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Highlights

• Wonder Woman 1984 made $46 million domestically and $123 million worldwide, resulting in a loss of $155 million.
• Mulan's live-action remake earned only $70 million against its $200 million budget, resulting in a loss of $159 million.
• The Flash is expected to incur a loss of about $200 million, despite grossing $102 million domestically and $248 million worldwide.

While many films and franchises are wildly successful, this article examines significant box office disappointments in film history – which caused major financial setbacks for the studios involved.

From superhero blockbusters to epic adventures, these films struggled to recover their massive budgets, resulting in substantial losses for their creators. We analyze movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and John Carter, exploring factors that contributed to their underwhelming performances and the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry.

12 Wonder Woman 1984 ($155 million)

When it comes to Wonder Woman 1984's box office performance amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we can't overlook theater closures' impact.

It remains uncertain if delaying these movie releases led to better results. Regardless, based on its actual release figures in December 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 made around $46 million domestically and approximately $123 million worldwide. Consequently, this resulted in a loss of about $155 million for the film.

11 Dark Phoenix ($155 Million)

Intended as a star vehicle for Sophie Turner (of Game of Thrones fame) as uncontrollable, tragic anti-villain (Phoenix) in this tenth X-Men installment, Dark Phoenix failed due to a messy storyline – which tarnished most franchise characters and limited Turner's opportunity to shine.

Factors such as an overcrowded cast, convoluted plot lines, and rushed re-shoots all contributed to director Simon Kinberg's Dark Phoenix failing at the box office. The movie earned $252 million worldwide against its budget of $200 million but faced marketing woes leading up to a loss estimated at $155 million.

10 Mulan ($159 Million, Live Action Version)

Another film affected by the COVID-19 pandemic was Mulan's live-action remake, which was released theatrically in September 2020.

Despite lukewarm critical responses and criticism from non-Western reviewers (specifically highlighting issues with cultural representation), Mulan fell short at the box office – generating a scant, approximate $70 million against a budget of $200 million.

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This represented a staggering loss totaling around $159 million, far from the financial success of its beloved 1998 animated predecessor – which grossed over $300 million on a much smaller budget.

9 Turning Red ($167 Million)

Pixar took an inventive approach in targeting older audiences with the tween comedy Turning Red, by featuring an older protagonist and mature humor.

However, this decision proved detrimental to the film's performance. The pandemic did play a role, but another key factor was releasing Turning Red theatrically in countries without access to streaming platform Disney+.

As a result, despite a budget of $175 million, the movie only earned $20 million worldwide — translating into losses totaling around $167 million.

8 Strange World ($197 Million)

Disney's animation division faced further disappointment in 2022 with Strange World, an adventure comedy that received excellent reviews – but failed at the box office.

Starring Jake Gyllenhaal alongside Dennis Quaid and Jaboukie Young-White, it followed a family of adventurers searching for a mysterious plant. Unfortunately, even though well-received critically, Strange World suffered substantial losses exceeding $197 million while also missing out on an Oscar nomination — a first for any animated Disney film in over ten years.

7 Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas ($199 Million)

A star-studded affair featuring Brad Pitt as Sinbad (along with Michelle Pfeiffer and Catherine Zeta-Jones in supporting roles) didn't save the animated adventure Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas from being considered disastrous upon its release in 2003.

With production costs totaling approximately $60 million against meager earnings amounting to just above $80 million when adjusted for inflation, this resulted in nearly losing an estimated sum close to $200 Million—driving DreamWorks away from traditional animation towards more profitable CGI ventures.

6 The Flash ($200 Million)

While The Flash is relatively recent (and its full box office results are not yet available at press time), when discussing earnings, the film has grossed around $102 million domestically and approximately $248 million worldwide.

The film, however, is expected to incur a loss of about $200 million against its budget ranging between $200 and 220 million (excluding marketing expenses). This outcome is particularly disappointing as Warner Bros. Discovery chose to shelve Batgirl for tax purposes, but kept faith in The Flash's potential success as a significant box office earner – only to face tremendous losses instead.

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This led to speculation that the sidelined release of Batgirl (with an estimated budget of around $90 million) might have resulted in lower financial setbacks, compared to their current losses.

5 Cutthroat Island ($202 Million)

Director Renny Harlin's Cutthroat Island gained notoriety during the 1990s as a pop culture punchline, due to its lackluster performance at the box office – despite being one of the most expensive films made at that time, with production costs alone varying between $90 and $100 million.

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Ultimately, it barely managed returns totaling just above $10 million — an atrocious result, leading to losses estimated around $202 million. Geena Davis and Matthew Modine revived their careers following this setback; however, Carolco Pictures, the production company behind Cutthroat Island, was financially devastated by its failure.

4 Mortal Engines ($204 Million)

Even though Philip Reeve's best-selling young adult sci-fi novel Mortal Engines garnered critical acclaim upon publication in 2001 (along with strong book sales numbers over many years), translating it into a movie adaptation took close to two decades; it was eventually released amidst fading hype surrounding YA fiction fervor back in 2018.

With production budgets ranging from approximately $100 to $150 million; Mortal Engines unfortunately fell short of expectations at the box office. In the end, it earned less than $84 million globally, equating to nearly $204 million dollars in lost revenue.

3 The 13th Warrior ($227 Million)

John McTiernan directed The 13th Warrior, an action-packed epic set in ancient times –which served as a star vehicle for Antonio Banderas. Adapted from Michael Crichton's novel Eaters of the Dead, it loosely retold the tale of Beowulf.

However, its convoluted nature contributed to its commercial failure. The movie had a production budget that went as high as $160 million dollars, yet failed to match expectations by earning less than $62 million at the box office—resulting in losses estimated at roughly $227 million dollars.

2 The Lone Ranger ($240 Million)

With Johnny Depp reuniting with director Gore Verbinski (who helmed the successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), The Lone Ranger — a lighthearted Western homage — at first appeared to hold immense potential for summer blockbuster success.

However, the project quickly took an unexpectedly dark and bizarre turn during production, generating controversy with respect to the handling of Indigenous Americans within its plot. Consequently, audience anticipation declined substantially leading up to release date - ultimately resulting in a catastrophic flop with losses amounting to about $240 million.

1 John Carter ($255 Million)

Similar to The Lone Ranger (but released earlier, in 2012), John Carter also endeavored to revisit popular 1930s serial adventures – with tentative plans to launch a sci-fi trilogy based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' legendary character.

However, the project was beset by decades-long delays in development hell and an enormous budget reaching $263 million, followed by substantial marketing expenses (nearly adding another hundred million). John Carterfaced insurmountable challenges upon release, managing a meager $284 million return worldwide.

These factors contributed to colossal losses amounting to approximately $255 million, and qualifying it as one of Hollywood's biggest financial disasters.

These box office failures serve as poignant reminders of the film industry's volatile and mercurial nature. Despite remarkable casts and compelling narratives, numerous obstacles – including shifting audience preferences and unforeseen events, such as COVID-19 – dramatically impacted outcomes.

These cautionary tales underscore studios' financial risks and stress the uncertainties inherent in the entertainment industry.

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