Movies take a staggering amount of money to make, and nowadays, any budget below $50 million
is considered mid-to-low range.
That level of spending usually works out in the end, since movies also make a staggering
amount of money, but not all producers are lucky enough to earn back their investment.
In the case of these films, the films did so poorly at the box office that they're considered
cautionary tales in Tinseltown.
The 13th Warrior
Adapted from a Michael Crichton novel, The 13th Warrior is loosely based upon the myth
of Beowulf.
While the film earned some recognition for its expensive set pieces, those costly moments
ended up ballooning the film's budget to $160 million, while the box office returns were
only $61.7 million, leaving the film with a deficit of almost $100 million.
The movie's failure to find an audience is a bit of a puzzler, since the source material
was by a proven bestselling writer and it was directed by Die Hard's John McTiernan.
But no matter the reason, the end results were so embarrassing that co-star Omar Sharif
ended up briefly retiring from acting in disgust.
The Adventures of Pluto Nash
Eddie Murphy used to be a reliable hit-maker with successes in everything from action adventure
films to zany comedies to movies that required him to suit up for almost every character.
He even had some successes on the family film scene with Dr. Doolittle and Shrek confirming
that kiddos liked to laugh at him just as much as adults.
But his star power burnt out somewhere between those films and The Adventures of Pluto Nash,
because the film earned back just $7.1 million of its $100 million budget.
It's not hard to see why the film fared so poorly.
With mediocre special effects, a confusing and unfunny script, and a nonsensical future
setting, even Eddie Murphy's big name couldn't save the film from flopping hard.
Stealth
Rob Cohen was behind the lens for a number of hits, including The Fast and the Furious
and xXx.
But his box office streak took a serious nosedive when his aviation actioner Stealth crashed
and burned at the box office.
The film followed a crew of Air Force pilots trying to control an Artificial Intelligence
jet.
But instead of being a compelling adventure movie, it was more like a science-fiction
parody of Top Gun.
It grossed just $76 million against a $135 million budget and made good on its title
by sneaking away from the theaters largely unnoticed.
Sahara
Based on a massively successful series of books about a rugged adventurer with a quick
wit and a way with women, Sahara looked like it might be able to recapture the magic of
Indiana Jones.
Unfortunately for everyone involved, the built-in audience for the books didn't translate to
a box office success and Sahara grossed a modest $119.3 million that wasn't enough to
cover its $160 million budget and $81 million in distribution costs.
Part of it could have just been poor timing, since the movie starred Matthew McConaughey
before his star power returned in full force with the McConaissance.
"It'd be a lot cooler if you did."
But either way, the studio was parched after this movie's returns.
Mars Needs Moms
Disney's experiment with motion-capture performance, co-produced by legendary director Robert Zemeckis,
seemed like a good idea on paper.
And Mars Needs Moms wasn't conceptually off the mark, either, as it followed a nine-year-old
trying to save his mom from aliens who want to harness her powers to juice up their "nannybots,"
which is the stuff of fairly standard family fare.
But while the film's effects were cutting edge, they gave an almost uncomfortable eeriness
to every character's facial expressions.
And rather than an exciting adventure or a surreal nightmare of a film, the movie ended
up being a snooze.
Audiences on Earth didn't have much interest in it, handing over just $39 million in ticket
fare against a whopping $150 million budget.
The Mouse House might not usually have trouble wrangling in the kiddos to see their animated
features, but this movie marked a major write-down for the studio.
Speaking of Disney flops in outer space ...
John Carter
Based on the seminal works of Edgar Rice Burroughs, which influenced everything from Star Wars
to parts of the DC Universe, John Carter seemed like a sure thing on paper.
In practice, though, the film fet ironically derivative and trite.
John Carter managed to make $73 million domestically, with worldwide sales barely pushing the film
past its $250 million budget.
Considering it took around $100 million more to market the movie, Disney took a hefty loss
on the would-be tentpole project.
The title hero of the film might be less affected by gravity on Mars, but here on Earth, he
was brought down hard.
R.I.P.D.
The title of this film is an acronym for the Rest In Peace Department, a special police
force that takes care of renegade spirits before they can affect the human world.
It's basically Men in Black with a supernatural twist, and the casting of Ryan Reynolds as
the upstart partner to Jeff Bridges' grumpy mentor seemed like a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, the movie was pronounced D.O.A., barely making back $78 million of its $130
million budget.
While the failure of certain films can sometimes be attributed to poor marketing, studio interference,
or even rival movie releases that are oddly similar, the blame for R.I.P.D. rests pretty
entirely on the film itself—it's relentlessly unfunny.
Bridges and Reynolds seem like they're so bored with the script that they might as well
be on the other side.
But, hey, maybe they were just method acting the whole time.
"tough day."
The Lone Ranger
The character The Lone Ranger is a classic part of American pop culture.
Unfortunately for the makers of the 2013 reboot of the hit TV and radio series, however, the
film was plagued with problems from start to finish.
For starters, the film drew ire over casting Johnny Depp as the Native American sidekick
Tonto, which prompted massive criticism over its decision to whitewash the character.
Then, there was the matter of its bloated budget, which was $215 million before marketing
costs.
And to top it all off, critics laughed at the film for all the wrong reasons.
"Justice is what I seek kemosabe" Maybe just... pick a different hat next time.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Looper icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!