Best films that bombed or disappointed at the Box Office

[Michael Gary Scott]

Serenity

[fishstick]

Good call on Starship Troopers.

 

sernety wa sone of those movies that I couldn`t finish watching. I just didn`t click with anyone and anything in it. I rightously failed because there wa snothing in it for non-Browncoats.

[Webslinger]

Serenity was screwed from the get-go. Given what limited appeal it had at the time, it was a small miracle that it even got made.

 

That said, with the increased viewership it has picked up since then (thank you, Netflix streaming) and the increased clout Joss Whedon has picked up from his involvement with The Avengers, another season or movie could be made and probably be at least a modest hit.

[MasterDodsen]

The biggest disappointment, in terms of Box Office to the caliber of the movie, is The Empire Strikes Back, but what it has made still qualifies it as a success, financially speaking.  Here is a list of recent movies that I felt should've made more than what they did:

 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

To Rome with Love

Moneyball

Midnight in Paris

Source Code

Sucker Punch

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Secratariat

127 Hours

Angels and Demons

Whip It

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

W.

Charlie Wilson's War

Fanboys

 

That was till 2007.

[Webslinger]

I think Moneyball actually had a very solid run considering that baseball movies usually don't make a whole lot at the box office. (42 is an exception, but that one also has the historical significance of its subject working in its favor.) Even with Brad Pitt in the lead role and the underdog story at hand, it's a 135-minute movie that focuses on people talking about statistics.

[Hiccup]

Rango, Sucker Punch, Hurt Locker, Scream 4, Dark Shadows, Narnia 2 & 3, Watchmen, Drag Me to Hell, Beowulf, Terminator Salvation, Happy Feet 2, The Wolfman, Arthur Christmas, Winnie the Pooh, Donnie Darko, The Thing (both films), Angels and Demons, Jarhead, Prometheus, and Drive

[langer]

Watchmen (with the buzz and OW, should have made 140M+)

X-Men First Class  (Quality wise, this should have made 200M+)

Funny People  (GA is crass, this should have broken 100M)

Hitman   (That movie deserved at least 75M and a sequel)

The Chronicles of Riddick  (This was sold as a SW type movie, it delivered but GA wasn't convince, was hoping for 100M+ and a true sequel)

Team America World Police (This is what a puppet movie should be...was hoping for 60-70M)

Zoolander   (one of the best comedy of all time, deversed at least to break to 100M)

[Fancyarcher]

Watchmen (with the buzz and OW, should have made 140M+)

X-Men First Class  (Quality wise, this should have made 200M+)

Funny People  (GA is crass, this should have broken 100M)

Hitman   (That movie deserved at least 75M and a sequel)

The Chronicles of Riddick  (This was sold as a SW type movie, it delivered but GA wasn't convince, was hoping for 100M+ and a true sequel)

Team America World Police (This is what a puppet movie should be...was hoping for 60-70M)

Zoolander   (one of the best comedy of all time, deversed at least to break to 100M)

 

Watchmen opened well but was hurt by misleading marketing and nasty WOM.

[langer]

Watchmen opened well but was hurt by misleading marketing and nasty WOM.

 

Yeah it was a comic book movie for adult and the market for those types of movies is relatively small. 

 

Edit : It was also my fanboyism wishing for a better DOM result.  Although they were talking about doing a Rorshach/Night Owl prequel if the movie had made more money and I'm not found of meddling too much with Alan Moore's stories... 

 

I watched the movie first and then read the comic and I was amazed at how close the movie was to the book.  Snyder did a terrific job at rendering the original material. 

Edited August 21, 2013 by langer

[Sims]

The biggest disappointment, in terms of Box Office to the caliber of the movie, is The Empire Strikes Back

 

Um. What?

[Jack Nevada]

Zoolander underperformed at the box office cause it came out two weeks after 9/11

[langer]

Zoolander underperformed at the box office cause it came out two weeks after 9/11

Ohhh I didn't know that.  I remember seeing numbers from the 11th and it was very low.

Edited August 21, 2013 by langer

[mahnamahna]

Um. What?

Empire Strikes Back only sold about 55-60% of New Hope's tickets and it was a critical disappointment at the time so it didn't have the great WOM the original did. Of course, it'd still be a mega-blockbuster today  but it still made quite a bit less than the original

[mahnamahna]

1. Winnie the Pooh - this should have done $13 million opening weekend with $55 million to $60 million DOM total. 

2. Wreck-it Ralph - it definitely deserved a Madagascar 3 level opening weekend and a Brave style run: $60 million OW with a $240 million DOM total

3. Rango - it would have been nice if this had some stronger legs and got to $145 million DOM total

4. The Muppets - I honestly wish Happy Feet 2, Alvin 3 and Jack & Jill were never made, Arthur Christmas was pushed back a week, and Hugo was in limited release, because this would have gotten the $110 million to $125 million DOM total it deserved if it weren't for so many family movies released during one period 

5. Star Trek Into Darkness - as the best blockbuster of the summer, this deserved $275 million to $325 million DOM total. 

6. Tron: Legacy - I was hoping this would get to $210 million, $220 million - around there

7. The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey - this year's slate of films wasn't blockbuster aside from Les Miz and Django so this should have gotten $320 million to $350 million no problem 

[tommycruise]

Oblivion-it deserved at least 100m Dom and 200m OS but it unfortunately received neither

[Sims]

Empire Strikes Back only sold about 55-60% of New Hope's tickets and it was a critical disappointment at the time so it didn't have the great WOM the original did. Of course, it'd still be a mega-blockbuster today  but it still made quite a bit less than the original

 

I'm aware, but to say it is the most disappointing box office run of all time is one of the most absurd things I've ever read.

Edited August 22, 2013 by Sims

[A Marvel Fanboy]

Too many good movies did poorly box office ...

[CaptainJackSparrow]

Pacific RimRangoThe Wild Thornberries.

[Incarnadine]

Serenity

 

Serenity must be becoming a true cult hit now. A few weeks back I noticed it was being shown as a Most Wanted Monday movie (people vote for movies to be shown on Mondays with tickets just $6 at Cineplex Odeon theaters. The next MWM movies are Anchorman, Evil Dead (1981), The Big Lebowski and Die Hard (1988) ).

I thought it would be interesting to see it on the big screen again  so I went online to buy a ticket and the damn thing was SOLD OUT.

This was around 4 hours before showtime and it was in an auditorium with about 250 seats.

 

I gotta admit, Cineplex Odeon does have some good ideas on getting people to go to the theater.

 

Most Wanted Mondays

Family Favorites (Saturday Mornings, tickets just $2.50. I'm seriously thinking about seeing Coraline when it shows in a few weeks)

Metropolitan Opera

National Theater Live

Front Row Center Dance Events (I'm a fairly recent convert to watching ballet, but I do really like it. Definitely seeing the Royal Opera House perform Don Quixote and the Bolshoi performing Spartacus)

[stripe]

There are too many to choose.

 

At the time they opened, I really liked The island, Starship troopers, The Majestic, Bolt, Peacemaker, Children of Men... And thought they all grossed poorly given quality.