The 13 Least Profitable Movies Ever Made By Randolph [72 more lists]

Some movies fizzle, and then some just plain tank. The films here represent the A-bombs of the A-list: gargantuan-budget pictures that nobody seemed to want to sit through. While not all of these movies are necessarily bad, all of them turned into huge losses for their respective studios. Even the most marketable actors and elaborate sets could not drag in audiences to fill the theater seats.

There are also plenty of rumors in the world of cinematic failures; some fabled studio-bankrupting flicks actually turned profits. Waterworld, for example, did not make the roster below since it actually raked in around $264 million in global box office sales, far more than the $175 million that went into production. However, the epic went way over budget, earned less-than-glowing reviews and fared rather poorly in the American market (the bulk of revenue came from overseas), badly tarnishing actor/producer Kevin Costner's reputation. While Waterworld managed to escape this list, Costner's name still appears for other work.

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1

The Postman - Kevin Costner

Budget: $80 million
Box Office: $17.6 million

After the fiasco that was Waterworld, actor/director Kevin Costner decided to resurrect his floundering career with…another post-apocalyptic epic starring himself. The Postman (2007) tells the tale of an actor struggling to survive in what's left of America after a devastating nuclear war. Upon discovering a stash of undelivered mail in an abandoned post office, he sets out on a mission to provide other survivors with old letters from their loved ones, bringing new hope for civilization itself.

Critics didn't buy the story, and movie-goers didn't buy tickets. Instead of salvaging the wreckage from Waterworld's wake, The Postman only delivered another colossal failure for Costner, grossing far less than it's much-mocked predecessor.
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2

Cutthroat Island - Renny Harlin

Budget: $98 million
Box Office: $18.5 million

This 1995 action film from Renny Harlin stars Geena Davis as a lady pirate on a quest to save her father. The film was such a massive flop, it was a major factor in bringing down an entire production company. Carolco never released another movie after Cutthroat Island, and declared bankruptcy shortly after its debut. Did it also contribute to the divorce of star Geena Davis and director Renny Harlin a scant 3 years later? Who knows?

The net loss translates to $146,947,958 with today's inflation.

Davis did manage to redeem herself with the release of The Long Kiss Goodnight the following year. While not a smash hit, the film pulled in a respectable box office haul of over $89 million and received favorable reviews.
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3

Heaven's Gate - Michael Cimino

Budget: $44 million
Box Office: $3.5 million

This big-budget Western about the Johnson County War seemed to have all of the elements necessary for success. Director Michael Cimino had just won an Academy Award for The Deer Hunter, and the follow-up starring Christopher Walken and Kris Kristofferson was slated to be his next smash hit. However, the production fell far behind schedule and wound up costing more than quadruple the estimated price tag.

Once the film was finally completed, critics drove audiences away with brutal pans. Vincent Canby of The New York Times likened the disaster to "a forced four-hour walking tour of one's own living room."

The total box office loss for Heaven's Gate equals over $104 million in today's market.
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4

Ishtar - Elaine May

Budget: $55 million
Box Office: $14.4 million

There was no shortage of talent in this notorious bomb from 1980. Superstars Dustin Hoffman and Warren Beatty played two lofty-minded (but rather unskilled) singer/songwriters looking for gigs in Morocco who inadvertently become involved in Cold War strife.

The production was plagued by an ever-increasing budget paired with personality conflicts between Beatty and director Elaine May, among others. A switch in management during post-production caused further issues.

Upon release, lackluster performances and negative reviews helped contribute to the low box-office appeal of Ishtar. In the end, the movie lost what would amount to more than $80 million with adjustments for inflation.
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5

The Adventures of Pluto Nash - Ron Underwood

Budget: $100 million
Box Office: 7.1 Million

This exorbitantly-budgeted turkey from director Ron Underwood starred Eddie Murphy as smuggler-turned-entrepreneur Pluto Nash, who owns a nightclub on the moon. When his club is burned down, Nash sets out to find the arsonist who has ruined his livelihood.

Critics gave the 2002 flick a harsh reception, and it managed to make Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 100 worst movies of all time. Despite the huge amount of cash pumped into this disaster, the special effects were deemed primitive and the acting even worse. Nash managed to garner five Golden Raspberry nominations, including one in the Worst Picture category.
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6

Mars Needs Moms! - Simon Wells

Budget: $150 million
Box Office: $39.5 million

This 2011 Disney animated film was modeled after Berkely Breathed's illustrated book of the same title. The plot of Mars Needs Moms, directed by Simon Wells, revolves around a boy named Milo (Seth Green) whose mother is abducted by maternally-deficient Martians. Milo sneaks aboard a spaceship to rescue her from the mom-nappers, surviving a host of misadventures along the way.

Some blame the cold audience reception to Mars on the animation, claiming it falls into the uncanny valley: the point where animation appears nearly, but not fully, life-like, evoking repulsion among viewers. Other critics cite a lack of creativity. While the acting is deemed by most as top-notch, this was simply not enough to save this one from bellyflopping at the box office.
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7

The Alamo - John Lee Hancock

Budget: $145 million
Box Office: $25.8 million

This 2004 depiction of the infamous Texas Revolution battle was helmed by director John Lee hancock and included the legendary Ron Howard among its roster of producers. Critics regarded the flop as draggy and uninspiring, with stars Billy Bob Thornton and Dennis Quaid failing to draw in an audience. The one thing that The Alamo may have going for it is historical accuracy. However, even this must be called into question as historians don't agree about what actually happened at the event.

Upon release, the film was trounced at the box office by The Passion of the Christ, which had already been in theaters for some time but was still pulling people in for second or third viewings.
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8

Gigli - Martin Brest

Budget: $74 million
Box Office: $7.3 million

Given the tsunami of media attention that power-couple Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez garnered in 2003, it seemed that Gigli would be a sure-fire sensation. Writer/director Martin Brest commandeered this sinking ship, which starred Affleck as the title character, a mobster with a soft heart. When Gigli is ordered to conduct a kidnapping, Lopez is appointed to make sure he gets the job done right.

Reviewers slammed Gigli, and audiences seemed to have no interest in watching the two stars outside of the tabloid realm. Thus, the film was pulled from theaters after a pitiful three-week run.
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9

Battlefield Earth - Roger Christian, Roger Christian

Budget: $75 million
Box Office: $57.7 million

John Travolta's pet project based on the L. Ron Hubbard science-fiction book of the same name was originally slated to be a series of two films. However, once Battlefield Earth (2000) wound up a money pit with horrific reviews, the star wisely scrapped the sequel. The film propagates the Scientologist ideologies of Hubbard, and major studios shied away from the potentially-controversial script. Travolta did manage to procure independent production company Franchise Pictures to help bring his vision to reality.

Critics bashed the flick for poor acting, bad camerawork and numerous other problems. Today, many regard Battlefield as one of the worst movies of all time.
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10

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Hironobu Sakaguchi, Motonori Sakakibara

Budget: $167 million
Box Office: $85 million

This animated epic based on the popular video game franchise was enough to break Square Pictures studios after four years of production with an ever-expanding budget. Although the film took in $85 million in theaters, this was barely enough to recoup half of what was spent.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the same man responsible for creating the game. The film is set in an alien apocalypse, and depicts humans fighting to survive under cruel extraterrestrial leadership.

The movie, which incorporates cutting-edge animation techniques, did manage to gain praise from critics for its visual appeal. However, this was likely little consolation for the newly-unemployed production team.
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11

Hudson Hawk - Michael Lehmann

Budget: $65 million
Box Office: $17.2 million

This 1991 tanker marked the final project for TriStar Pictures, which was bought out by Sony shortly after. The studio didn't crumble on Hudson Hawk alone; they had been struggling with a string of flops, and this one just proved to be the final straw. The action-comedy featured Bruce Willis, who also cowrote the script, and was directed by Michael Lehmann.

The nonconventional film incorporated ridiculous humor (complete with sound effects) with action and songs performed by Willis and costar Danny Aiello.

Critics could not have been much harsher in their reviews of Hawk. Rolling Stone writer Peter Travers ranted, "You want to throw things, yell at the actors, beg them to stop."
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12

Around the World in 80 Days - Frank Coraci

Budget: $110 million
Box Office: $72 million

This 2004 rendition of the classic Jules Verne tale stars martial-arts hero Jackie Chan as Passepartout, a bank robber who hides from the cops by becoming a valet for eccentric inventor Phileas Fogg (Steve Coogan). When Fogg is coaxed into taking a bet that he can traverse the globe in 80 days, Passepartout goes along for the adventure.

The flick was denounced by critics for straying too far from the original novel, among other issues. Razzie Awards were doled out for Worst Remake or Sequel as well as Worst Supporting Actor, thanks to a less-than-stellar performance by Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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13

Cleopatra - Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Rouben Mamoulian

Budget: $44 million
Box Office: $57.7 million

This four-hour classic starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton is legendary for its financial woes. Critics certainly didn't fall in love with the film, but it could still hardly have been called a failure; it was the highest-earning movie of the year (1963), and took four Oscars. The movie also managed to draw in more money than it cost to produce; however, with theater costs factored in Cleopatra still wound up in the red. While not the biggest financial disaster on the list, the movie did nearly ruin 20th Century Fox and holds the dubious distinction of being the only top-grosser of its release year ever to come in at a loss.
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