowmaker | 2002 | 100,000,000* | 65,716,126 | -34,283,874 | -40,813,070 |
| Delgo | 2008 | 40,000,000* | 694,782 | -39,305,218 | -39,305,218 |
| City of Ember | 2008 | 55,000,000 | 17,929,684 | -37,070,316 | -37,070,316 |
| Jonah Hex | 2010 | 47,000,000* | 10,903,312 | -36,452,283 | -36,452,283 |
| Mars Needs Moms | 2011 | 150,000,000* | 9,014,488 | -100,000,000 | -100,000,000 |
Source: Wikipedia
Failure at the box office doesn't necessarily mean the film is bad, taking the metrics of dollars at theaters, during theatrical release time is only one measurement. What is the best way to account for DVD and Blu-ray sales, video rentals and fees paid by TV stations or TV networks to show these loosers? Taking a look at the list above shows films that bombed financially but, after repeated exposure have become in many peoples minds, classics.
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