Now here’s a movie that bombed so badly that MGM fired its president of worldwide marketing and distribution. It also pushed MGM’s stock to nearly its four-year low point. It wasn’t all Nicolas Cage’s fault. The movie was the fourth consecutive bomb for MGM, and the president who got canned was only on the job for one year.
“Windtalkers” just wasn’t that good. Roger Ebert only gave it two measly stars lamenting, “The Navajo code talkers have waited a long time to have their story told. Too bad it appears here merely as a gimmick in an action picture.” For a movie about war, American soldiers, and the Navajo, it seemed to turn off every audience. Adjusted for inflation it lost up to $110 million, while it grossed merely $77.6 million. The production budget practically mirrored its loss tally at $115-$120 million.
Estimated loss: $76 – $81 million
The Good Dinosaur (2015)
Yes. A Pixar Animation Studios film flopped. "The Good Dinosaur" has the unique distinction of being the studio’s lowest-grossing movie, and, their first box office bomb. The culprit, as far as we can tell: too much cute, not enough adult humor.
Distributed by Disney and produced by Warner Bros., critics liked Pixar’s sixteenth animated film. They called it a beautiful and charming, enchanting and sweet family film. Graphics and images are realistically and gorgeously rendered making the movie a visual masterpiece according to most critics. For some reason, the crowds simply didn’t show up to the box office. Adjusted for inflation, the movie lost about $88 million. Budget estimates are $175-200 million, a heavy investment eating into its gross of $332.2 million.
Estimated loss: $85 million
Dark Tide (2012)
Halle Berry has had mixed success over the years when it comes to her acting. Still, she usually manages to grab at least a moderate amount of commercial success in most of her projects. 2012's action thriller, "Dark Tide," was perhaps the first example of her charm getting pulled from under her feet.
The movie tells the story of a shark expert, played by Berry, who agrees to take a thrill-seeking millionaire and his teenage son on a dangerous shark dive due to her poor financial situation. Dark Tide made a sad $432,000 during its run at the box office against a $25 million budget, so there's a good chance that the star actress literally got paid more than the film even grossed. It was ironically summarized as a "shallow" film that's best skipped by audiences.
Estimated loss: $23.9 million
xXx: State of the Union (2005)
"xXx: State of the Union" plummeted to 17% favorability on Rotten Tomatoes. They hoped for a theatrical debut topping $20 million, but bad reviews found it at one of the worst openings for a film of its size. The original film, "xXx" (2002) succeeded in turning a profit, "xXx: State of the Union" didn’t.
"xXx: The State of the Union" is a movie about secret agents racing against the clock to save the U.S. government from being toppled by a secret military coup. Sounds pretty good, ya? Nope. Critics say it was poorly executed. Once again, big names and expensive actors were of no use. All in all, the film lost $98 million, adjusted for inflation. It had a budget of $113.1 million and a worldwide net gross of only $71 million. Nevertheless, the xXx franchise remains alive and funded.
Estimated loss: $78 million
Power Rangers (2017)
The "Power Rangers" were immensely popular as a TV show and a phenomenon in the 90s. In this film version, it’s a gang of misfit teenagers who save the world. Meeting each other in high school detention, the group of unlikely superheroes includes an autistic and an LGBTQ superhero, the first superhero movie to be so inclusive. The critics liked the cast starring Dacre Montgomery, Naomi Scott, R.J. Cyler, and Becky G. As for the directing and editing, ...not so much.
Opening up against "Guardians of the Galaxy," turnout for "Power Rangers" at the box office was thwarted and doomed. In fact, it brought in only $1.2 million on its first day. "Power Rangers," the 2017 movie, lost 76 million dollars. Another complaint was its crude humor and incessant product placements. With a production budget of $100 million dollars and gross sales at $142.3, it’s an official flop.