Some movies are so bad they not only get slammed by critics but also lose millions at the box office. These flops stand out for their awful reviews, weak storytelling, and huge financial disasters that left studios reeling. Here are a few of the worst ones.
Take Cats from 2019. This musical adaptation of the famous stage show starred big names like Taylor Swift and James Corden, but it bombed hard with a D-plus CinemaScore from audiences and scathing reviews calling it creepy and confusing. It lost at least 56 million dollars after theaters took their cut, on top of massive marketing costs.https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history[3]
Then there is Sahara in 2005, with Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz hunting treasure in the desert. Despite the star power, it flopped big time, losing an estimated 78 million dollars at the box office. Critics hated the plot holes and silly action, and audiences stayed away.https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history[3]
Martin Scorseses Hugo in 2011 looked promising with young stars Asa Butterfield and Chloe Grace Moretz in a magical tale about an orphan in a train station. It went 80 million dollars over budget and lost the studio that much at the box office. Even from a top director, the film failed to draw crowds despite some praise for its visuals.https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history[3]
King Arthur: Legend of the Sword in 2017 tried to reboot the legend with Guy Ritchie directing. It had a 175 million dollar budget but only grossed 148 million worldwide, leading to a 150 million dollar loss. Blame went to no big stars, endless reshoots, and a bloated budget that turned off viewers.https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history[3]
Dolittle in 2020 starred Robert Downey Jr. as the talking animal doctor, but it needed 500 million to break even and only made half that. Universal was furious as families skipped it for better options, and reviews trashed the effects and script.https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history[3]
In November 2025, Hollywood had a rough month with 14 wide releases bombing in a row. A 105 million dollar Predator movie could not break even, a Russell Crowe and Rami Malek drama got a standing ovation but flopped in theaters, and a Nicolas Cage horror where he plays Jesuss dad made under 150 thousand dollars.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM-0BdLa6qU[2]
Keeper, another 2025 disaster, got called the worst movie yet by critics with a D-plus CinemaScore. Its 8 million dollar budget led to just 4.8 million at the box office.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM-0BdLa6qU[2]
Pixars Elio in 2025 had the lowest wide-release opening for any Pixar film, at 20.84 million dollars, even worse than Toy Story from 1995 unadjusted for inflation. Production troubles made it a catastrophic flop.https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history[3]
Recent indie flops include The Surfer with Nicolas Cage losing his mind on screen, but it got buried with almost no viewers. Another, a Pedro Pascal movie, made numbers so low they stunned everyone, and Eephus with a 6 million dollar budget starring Benedict Cumberbatch only pulled in 379 thousand dollars.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgrvwkQKaQ[5]
Sources
https://www.slashfilm.com/1734180/successful-movies-box-office-bombs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM-0BdLa6qU
https://www.businessinsider.com/surprising-box-office-flops-throughout-movie-history
https://collider.com/movie-masterpieces-box-office-bombs-ranked/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXgrvwkQKaQ
https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/20_movie_flops_that_are_actually_good/s1__42163698
