You’d think that a sports drama film would make a decent amount of money, or at least get average reviews and ratings, but this was not the case with “American Anthem.” The film starred Janet Jones, wife of the legendary Hall of Fame ice hockey player, Wayne Gretzky. It also stars the Olympic gymnast and gold medalist, Mitchell Gaylord. Critics called it the worst film of 1986.
American Anthem lost a few million dollars in the box office, and currently holds a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences have been far more favorable of this film and bestowed it with a 65% rating based on over 1,300 user reviews. Gaylord himself went on to have an excellent sports career and was named the seventh-best US gymnast of all time in 2007. It seems that he learned his lesson, as he never appeared in a Hollywood film again.
Estimated loss: $2.2 million
A Wrinkle in Time (2018)
The critics didn’t hate it, Oprah graced the big screen for the first time in, like, 20 years, it was based on the celebrated and adored children’s literary classic by Madeleine L’Engle, yet, somehow it only grossed its production budget. And for goodness sake, Disney backed it! The children’s film production leviathan lavished upwards of $60 million on TV ads, marketing, and other promos. Sadly, they would not recover those costs.
Overall, Disney and feel-good themes predominate the fantastically visual production directed by Sundance Film Festival award-winner Ava DuVernay. And overcoming evil, light over darkness, and the goodness of mankind preserving universal harmony, is exactly what you’d expect from Mrs. Which (Ms. Winfrey). The film disappointed hopeful expectations at the box office with a gross of $132.7 million. The budget is nearly a carbon copy at $130 million. Estimated loss registers at $86-$186 million.
Estimated loss: $86 -186 million
Green Lantern (2011)
Before he solidified his character as the bad-boy Marvel superhero, Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds portrayed the DC Comics superhero, Green Lantern. He starred along with some other big A-list actors such as Angela Bassett, Peter Sarsgaard, Mark Strong, and his wife (whom he met on-set), Blake Lively.
Released in the summer of 2011, "Green Lantern" received generally negative reviews for its inconsistent tone, its portrayal of villains, and its mediocre use of CGI. Its execution was just poor. The project's production budget was a generous $230 million, but after its underperformance at the box office, it grossed only $219 million worldwide. Accounting for the production costs, which included costly 3D conversion, and marketing expenses, it cost Warner Bros. a painful $98 million. Consequently, any plans for a sequel were canceled.
Estimated loss: $98 million
The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
As it turns out, the sci-fi comedy "Pluto Nash" is an infamous wipeout, crashing and burning at epic proportions. It made Time magazine’s list of the “10 biggest money-losers of all time”, placing 3rd. It’s so bad, watching it makes legendary and iconic comedian Eddie Murphy break down and cry, according to himself.
The story takes place in the 2080s, on the moon, where all Earth exiles are sent. Pluto Nash (Murphy) is assaulted by lunar gangsta thugs, forcing him to defend his nightclub and the rights of all of moonkind. This epic flop grossed merely $7.1 million at the “flop” office and it cost Warner Bros $100 million to make. That leaves the endeavor at a 95% net loss! In dollars, the loss is $131 million and the title of the biggest box office bomb in Hollywood.
Estimated loss: $96 million
The Nutcracker in 3D (2010)
Not only did the “Tomatometer” register a 0% for "The Nutcracker in 3D," but on Rotten Tomatoes, they said that the movie “is a stunning exercise in astonishing cinematic wrong-headedness.” Commonsense media — a website that polices films and TV shows for age-appropriate content — said that the movie is “too dark” for children. They also complained that it barely passes as a representation of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker” ballet.
It was either too scary, too boring, or too weird for American critics. The "Nutcracker in 3D" had a budget of $90 million and it lost $92 million, adjusted for inflation. At the box office, it took in $16.2 million. The film crashed, burned, and bombed during its 2010 Christmas release.