Box office bomb

Financial success is one of the primary reasons that studios make movies. However not all films are guaranteed to be successful. A good indication of the success of a film is to look at the budget of the movie and then see what the gross income of that film was. Studios expect that a film's "domestic" (which the film industry defines as the United States and Canada) box office gross will exceed production costs.

If it recoups this cost, then it can be considered a success; otherwise, it is often referred to as a box office bomb. It should be noted that different genres of film are subject to different standards of success. For example, action movies typically have higher production and promotion costs than romance movies.

In the most dramatic cases, a single film's poor performance can push a studio into bankruptcy or equivalent financial ruin, as happened with United Artists (Heaven's Gate), Carolco Pictures (Cutthroat Island), and Squaresoft's Square Pictures (Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within).

Typically, the most notorious flops are summer blockbusters, which often entail huge costs to produce and face a highly competitive market, circumstances that can lead to enormous success or disastrous failure. Additionally, advertising costs are not included in a movie's production cost, and frequently make a bomb's failure all the more crushing for the studio.

An important consideration: many U.S. films make most of their profits through international distribution (as well years afterward as home video releases and sales to TV syndication). Because of this, many films considered flops in North America eventually make a profit for their studios when these factors are included.

Also the costs of marketing are excluded as well, and are generally range between $10,000,000 and $40,000,000 themselves, and should be remembered as well.

List of U.S. Box Office Bombs

0-9

102 Dalmatians (2000)
- Budget: $85,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $66,941,559

A

The Adventures of Baron Münchhausen (1988)
- Budget: $40,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $8,083,123

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
- Budget: $100,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $4,411,102

The Alamo (2004)
- Budget: $95,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $22,414,961

Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
- Budget: $110,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $23,640,798 (as of Aug 22, 2004)

The Avengers (2002)
- Budget: $60,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $23,322,832

B

2002)
- Budget: $70,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,294,842

Battlefield Earth (2000)
- Budget: $73,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $21,471,685
  - Worldwide gross: $29,725,663

C

The Cat in the Hat (2003)
- Budget: $109,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $100,446,895

Catwoman (2004)
- Budget: $100,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $38,664,407 (to date: Aug 20, 2004)

Chasing Liberty (2004)
- Budget: $23,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $12,195,626

The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
- Budget: $105,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $57,675,295 (to date: Aug 20, 2004)

Cleopatra (1963)
- Budget: $44,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $26,000,000

The Core (2003)
- Budget: $74,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $31,111,260

Cutthroat Island (1995)
- Budget: $92,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $11,000,000

D

Dungeons & Dragons (2000)
- Budget: $35,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $15,185,241

E

Enemy at the Gates (2001)
- Budget: $70,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $51,396,781

Envy (2004)
- Budget: $40,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $13,562,325 (as of Aug 22, 2004)

Event Horizon (1997)
- Budget: $60,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $26,616,590

Exorcist: The Beginning (2004)
- Budget: $40,000,000 (completed Paul Schrader version)
- Budget: $50,000,000 (reshot Renny Harlin version)
  - U.S. Gross: $18,175,000 (as of Aug 22, 2004)

F

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
- Budget: $137,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $32,131,830

From Justin to Kelly (2003)
- Budget: $12,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $4,922,166

The Four Feathers (2003)
- Budget: $80,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $18,306,166

G

Gigli (2003)
- Budget: $54,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $6,068,735

Glitter (2001)
- Budget: $22,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $4,273,372

Gods and Generals (2003)
- Budget: $56,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $13,006,000

H

Hart's War (2002)
- Budget: $70,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $19,076,815

Heaven's Gate (1980)
- Budget: $44,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $1,500,000

Hollywood Ending (2002)
- Budget: $16,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $4,839,383

Hudson Hawk (1991)
- Budget: $65,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $17,218,080

Hulk (2003)
- Budget: $137,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $132,177,234
  - Worldwide Gross: $113,107,712

I

Inchon! (1981)
- Budget: $46,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $5,200,986

Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
- Budget: $60,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $35,096,190

Ishtar (1987)
- Budget: $40,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,375,181

J

Jack Frost (1998)
- Budget: $50,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $34,545,030

Jakob the Liar (1999)
- Budget: $15,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $4,956,401

Jersey Girl (2004)
- Budget: $35,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $25,266,129

Josie and the Pussycats (2001)
- Budget: $22,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,252,830

Judge Dredd (1995)
- Budget: $90,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $34,694,000

K

K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
- Budget: $100,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $35,168,677

King Arthur (2004)
- Budget: $120,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $50,767,976 (to date: Aug 20, 2004)
  - Worldwide Gross: $71,143,000 (to date: Aug 20, 2004)

L

The Last Castle (2001)
- Budget: $60,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $18,208,078

Last Action Hero (1993)
- Budget: $60,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $50,016,394

Lost in Space (1998)
- Budget: $80,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $69,102,910

M

The Majestic (2001)
- Budget: $72,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $27,796,042

Man on the Moon (1999)
- Budget: $52,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $34,580,635

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
- Budget: $80,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $54,726,000 (as of Aug 22, 2004)

Meet Joe Black (1998)
- Budget: $90,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $44,606,335

Meet the Deedles (1996)
- Budget: $24,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $4,308,981

N

New York Minute (2004)
- Budget: $30,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,045,006

North (1994)
- Budget: $40,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $7,138,449

O

Osmosis Jones (2001)
- Budget: $75,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $13,596,911

P

The Postman (1997)
- Budget: $80,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $17,593,391

Q

R

Red Planet (2000)
- Budget: $75,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $17,473,245

Ride with the Devil (1999)
- Budget: $35,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $630,779

Rollerball (2002)
- Budget: $70,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $18,990,542

S

Solaris (2002)
- Budget: $47,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,970,038

Soldier (1998)
- Budget: $75,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,623,082

2002)
- Budget: $110,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $48,068,396

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
- Budget: $70,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $43,119,879

The Stupids (1996)
- Budget: $25,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $2,415,593

Swept Away (2002)
- Budget: $10,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $598,645

T

Thirteen Days (2000)
- Budget: $80,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $34,566,746

Thunderbirds (2004)
- Budget: $57,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $6,700,870 (to date: Aug 20, 2004)

Town & Country (2001)
- Budget: $90,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $6,712,451

Treasure Planet (2002)
- Budget: $140,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $38,120,554

Troy (2004)
- Budget: $175,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $133,032,837

U

U Turn (1997)
- Budget: $19,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $6,633,400

V

W

Welcome to Mooseport (2004)
- Budget: $26,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $14,470,947

Waterworld (1995)
- Budget: $175,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $88,246,220
  - Worldwide gross: $255,200,000

The Whole Ten Yards (2004)
- Budget: $40,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $16,323,969

Wild Wild West (1999)
- Budget: $170,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $113,745,408

Wing Commander (1999)
- Budget: $30,000,000
  - U.S. Gross: $11,576,087

X

Y

Z

See Also


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