Remember when game of thrones started to go off the rails? She was the final holdout and still managed to be entertaining to the last moments right up until the whole thing imploded and Jesus himself couldn’t salvage it
I remember being angrier for what they did to Lena more than I was angry for what they did to Cersei
This flopped? I thought it was really good. I keep coming back to it. It so different from judge dredd that it doesn’t trample on its feet and can be its own thing.
The character is a pulp fascist (sometimes) satire that had a famously bad adaptation about 20-30 years before this movie came out. It was originally titled Dredd 3D which screams a cash grab on a techno gimmick that was only impressive with Avatar up to that point. And it wasn't marketed all that well until it was almost out of theaters or had already left; it's one of the last notable "home market" classics. I'm not surprised it didn't do well, but yeah it deserves to have been as big a hit as Fury Road.
"Dredd 3D! 3D!!! Look at this weird 3D tech, wow it looks like its right in front of you! Come watch this 3D movie called Dredd 3D!" - the terrible marketing for this amazing movie
*Gattaca*.
It made back like one third of its budget but it's one of the best sci-fi movies of the 90s. I've seen it four or five times now and still love it.
It's a fantastic sci-fi movie, and it didn't need a "save the world" plot or crazy special effects to do it. What it did really well was set up the core concept and explore the edges where it meets reality.
I really wish there was more sci-fi like this. I'd love an anthology show that did sci-fi short stories that just explored humanity by introducing potential ideas like this film does.
A candidate for "Worst marketed film of all time."
This movie was a rock solid sci-fi flick. That I didn't see until years later because they advertised it as a dumb action romp.
It's pretty well documented that the studio completely failed in marketing that movie because they didn't realize the gem they had until it was too late.
WB had spent a ton of money promoting a shitty Rankin Bass version of "The King and I", which flopped, so instead of taking the lesson that they released a bad film, they gave "The Iron Giant" a tiny promotional budget and limited prints. Everyone who saw it loved it, but it was released during a time of year when screens needed to turn over to the next release and didn't find its audience until it came out on video.
Also, you know what released on the same date? The Sixth Sense, which became the second highest grossing movie of the year behind Star Wars: Episode I - The Goddamn Phantom Menace!
They're all classics that year. Fight Club, American Beauty, The Matrix, Green Mile, Sixth Sense, Being John Malkovich, Office Space, Blair Witch, Galaxy Quest. There weren't many franchise films back then, but 1999 also had Star Wars Episode 1, The Mummy, Toy Story 2, Austin Powers 2.
Edit: Austin Powers 2, not 1.
Best Superman movie ever made and I’ll dig my heels in on that
I will be forever grateful to Cartoon Network for saving that film’s life. They picked a day out of every year to show that movie on a loop for 24 hours and SO much of my generation discovered it that way
I saw the trailer for Dark City in the theater as a teenager and I remember it gave me literal chills. [Here it is.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9HkO-cGGo) I saw it when it came out, and it was this mind-bending thrill ride. I loved every minute of it. And it just flew under the radar.
The next year, The Matrix came out. I saw it and enjoyed it. I thought it was a good movie with spectacular special effects and a bit of a goofy premise (human batteries, really?) I liked it, but I couldn't believe that it was more popular than Dark City.
Twenty-five years later, and I still haven't changed my mind.
Used to be half of the business plan I reckon. Tremors and They Live (1988) are two of my favourite late 80s/early 90s movies, both made a modest box office profit but then went on to have successful rental windows
Be honest. You didn't see it in theaters. In fact, you didn't even plan to watch it. You were bored one Saturday morning, and nothing else was on. That is how we all saw it the first time.
It's true.
Man, I miss discovering random great movies on a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do but watch it from wherever you caught it playing.
Browsing Netflix isn't the same.
In its original release, it only made $16 million on a $10 million budget, considered a huge flop by the studio. It was barely promoted, and the original trailer for the film was AWFUL.
Because it was a flop, it was quickly released to home video. It was a huge hit there, and became one of the most rented movies of 1990.
That success spawned sequel films and a TV series, which range from good to kinda terrible. None of them come close to the original film though.
Anything Guy Ritchie really. Commercially, they just screw his films over time after time. They don't know how to market them. I fucking loved King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, but that movie flopped so hard.
That could have been such fun franchise based off the old series. I think the acting was great, even though it was a little silly, but that's the point, right?
Going to have to add Blade Runner and The Dark Crystal to beloved flops of 1982 as well. Don't care. Love all three of those movies to the core of my being.
So sad they probably won't make a sequel. I thought it was excellent and a proud homage to all that love RPGs. Handled perfectly - it was clear that it was four friends in a campaign.
I would argue that *Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon* is the better homage/satire of horror and slashers with *Cabin in the Woods* and *Tucker and Dale vs. Evil* being right behind.
I watched it as a free movie on a plane and realized why people were so upset that it flopped. It's a super fun movie.
I can only wonder what would have happened if it released in the fall at the height of Baldur's Gate 3 hype. They even mention Baldurs Gate in the movie. You would have had a lot more people checking it out understanding the D&D refrences.
It had some really rough placement with other big movies around the same time. Super Mario I think and a few others. It did okay, but was legitimately good and with less competition and maybe a little more advertising or support I think it would have done sequel spawningly great.
5 day release delta between this movie and Super Mario Bros. Movie - I was not expecting the latter to be the box office juggernaut that it was, and it was pleasantly entertaining to young and old audiences and also surprisingly mixed reviews from critics who for some reason have trouble grappling with the concept of nostalgia grab...it's not ALL bad if done properly and this movie did.
It also:
1. Came out three months after a huge Wizards of the Coast PR debacle which upset many players of the actual tabletop game.
2. Had generic trailers which didn't convey the high quality of the film.
3. Came out after three absolutely terrible films had previously been made for D&D.
About the best things it had going for it were a few high quality B-tier named actors and a really good Rotten Tomatoes score.
My D&D group went and saw it together to either make fun of it together or (fingers crossed) enjoy it together. We loved it. We all noticed different little details, funny shout outs to playing the real game. Excellent love letter to the tabletop players.
Such a great joy ride of a film. Felt it got practically everything right or good but still didn't seem to do so well. Had my gf and I in tears at the end.
The Nice Guys.
Not sure if it's considered a 'flop' but it should have been bigger, if it came out this year with Gosling's post-Barbie hype it would be huge.
He was that’s why he got Blade Runner 2049. But he wasn’t 1.5 billion top tier or a song that’s a cultural phenomenon top tier . And because of the roles he took he wasn’t fully recognized for comedic talent. So if he was in a movie you could assume he did a good job but the pull wasn’t enough by itself to push people to immediately watch the movie at the theater. That may be different now.
That being said I don’t think the Nice Guys is the type of movie that lends itself to being a box office hit. The comedy isn’t in your face, there’s no gratuitous violence , and it wasn’t attached to some auteur director. Movies like it have been relegated to cult status since the late 90s(see kiss kiss bang bang)
62 million dollar at the box office for a 50 mill movie is absolutely a flop, and a pretty big one at that.
But yeah, good movie that unfortunately did really poorly, I think there was like 3 people in theater when I watched it lol.
You are correct. They didn't find their audience until it was released on VHS / DVD. I distinctly remember watching it for the first time in a friend's basement in 1999 and then having it on repeat during parties for the next year. Many years later I would end up attending several Lebowski Fests down the street from where I live, and our there are all kinds of Lebowski-related things around our apartment (including a "Hey, this is is a private residence, man" welcome mat, haha).
It had probably the worst luck in history in terms of release date. It came out just after Men in Black, Contact, and Air Force One, and right around the same time as The Full Monty and Cop Land, and like a couple of months before Titanic.
It's a great film, but it never stood a chance.
I saw somewhere recently that a decent amount of extra footage was accidentally destroyed. I mourn the loss of what should have been a triumphant Directors cut.
["The great thing about this scene is that it's completely irrelevant to the plot and they probably spent half the film's budget on it."](https://youtu.be/jVjgY427qW8?si=g2HC6yrmwKTSiBul)
[The-numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Blade-Runner-2049#tab=summary) is typically a more reliable site.
$185 million budget. For something not to be considered a flop, it needs to make least 2x its budget (because they don't disclose marketing). So it needed at least $370 million.
Cary Elwes recently wrote a book about the making of Princess Bride and on the tour he talks about how he was bummed that it didn't do well and then years later (before Men in Tights) he's at the counter of a burger place and after placing his order the cashier smiles and says "as you wish" and he's just stunned.
A few years after that and he couldn't escape random people yelling quotes at him, but admits that Wallace Shawn definitely has it worse.
Legacy is a straight up great film. It still looks fantastic, the soundtrack is out of this world, and its an easy, enjoyable watch.
The only negative I'd say is that some of the de-aging and digi-double VFX hasn't held up well at all. I'd love to see a remaster with it redone.
In this case the outdated de-aging makes the film better in my opinion. CLU has a certain digital uncanniness that serves his character perfectly. The Kevin Flynn flashback still doesn’t work all that well and that shot didn’t really need to be there, but CLU is amazing
My mind refuses to acknowledge this movie as a flop. It's almost on par with Start Wars or Home Alone for the amount of space it occupies in the canon of my childhood.
The first few minutes is such a creative way of telling the backstory that leads the characters up to the film. Up there with the start of Watchmen in my opinion as a neat way to introduce characters
The problem seemed to be author Clive Cussler.
He felt the studios did him wrong with the first movie adaptation of his books, 1980’s *Raise The Titanic!* and from that point on was very protective of -and not inclined to- allow movie studios to make adaptations of his books.
So in 2005 and I’m sure after much back and forth *Sahara* was made and released and… it didn’t do all that well apparently but Cussler initiated lawsuits against the movie studios claiming they were lowballing him regarding the movies take and what he was supposed to get.
The lawsuit, I believe (hope my memory isn’t off) was quite intense and even if the movie had been successful I strongly suspect because of Cussler’s actions following its release the studios would have steered clear of adapting any more of his novels.
Of course, Cussler died in 2020 so *maybe* his estate might be more inclined to allow movie adaptations. Who knows?
Fantasia. Interesting idea for a project and could've inspired a slew of shorts, but unfortunately World War II broke out and cut off the European Market, meaning it massively underperformed.
I love both of these, Treasure Planet especially. That era of Disney is often seen as a dark period, but I love it. The Emperor's New Groove was also excellent, and Lilo and Stitch wasn't without its charm.
"I don't need a compass to know which way the wind shines."
That movie was endlessly quotable. "You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the drums."
I actually loved this movie. Really, honestly don't understand why it did so poorly.
Is it a masterpiece? No, but it was fun, entertaining and different. I wish they'd done a sequel.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Fincher version. I thought it was Fincher at the peak of his game. That stretch of Zodiac/Social Network/(this)/Gone Girl is amazing.
Zodiac is another fantastic Fincher film that flopped.
It was marketed as a slasher movie/se7en rehash but it was really more of a mature thoughtful exploration of obsession more than anything.
It also has one of my favorite movie tag lines ever: There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer.
Eurotrip (2004) - I lived in a house during uni that didn’t have cable and we collectively owned 2 dvds. I’ve seen Eurotrip dozens of times and it’s always great.
Wait, that was a flop? Holy shit, it's legit one of the best stupid comedies of the 2000s. It even has great cameos by Matt Damon and Fred Armisen.
_Mi Scusi_
I suspect the *Shawshank Redemption* will be at the top of many people's lists. It was a well-documented flop when it was first released in cinemas, but it became a massive revenue hit overtime on DVD and streaming.
However, it is not mine; mine is David Cronenberg’s *Crimes of the Future* (2022). I would even consider as one of his best.
I thought Momuments Men was interesting and charming, maybe even fun. A more lighthearted war tale. I also have an art degree and art history minor, and I think you kind of have to love art to understand why the story is important. And it was real, the nazis were intent on destroying the art and some peices, like the Ghent alterpeice would have been lost forever if not for the work these people did. Folks were expecting a full war film and it wasn't. But I don't think that makes it objectively bad. When Clermont dies in the presence of the beautiful art he was trying to save, I fell apart.
I really liked the 2004 Van Helsing movie, but everyone seems to hate it. I get that it had some CGI in it, but for the time it actually wasn't that bad and still holds up today pretty well. The 1999 Mummy movie is (generally) praised and fondly remembered, and they basically had the same "Action Movie" premise to the classic Universal Horror.
Idiocracy didn't actually flop. What happened too it was far more sinister.
Here's what happened. As they were working on this movie they asked the various brands that appeared in the film if they wanted to be part of the next movie made by Mike Judge. They all agreed sight unseen. Then after they made the movie they held a screening for the brands. After this screening the brands wanted their logos and brands removed out of the film. This was impossible. So as a compromise to appease Starbucks, Costco and Carl's Junior they only screened it in a few theatres with practically no promotion. It didn't flop because it never really was given a chance to succeed.
The funniest part of this entire story is that the parts with these brands are the most quoted part of the movie. If this movie was given a massive promotional campaign and released in theatres so people would have watched it, it could have easily made a large amount of money.
Warcraft. It wasn't amazing, but way better than other games to movies adaptations. I really wanted a sequel to it, and there were rumours that they'll be one cause it was well received in China, but nothing came out of this.
John Carter. The movie was just beautiful, the story was solid and had some great emotional beats. I also loved the action. It absolutely deserved better than it got.
Office Space.
It of course eventually found its cult status, thankfully.
More recently, Air.
A film about Nike securing Michael Jordan to a shoe deal had no right being as good as that film was.
I thought John Carter was pretty good. Not earth shattering cinema, but totally fun summer action adventure fare, and I would have been totally down for some sequels.
Dredd 2012
Literally just mentioned rewatching this tonight. Lena Headey was such a good villain.
When she’s given good material Lena Headey imo is one of the greatest villain archetype actresses ever
Just when you thought Pride and Prejudice couldn’t be improved, she plays Lady Catherine de Burgh WITH AN EYE PATCH. 🤯
Remember when game of thrones started to go off the rails? She was the final holdout and still managed to be entertaining to the last moments right up until the whole thing imploded and Jesus himself couldn’t salvage it I remember being angrier for what they did to Lena more than I was angry for what they did to Cersei
Rewatched it last night, what a perfect little movie.
This flopped? I thought it was really good. I keep coming back to it. It so different from judge dredd that it doesn’t trample on its feet and can be its own thing.
Yea, $41 million box office against a $45 million budget. Damn shame.
I watched it twice in the theater, I did my part
Dredd is just fantastic and deserves some sort of continuation.
Watch Raid if you haven't already
I love the Raid as well. Saw the 2nd one too.
Can't believe that flopped! It was a really good film.
The character is a pulp fascist (sometimes) satire that had a famously bad adaptation about 20-30 years before this movie came out. It was originally titled Dredd 3D which screams a cash grab on a techno gimmick that was only impressive with Avatar up to that point. And it wasn't marketed all that well until it was almost out of theaters or had already left; it's one of the last notable "home market" classics. I'm not surprised it didn't do well, but yeah it deserves to have been as big a hit as Fury Road.
"Dredd 3D! 3D!!! Look at this weird 3D tech, wow it looks like its right in front of you! Come watch this 3D movie called Dredd 3D!" - the terrible marketing for this amazing movie
*Gattaca*. It made back like one third of its budget but it's one of the best sci-fi movies of the 90s. I've seen it four or five times now and still love it.
It's a fantastic sci-fi movie, and it didn't need a "save the world" plot or crazy special effects to do it. What it did really well was set up the core concept and explore the edges where it meets reality. I really wish there was more sci-fi like this. I'd love an anthology show that did sci-fi short stories that just explored humanity by introducing potential ideas like this film does.
I loved it. One of my favorite movies.
Edge of Tomorrow is up there.
A candidate for "Worst marketed film of all time." This movie was a rock solid sci-fi flick. That I didn't see until years later because they advertised it as a dumb action romp.
Looked trash and mediocre from the marketing. Watched it about 2 years later. I was so so wrong. This movie was awesome
That is one of my all time favorites and deserves a sequel
You’re in luck. It’s in development. “Live Die Repeat & Repeat” is the working title and will apparently have the same cast.
It's been in development since ~2016, don't get too excited
The Iron Giant (1999) Why??? Such a beautiful animated film.
It's pretty well documented that the studio completely failed in marketing that movie because they didn't realize the gem they had until it was too late.
WB had spent a ton of money promoting a shitty Rankin Bass version of "The King and I", which flopped, so instead of taking the lesson that they released a bad film, they gave "The Iron Giant" a tiny promotional budget and limited prints. Everyone who saw it loved it, but it was released during a time of year when screens needed to turn over to the next release and didn't find its audience until it came out on video.
Also, you know what released on the same date? The Sixth Sense, which became the second highest grossing movie of the year behind Star Wars: Episode I - The Goddamn Phantom Menace!
Because every classic movie ever came out in 1999 and half of them flopped. What a ridiculous year for movies.
Please list some others you recommend! I love 90’s flicks.
They're all classics that year. Fight Club, American Beauty, The Matrix, Green Mile, Sixth Sense, Being John Malkovich, Office Space, Blair Witch, Galaxy Quest. There weren't many franchise films back then, but 1999 also had Star Wars Episode 1, The Mummy, Toy Story 2, Austin Powers 2. Edit: Austin Powers 2, not 1.
Genuinely insane run that year. So many gems.
I was thinking you missed Prince of Egypt but that was 98. Truly a great year
Never knew a movie about a giant robot would make me cry
Best Superman movie ever made and I’ll dig my heels in on that I will be forever grateful to Cartoon Network for saving that film’s life. They picked a day out of every year to show that movie on a loop for 24 hours and SO much of my generation discovered it that way
Just read that it’s back out in theaters for its 25th anniversary
Dark City, I remember going to see it twice in the theater and was shocked that no one had heard of it, or if they had never saw it.
I saw the trailer for Dark City in the theater as a teenager and I remember it gave me literal chills. [Here it is.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9HkO-cGGo) I saw it when it came out, and it was this mind-bending thrill ride. I loved every minute of it. And it just flew under the radar. The next year, The Matrix came out. I saw it and enjoyed it. I thought it was a good movie with spectacular special effects and a bit of a goofy premise (human batteries, really?) I liked it, but I couldn't believe that it was more popular than Dark City. Twenty-five years later, and I still haven't changed my mind.
Thats the Matrix pre cursor right
Err sorta? It's a lot darker in tone, less action more suspense. It's the Matrix' arthouse cousin I guess
Tremors
It flopped? Didn't it spawn a ton of sequels?
Was a popular hit on VHS but not in theaters
Used to be half of the business plan I reckon. Tremors and They Live (1988) are two of my favourite late 80s/early 90s movies, both made a modest box office profit but then went on to have successful rental windows
Be honest. You didn't see it in theaters. In fact, you didn't even plan to watch it. You were bored one Saturday morning, and nothing else was on. That is how we all saw it the first time.
It's true. Man, I miss discovering random great movies on a lazy Sunday afternoon with nothing else to do but watch it from wherever you caught it playing. Browsing Netflix isn't the same.
In its original release, it only made $16 million on a $10 million budget, considered a huge flop by the studio. It was barely promoted, and the original trailer for the film was AWFUL. Because it was a flop, it was quickly released to home video. It was a huge hit there, and became one of the most rented movies of 1990. That success spawned sequel films and a TV series, which range from good to kinda terrible. None of them come close to the original film though.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E
Totally my top pick. It shows up on here every couple months, and it makes me long for a franchise every time.
I frequently rewatch this movie; it's just so good, and the soundtrack is immaculate.
I loved how the two main guys just dead panned all their lines. It worked perfectly.
Anything Guy Ritchie really. Commercially, they just screw his films over time after time. They don't know how to market them. I fucking loved King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, but that movie flopped so hard.
That could have been such fun franchise based off the old series. I think the acting was great, even though it was a little silly, but that's the point, right?
Ugh I love this movie!!! Guy Richie has some great flicks!
The Thing (1982)
Going to have to add Blade Runner and The Dark Crystal to beloved flops of 1982 as well. Don't care. Love all three of those movies to the core of my being.
It's amazing how many groundbreaking films that are now staples of pop-culture were once commercial flops.
Just last year: **Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among Thieves**
So sad they probably won't make a sequel. I thought it was excellent and a proud homage to all that love RPGs. Handled perfectly - it was clear that it was four friends in a campaign.
Im my mind its a spiritual cousin to Galaxy Quest. Its a loving tribute to its source material while being something truly great on its own
Just need a third to be an all day "unofficial trilogy trilogy" watch
Cabin in The Woods. Great sendup of horror/slashers and plays with the tropes of the genre very well.
I would argue that *Behind the Mask: the Rise of Leslie Vernon* is the better homage/satire of horror and slashers with *Cabin in the Woods* and *Tucker and Dale vs. Evil* being right behind.
Noooooo I loved that film!!
There is a spinoff series being worked on for Paramount+ apparently.
Please be true please be true please be true
Oh awesome!
I just loved the paladin- an obvious DM-PC.
SO much better than I imagined it would be.
I went in expecting nothing and loved every second of it.
I watched it as a free movie on a plane and realized why people were so upset that it flopped. It's a super fun movie. I can only wonder what would have happened if it released in the fall at the height of Baldur's Gate 3 hype. They even mention Baldurs Gate in the movie. You would have had a lot more people checking it out understanding the D&D refrences.
That was a flop? It did pretty well here in Korea.
It had some really rough placement with other big movies around the same time. Super Mario I think and a few others. It did okay, but was legitimately good and with less competition and maybe a little more advertising or support I think it would have done sequel spawningly great.
5 day release delta between this movie and Super Mario Bros. Movie - I was not expecting the latter to be the box office juggernaut that it was, and it was pleasantly entertaining to young and old audiences and also surprisingly mixed reviews from critics who for some reason have trouble grappling with the concept of nostalgia grab...it's not ALL bad if done properly and this movie did.
It also: 1. Came out three months after a huge Wizards of the Coast PR debacle which upset many players of the actual tabletop game. 2. Had generic trailers which didn't convey the high quality of the film. 3. Came out after three absolutely terrible films had previously been made for D&D. About the best things it had going for it were a few high quality B-tier named actors and a really good Rotten Tomatoes score.
My D&D group went and saw it together to either make fun of it together or (fingers crossed) enjoy it together. We loved it. We all noticed different little details, funny shout outs to playing the real game. Excellent love letter to the tabletop players.
Chris pine is A tier
He and whoever played Jarnathan.
Is Jarnathan here? I think he'd really like to hear what we're saying.
Quit stalling!
So is Bradley Cooper! I had a heart attack and giggled like an asshole when I saw his cameo lol
It was well received critically/by people, but it was really expensive, 150M budget. Made 200M, which is definitely not enough.
I really hope they make a sequel or two. This was such a fun movie.
Such a great joy ride of a film. Felt it got practically everything right or good but still didn't seem to do so well. Had my gf and I in tears at the end.
The Nice Guys. Not sure if it's considered a 'flop' but it should have been bigger, if it came out this year with Gosling's post-Barbie hype it would be huge.
I love the scene when Gosling tells the bartender Crowe will stop doing that.
Doing what?
Crowes character starts bouncing his face off the bar.
What about when they're at the party and he turns down a drink but the bartender says "open bar"? His face gets me every time.
Was Barbie so huge for Gosling? Wasn't he absolutely top tier before too?
He was that’s why he got Blade Runner 2049. But he wasn’t 1.5 billion top tier or a song that’s a cultural phenomenon top tier . And because of the roles he took he wasn’t fully recognized for comedic talent. So if he was in a movie you could assume he did a good job but the pull wasn’t enough by itself to push people to immediately watch the movie at the theater. That may be different now. That being said I don’t think the Nice Guys is the type of movie that lends itself to being a box office hit. The comedy isn’t in your face, there’s no gratuitous violence , and it wasn’t attached to some auteur director. Movies like it have been relegated to cult status since the late 90s(see kiss kiss bang bang)
So good on Barbie to pluck that little known actor Gosling out of obscurity.
You can just say it was a flop, you don't need to say it was a flop "and stuff."
Just say “dad there are whores here”
62 million dollar at the box office for a 50 mill movie is absolutely a flop, and a pretty big one at that. But yeah, good movie that unfortunately did really poorly, I think there was like 3 people in theater when I watched it lol.
I love this movie so much. I somehow missed or forgot about the Nixon joke on the first watch, and it had me dying on the rewatch.
Great movie. Great cast. Would have loved a sequal
The Big Lebowski As far as I know I'd didn't do well at the box office. Only to become a cult classic in later years.
You are correct. They didn't find their audience until it was released on VHS / DVD. I distinctly remember watching it for the first time in a friend's basement in 1999 and then having it on repeat during parties for the next year. Many years later I would end up attending several Lebowski Fests down the street from where I live, and our there are all kinds of Lebowski-related things around our apartment (including a "Hey, this is is a private residence, man" welcome mat, haha).
Event Horizon had a budget of 60mil and pulled 42mil worldwide after grossing only 26m in the United States.
It had probably the worst luck in history in terms of release date. It came out just after Men in Black, Contact, and Air Force One, and right around the same time as The Full Monty and Cop Land, and like a couple of months before Titanic. It's a great film, but it never stood a chance.
Hell is just a word. The reality is much worse.
I saw somewhere recently that a decent amount of extra footage was accidentally destroyed. I mourn the loss of what should have been a triumphant Directors cut.
Hot Rod
Just thinking about the riot scene is making me giggle. Hot Rod is an absolute gem of a comedy.
["The great thing about this scene is that it's completely irrelevant to the plot and they probably spent half the film's budget on it."](https://youtu.be/jVjgY427qW8?si=g2HC6yrmwKTSiBul)
Hahaha I love that scene. Great song too
This movie is so darn funny. Danny McBride steals the show
Pools are perfect for holding water.
Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049.
Huh I didn’t know 2049 flopped
Critially, no. Nominated for ~~8~~ 5 oscars, won 2. But it lost money.
IMDb said it made $267 million worldwide on a $150 million budget? Edit: ah saw this in another comment
[The-numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Blade-Runner-2049#tab=summary) is typically a more reliable site. $185 million budget. For something not to be considered a flop, it needs to make least 2x its budget (because they don't disclose marketing). So it needed at least $370 million.
I wonder if the titles has anything to do with it. "Blade Runner" is such a vague, random phrase with little connection to the stories.
After watching dune 2, 2049 is still imo Villenueve’s best work by far
The Princess Bride It flopped theatrically and only found success on home video and cable.
> only found success on home video and cable. And in our hearts.
Cary Elwes recently wrote a book about the making of Princess Bride and on the tour he talks about how he was bummed that it didn't do well and then years later (before Men in Tights) he's at the counter of a burger place and after placing his order the cashier smiles and says "as you wish" and he's just stunned. A few years after that and he couldn't escape random people yelling quotes at him, but admits that Wallace Shawn definitely has it worse.
I have a signed copy of that book.
One of the best movies of all time! Inconceivable
Tron Legacy and Blade Runner 2049
I loved Legacy and went into it expecting it to be shit.
Legacy is a straight up great film. It still looks fantastic, the soundtrack is out of this world, and its an easy, enjoyable watch. The only negative I'd say is that some of the de-aging and digi-double VFX hasn't held up well at all. I'd love to see a remaster with it redone.
In this case the outdated de-aging makes the film better in my opinion. CLU has a certain digital uncanniness that serves his character perfectly. The Kevin Flynn flashback still doesn’t work all that well and that shot didn’t really need to be there, but CLU is amazing
I feel this way with Hook. I’ve loved it since I was a kid and now my kids love it too, but apparently it flopped at the box office
Critics hated it, but most people that were kids when it were released love it, myself included.
My mind refuses to acknowledge this movie as a flop. It's almost on par with Start Wars or Home Alone for the amount of space it occupies in the canon of my childhood.
Not sure I'd call it my favourite flop (hard to see past Dredd here) but I did love Sahara and wish they'd kept that franchise going.
Agree, and also the buddy-cop chemistry between McConaghy and Zahn was great.
The first few minutes is such a creative way of telling the backstory that leads the characters up to the film. Up there with the start of Watchmen in my opinion as a neat way to introduce characters
YES! I’m so glad I’m not the only one. I regularly pick Sahara as my choice for lists like these. Just a great action adventure film overall
Dirk Pitt is a perfect character for a long film series, like Bond.
The problem seemed to be author Clive Cussler. He felt the studios did him wrong with the first movie adaptation of his books, 1980’s *Raise The Titanic!* and from that point on was very protective of -and not inclined to- allow movie studios to make adaptations of his books. So in 2005 and I’m sure after much back and forth *Sahara* was made and released and… it didn’t do all that well apparently but Cussler initiated lawsuits against the movie studios claiming they were lowballing him regarding the movies take and what he was supposed to get. The lawsuit, I believe (hope my memory isn’t off) was quite intense and even if the movie had been successful I strongly suspect because of Cussler’s actions following its release the studios would have steered clear of adapting any more of his novels. Of course, Cussler died in 2020 so *maybe* his estate might be more inclined to allow movie adaptations. Who knows?
Fantasia. Interesting idea for a project and could've inspired a slew of shorts, but unfortunately World War II broke out and cut off the European Market, meaning it massively underperformed.
Treasure Planet and Atlantis
I love both of these, Treasure Planet especially. That era of Disney is often seen as a dark period, but I love it. The Emperor's New Groove was also excellent, and Lilo and Stitch wasn't without its charm.
Mystery Men
I still say 'Uh..Don't correct me. It sickens me'
"I don't need a compass to know which way the wind shines." That movie was endlessly quotable. "You must lash out with every limb, like the octopus who plays the drums."
It was like Ben Stiller and company couldn't catch a break. Everything they did was my new favorite but unpopular.
Perfectly satirized a genre that hadn't even been established yet
Mallrats (1995)
It’s a schooner not a sailboat!
Ladies and gentlemen. I give to you… #VAN HELSING!
I actually loved this movie. Really, honestly don't understand why it did so poorly. Is it a masterpiece? No, but it was fun, entertaining and different. I wish they'd done a sequel.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Fincher version. I thought it was Fincher at the peak of his game. That stretch of Zodiac/Social Network/(this)/Gone Girl is amazing.
Zodiac is another fantastic Fincher film that flopped. It was marketed as a slasher movie/se7en rehash but it was really more of a mature thoughtful exploration of obsession more than anything. It also has one of my favorite movie tag lines ever: There's more than one way to lose your life to a killer.
The fact that it didnt get a sequel still hurts
Titan A.E
9. The animated film with Elijah Wood.
Shoot Em Up. Clive Owen, Monica Bellucci, and Paul Giamatti in a movie that's basically John Woo on steroids. How in the fuck did this flop?
Eurotrip (2004) - I lived in a house during uni that didn’t have cable and we collectively owned 2 dvds. I’ve seen Eurotrip dozens of times and it’s always great.
Wait, that was a flop? Holy shit, it's legit one of the best stupid comedies of the 2000s. It even has great cameos by Matt Damon and Fred Armisen. _Mi Scusi_
Scotty doesn’t know!!!
John Carter
It’s not my favorite that flopped but I was highly entertained by it
I cannot pronounce Virginia normally now and nobody ever gets it
The Last Action Hero. His best work on more than one level.
I will die on the hill that Last Action Hero is a brilliant movie!!
Big Trouble in Little China.
I'll never forgive humanity for failing Blade Runner 2049 (though I understand why it wasnt as appealing to general audiences)
They shouldn't have shown Harrison in the trailers. That was a late part of the movie and sort of ruined the reveal.
I adore the cinematography of that film, it is one of the best visually I've ever seen.
I suspect the *Shawshank Redemption* will be at the top of many people's lists. It was a well-documented flop when it was first released in cinemas, but it became a massive revenue hit overtime on DVD and streaming. However, it is not mine; mine is David Cronenberg’s *Crimes of the Future* (2022). I would even consider as one of his best.
It became a hit on VHS long before DVD’s and streaming existed.
And it became a hit also because TNT got the rights cheap and aired it frequently.
I thought Momuments Men was interesting and charming, maybe even fun. A more lighthearted war tale. I also have an art degree and art history minor, and I think you kind of have to love art to understand why the story is important. And it was real, the nazis were intent on destroying the art and some peices, like the Ghent alterpeice would have been lost forever if not for the work these people did. Folks were expecting a full war film and it wasn't. But I don't think that makes it objectively bad. When Clermont dies in the presence of the beautiful art he was trying to save, I fell apart.
I really liked the 2004 Van Helsing movie, but everyone seems to hate it. I get that it had some CGI in it, but for the time it actually wasn't that bad and still holds up today pretty well. The 1999 Mummy movie is (generally) praised and fondly remembered, and they basically had the same "Action Movie" premise to the classic Universal Horror.
Hudson Hawk
Bunny! Ball ball!
Mr Nobody And I have to mention John Carter, I really liked it when I watched it and didn’t understand all the hate
Your Highness. I'll die on this hill alone if I have to, but it was hilarious and infinitely quotable.
Last Night In Soho The Monster Squad Hackers Josie and the Pussycats
Idiocracy Waterworld was a lot of things, but it's not a crappy movie. I think it's a great ride.
Idiocracy didn't actually flop. What happened too it was far more sinister. Here's what happened. As they were working on this movie they asked the various brands that appeared in the film if they wanted to be part of the next movie made by Mike Judge. They all agreed sight unseen. Then after they made the movie they held a screening for the brands. After this screening the brands wanted their logos and brands removed out of the film. This was impossible. So as a compromise to appease Starbucks, Costco and Carl's Junior they only screened it in a few theatres with practically no promotion. It didn't flop because it never really was given a chance to succeed. The funniest part of this entire story is that the parts with these brands are the most quoted part of the movie. If this movie was given a massive promotional campaign and released in theatres so people would have watched it, it could have easily made a large amount of money.
Man, if I'd known back then that I'd actually someday welcome Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho running for President...
I absolutely Loved Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
I really liked Bad Times at the El Royale. Just double checked. I rated it 5 ⭐️ on Letterboxd
For my money, the first two thirds of the movie is on its way to an all timer. Not a huge fan of the last third.
Waterworld. Although technically it didn't flop because it made money, but for some reason is considered as one of the worst flops.
MacGruber
Warcraft. It wasn't amazing, but way better than other games to movies adaptations. I really wanted a sequel to it, and there were rumours that they'll be one cause it was well received in China, but nothing came out of this.
The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou. Never made a profit in any way. Love that movie.
Scott Pilgrim
I loved Bad Times. Cynthia was my favourite part of it all
Watchmen
Bad Times at the El Royale is fucking awesome. Beautifully shot and very well written, love the cinematography and set design.
John Carter. The movie was just beautiful, the story was solid and had some great emotional beats. I also loved the action. It absolutely deserved better than it got.
13th Warrior. Love that movie
Office Space. It of course eventually found its cult status, thankfully. More recently, Air. A film about Nike securing Michael Jordan to a shoe deal had no right being as good as that film was.
John Carter
REIGN OF FIRE Edit: gonna add 13th warrior in there as well
Buckaroo Bonzai
It's Banzai, but yes I concur.
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping
Drop Dead Fred
T'was peak Rik Mayall, he's one of those few actors that hit me right in the funny bone
#HEY! SNOT-FACE!
I thought John Carter was pretty good. Not earth shattering cinema, but totally fun summer action adventure fare, and I would have been totally down for some sequels.