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
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
American Anthem (1986)
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
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.
Estimated loss: $82 million
Town & Country (2001)
A romantic comedy about two wealthy NYC couples and a midlife crisis. Sounds funny… But wait! The all-star cast runs like a laundry list of Hollywood titans: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, Andie MacDowell, Jenna Elfman, Nastassja Kinski, and the immortal Charlton Heston to wrap it up. It’s a veritable line-up of comic legends. It’s got to be funny, right?? Well, if aging men chasing affairs seems humorous, this may be your movie.
Fraught with internal issues and production hiccups which dragged production out for three years, New Line Cinema knew it was going to flop. As one of the biggest flops of the 2000s, "Town & Country" lost $117 million, adjusted for inflation. Grossing a paltry $10.4 million, the production budget literally dwarfs the gross at $90 million.