Biggest box office bombs of all time

[Criswell]

Wasn't there a movie that played in one theater and only made like 20 bucks?

[El Misfit]

Wasn't there a movie that played in one theater and only made like 20 bucks?

It was Zyzzyx road.



I saw:
Treasure Planet- I even own it!
Hudson Hawk- A good movie to watch on a Saturday night.
Battle Field Earth- Funny thing, with all of those dutch angles, I got dizzy and puked. never finished it.

[joejoe]

what a minute here, Nothing but Trouble is on the list?

Personally, I liked Nothing but Trouble.  I enjoy watching it for Chevy Chase and Dan Ackroyd. not much else.

I can understand why Saraha is on the list.  I enjoy reading Clive Cussler novels. I saw Saraha once, and I cannot express in words the disapointment I had reading the book and then watching the movie.  Brother Jim Beam could not help me through this one.

[Raffine]

You can sort of understand huge action/sci fi movies costing 120-150 million dollars but there is absolutely no excuse for a plain little romantic comedy like TOWN AND COUNTRY or HOW DO YOU KNOW to be costing that much to make. Paying a group of over-the-hill actors 20 - 30 million dollars a head to phone in a performance is pure insanity and the studios get exactly what they deserved.

[Flick James]

Wow. I completely missed that The Adventures of Baron Munchausen was on the list. I love that movie. I will proudly say that I think that is the best movie on the entire list.

[Skull]

I had no idea Money Train was such a failure at the BO, I loved that movie. I'm surprised 'Last Action Hero' didn't make that list. Appropriately it was hyped up like crazy in 93, and when it was released it was heavily panned by critics for two reasons.

1. The audience of the time didn't quite understand it, so in other words it was too far ahead of its time.

2. It had to compete with Jurassic Park which was the wrong road to take as it turned out.     

I almost enjoyed 'Last Action Hero' but the kid kept talking and talking and it got so annoying! It also seemed like a rip-off to Purple Rose of Cairo and that was also annoying because I dont like Woody Allen films.

Hudson Hawk is a joy... I believe the problem with the movie it was rated R (for almost nothing ~ for language ~ which is very mild considering the amout of language/violence in the Die Hard films)... The movie should of been rated PG-13.... Although this is a little before Hollywood decided to make PG-13 soft R, and I believe Hollywood felt funny giving Bruce Wills a PG-13 rated film...

[ChaosTheory]

Was Red Planet the Mars flick with Val Kilmer, or the one with Gary Sinise?

I've seen more of these than I would've expected
SPEED RACER - that flick was a mess; an interesting mess, but a mess
CUTTHROAT ISLAND - I liked it as a kid, doubt it would hold up on repeat viewing though
13TH WARRIOR - liked it
TREAURE PLANET - liked it
OSMOSIS JONES - kind of bizarre but I've seen worse
ASTRONAUT'S WIFE - hated it
CATWOMAN - why? why did they have to do that to Catwoman?!?
ROLLERBALL - ok I only actually saw about the first 10 minutes, then I gave up
BALLISTIC: ECKS VS SEVER - there was so much nothing in that movie
THE AVENGERS - Like Speed Racer, I wasn't bored but it was a big old mess
TIMELINE - eh, it was ok
THE SCARLET LETTER - HATED IT!! Everyone involved should be ashamed!  (And I usually like Gary Oldman too)

I really need to get Hudson Hawk , Heaven's Gate, & Munchausen watched.  They're all on my list 

[indianasmith]

The 2004 version of THE ALAMO is an amazing film, highly historically accurate, brilliantly cast, and visually stunning.  I STILL don't understand why it flopped so hard. I show it to my 7th grade Texas History class every year.

[BTM]

1. Sahara - I don't care what the critics say, I really liked this movie.  My favorite scene is when they're "surfing" in the desert to "Sweet Home Alabama"

2. The Adventures of Pluto Nash - Oh, God, this was painful.  My friend INSISTED we watch this.  I don't get him sometimes.  He thought this film was funny, but didn't like Serenity.  WTF?

3. Cutthroat Island - Just kind "meh" to me.  I didn't Geena Davis' acting was that great, but it did have one or two good action scenes.

4. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - More holes in the plot than swiss cheese.  Although the graphics are very pretty, there wasn't much else in this film, other than a good performance by Donald Sutherland, but that wasn't enough to save it.

5. Around the World in 80 Days - Had a funny bit or two, but didn't I already see this film before?  Let's see.. Jackie Chan teaming up with some other actor for wacky adventures.. wasn't that Rush Hour?  Or Shanghai Noon?  Or...

6. Hart's War - Nothing really special, plot kind of stretched credulity that the camp warden would put up with this whole "trial" nonsense.
   
7. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever - Dear God, I felt brain cells dying as I watched this film!  It was like millions of people crying out in agony and then were suddenly heard no more!

8.  Outlander - If this is the same Outlander I'm thinking of, this was a GOOD freaking movie!  And it should have done better!  I recommend everyone here see it!

9. Hudson Hawk - Not nearly bad as the critics were b***hing about.

[Skull]

The 2004 version of THE ALAMO is an amazing film, highly historically accurate, brilliantly cast, and visually stunning.  I STILL don't understand why it flopped so hard. I show it to my 7th grade Texas History class every year.

I have not seen it but I'll assume it has a depressing ending.

[Pilgermann]

Out of those I'v seen:

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within - Ignoring the Final Fantasy moniker, I think it's a very cool sci-fi film.

Treasure Planet - This one's sadly overlooked but it's one of the better latter-day non-music Disney flicks.

A Sound of Thunder - Not good but kind of charming.  The 30-minute Ray Bradbury Theater episode of the same story's better!

Soldier - I like Kurt Russell but this wasn't anything special.  Didn't Kurt break his ankle during production or something?

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - What a wonderful film!  Everyone knows about its production woes, but Columbia freakin' killed it.  They made only 117 prints for US release!  I'd say its box office gross isn't too bad considering...

The Relic - Don't remember it well other than I think I enjoyed it.

Man on the Moon - Worth checking out.

[Psycho Circus]

An awful lot of these don't surprise me. I mean, Catwoman and Son Of The Mask are some of the most appalling pieces of cinema ever made, although I absolutely loved Bonfire Of The Vanities and Nothing But Trouble. Have to go against the grain here and say that I really don't like Hudson Hawk at all...

I'd say there's a couple of films on that list that are again, better than some very successful films released recently IMO. I think we all know that money doesn't really count at all when it comes to making something entertaining. There's stuff that makes millions the world over that is usually total garbage, fuelled by hype and eat up by teenagers that don't have any brain power.

[hudders]

Wasn't there a movie that played in one theater and only made like 20 bucks?

It was Zyzzyx road.

Didn't they do that deliberately though? Something about not being able to sell it internationally without a domestic release?

[Nakuyabi]

Isn't Heaven's Gate (1980) kind of the ultimate example?

It's my understanding it wasn't really a bad movie, just overlong and severely oversold.

[LilCerberus]

Isn't Heaven's Gate (1980) kind of the ultimate example?

It's my understanding it wasn't really a bad movie, just overlong and severely oversold.

I heard somewhere once that it was one of those kinds of movies that managed to make a comeback after it hit home video.
Not sure if that counts...