The world’s top military jet fighter pilots face job automation. When a high-tech, evil AI autopilot virus takes over, the flight crew fight back. It was meant to be a fun and chill summer release. Critics mostly groaned.
Director Rob Cohen and co-pilot Columbia Pictures navigated this top-heavy ship to its crash and burn. Also on board, writer W.D. Richter and stars Josh Lucas, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, and Sam Shepard. “Stealth” bombed at the box office internationally, nose-diving in nearly every nation and bringing in just over $44 million. Here at home, by the end of the domestic run, the smoldering remains of $32 million finished it, exacting a $76.9 million gross. The ground zero accounting ledger stands at $120 million in the red.
Estimated loss: $96 million
The Wolfman (2010)
Based on the 1941 American movie of similar title, "The Wolfman" has all the classic features one would expect of a werewolf story — the full moon triggers the mangy, monstrous metamorphosis — but it lacks a certain, let’s call it, edge, that "Twilight" fans expect. Although, nonetheless, it apparently hit the mark in some ways because it became a cult classic in spite of it all.
The vivid and realistic special effects of which animate the gruesome transformations earned the movie an Oscar for makeup, by the way. But even that, as well as its big names, del Toro and Anthony Hopkins, could not make the venture profitable. The film lost $85 to $90 million, adjusted for inflation. Gross profit for "The Wolfman" is recorded at $139.8 million while the production budget was $150 million.
Estimated loss: $76 - $80 million
Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)
The original 1986 "Highlander" was an iconic fantasy action-adventure film that helped turn Christophe Lambert into a worldwide star. The film also starred heavyweights such as Sean Connery and Clancy Brown. The film was initially panned by critics and received moderate financial success, but has since garnered a dedicated cult following. It also turned into a franchise and spawned several sequels, with the first, "Highlander II: The Quickening," being considered one of the worst films of all time.
The sequel contained gaping plot holes and was panned by both fans and critics of the franchise. In fact, the film was so bad that it had multiple different versions of it released just to try and make up for the original release’s horrible editing. $34 million were invested into "Highlander II: The Quickening" and it only gained less than half of it back at the box office.
Estimated loss: $18.4 million
Sahara (2005)
Apparently. Disease, plus dust, plus third world poverty does not equal a blockbuster movie. Imagine: it was billed as a comedy-adventure film. Maybe 2005 was a bad year for movies, or maybe the movie is never as good as the book. The author, Clive Cussler, who was given a handsome sum for the rights to his book ($10 million and creative control over the script,) presumably agrees. In fact, he was so unhappy with the theatrical release that he sued Paramount over it.
The production was an international effort, a co-production between the UK, Spain, Germany, and The U.S. Still, worldwide it bombed earning only $119.3 million. With a budget of $160, it lost big: $98-$126 million after taxes.
Estimated loss: $78.4 - $100 million
Zoolander 2 (2016)
While the original "Zoolander" does have somewhat of a cult following, it grossed a mere $60 million on a $30 million budget. Needless to say, it wasn't exactly a smash-hit. Historically speaking, that's usually not promising unless the film falls somewhere on the popularity scale between "Star Wars" and "Harry Potter." All that being said, for some odd reason, this didn't prevent its producers from making a sequel to the film 15 years later.
Its cult following wasn't enough to make it a box office success. In line with what most movie critics predicted, it was a huge flop. On popular movie rating sites such as IMDb, it scored a weak 4.7/10. Paramount surely regrets backtracking from their original verdict of rejecting the project. Hopefully, they've learned from their error, and let the Zoolander franchise R.I.P. once and for all.