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.
Estimated loss: $85 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.
Estimated loss: $82 million
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013)
Reviews were mixed. Critics called the film dull, lacking inspiration, and over-produced. Others found it worth the fare and “reasonably engaging” (for a kids' fantasy flick). The memorably versed narration, thundering, “Fee Fi Fo Fum!” dramatizes the olde, English fairy tale for the big screen, and the production is billed as a deeper, backstory, to the 16th-century tale about Jack and the enchanted Beanstalk.
Jack the Giant Slayer was a joint venture by Warner Bros.’ New Line division and Legendary. The fantasy adventure film was directed by Bryan Singer. Also starring, Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy, and Ewan McGregor, the story was written by Darren Lemke, who has been pitching it since 2005. The production budget rang in at an alarming $185-$200 million. And, an estimated financial loss of, wait for it…. $90 - $112 million (ouch).
Estimated loss: $86 - 106 million
Deadfall (1993)
"Deadfall" starred Michael Biehn, Charlie Sheen, James Coburn, and Peter Fonda. Its true main star, though, is none other than Nicolas Cage. Cage appeared in a few highly successful films but his career is mired with some of the worst, most unintentionally hilarious films of all time.
Nicolas Cage took the role of Eddie King in 1993's "Deadfall," a role which would proceed to be mocked for decades to come. The film was one of the worst box-office failures of all time, making a measly $18,369 against a whopping $10 million budget. It holds a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was described by film critic, Kevin Thomas as "a hopelessly callow, leaden-paced attempt at film noir." Warning — Nicolas Cage swears more in this film than in all his other roles combined.