2018 Movies That Were Huge Box Office Bombs:
The movie making machine of Hollywood churns out many movies in a single year. There are so many of them and almost each one of them is so anticipated by the fans that everyone is led to believe that these movies will surely be a Box Office hit. But not every movie makes it into the Golden Circle. Some are dragged down by the critics while others are deprived of the Blockbuster tag because of a weak storyline, direction, acting or a blend of all three of the above. 2018 was no different. Presenting – 14 highly anticipated 2018 movies that were Huge Box Office Bombs – Ranked!
14. Mortal Engines
Universal Studios is in dire straits after releasing one box Office bomb after another. Their latest venture was Mortal Engines, based on the famous Mortal Instruments series of books. Mortal Engines tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world where city-states are mobile and driven around a wasteland via huge engines. The movie had stunning visuals and a good cast but it still made only 62 Million Dollars at the Box Office as opposed to a budget of 100 Million dollars. The reason for it flopping in the theatres was the enormous competition during the time of its release.
13. Solo: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars is a franchise that could be called one of the last, great bastions of ancient cinema. It has held on to its leading positions in the box Office whenever it is released ever since its conception. But with Solo: A Star Wars Story, the seemingly flawless franchise finally faltered. The production budget for Star Wars was 275 Million dollars and it made a measly 392 Million Dollars at the Box Office and we are not even counting the money spent on marketing campaigns. Many claim that in studio politics and mismanagement of the movie’s crew as well as bad casting choices led to its demise.
12. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
This movie came and went away without anyone even missing it. Disney has produced a plethora of movies last year and released them in theatres worldwide but the classic Disney formula is no longer working. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms primary bane was the lack of originality and a proper storyline. Despite incredible visuals, it only managed to rake in 162 Million dollars with a budget of 120 Million dollars. The movie also faced stiff competition from other anticipated movies like Creed II and Ralph Breaks the Internet.
11. The Girl in the Spider’s Web
Lisbeth Salander is every feminist’s wet dream come true. She is independent, feisty and badass. The hacker that we need but do not deserve came to the screens again last October. But the movie franchise which went sky high in terms of fame with 2011’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was nowhere near the mark with The Girl in the Spider’s Web. The movie only managed to pull 34 Million Dollars with a production budget of 43 Million Dollars. The critical reviews were extremely good but the long-time fans of the franchise did not receive the movie well which is why it failed.
10. The Happytime Murders
Melissa McCarthy is comedy franchise Viagra. Spy, The Heat, Bridesmaids – she has been a major part of all these famous hilarious Hollywood productions. In The Happytime Murders, which is like Sesame Street with way too much obscene humour, McCarthy commits a fatal error. The plot was weak, the jokes went over our heads and the fact that Sesame Workshop – creators of Sesame Street sued the studio did not help. The budget for the movie was 40 Million while it earned only 27 Million dollars.
9. Death Wish
Death Wish did not have a bad storyline. With Bruce Willis at the helm, it did not have a weak protagonist as well. What it did have was enormous bad luck. Death Wish, a remake of the original movie series of the same name, has plenty of gun violence and death. During a time when mass shootings were rampant in the United States, the audience would not be pleased by a movie that promotes gun violence. As a result, the movie was delayed for about five months. And then on the month of its release, another mass shooting happened. Bad Timing led to the movie earning a measly 34 Million dollars with a budget of 30 million.
8. Annihilation
Alex Garland is known for his tense, psychologically riveting movies. His previous movie Ex-Machine questioned what makes the human soul. In Annihilation, the question was if humanity has reached the pinnacle of the evolutionary ladder. Annihilation is a slow-burning psychological horror featuring an ensemble cast and met with extremely positive reviews. But at Box Office, it performed miserably. Annihilation had a worldwide Netflix release and that might have contributed to its low earnings. Opposed to a budget of 40 Million dollars, the movie earned just 32 Million dollars.
7. Gotti
There is a golden rule for any Hollywood movie – never mess with the critics. Sure they are certainly trolls and idiots who know next to nothing about differentiating between deserving movies from undeserving ones but never call their shit out in public. That is what Gotti did and they faced their wrath. Gotti was criticized for virtually everything – pacing, directing, writing and acting. When the Studio called the movie critics “trolls” and literally begged the audience to go and watch the movie, the reputation of the already derided movie faltered even more. The movie earned only 4.3 Million with a budget of 10 million dollars.
6. Early Man
The Studio that gave us Wallace and Gromit came back to the scene with Early Man – a stop motion comedy adventure about cavemen protecting their homeland from invaders by playing a soccer match against them. Early Man suffered from bad marketing and was released on the day Black Panther hit the theatres. It earned only 54 Million dollars with a budget of 50 Million dollars. It could have been a hit if they timed their release right.
5. The Hurricane Heist
This movie held tremendous promise – a group of bank robbers decide to rob a bank with a category 5 hurricane in the background. But the execution was faulty. The movie dropped on a relatively (Box-Office wise) calmer October but failed to earn more than 31 Million dollars. When compared with its production budget of 35 Million dollars, it was not a disaster movie but a disastrous movie.
4. The Darkest Minds
Yet another movie that a studio aimed to turn into a franchise, Darkest Minds is based on a series of books of the same name about a group of super-powered children fighting an oppressive regime in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian world. The movie had an abysmally low Box Office performance with only 41 Million dollars on the table. The budget for the movie was 34 Million.
3. A Wrinkle in Time
A daughter ventures out into an unknown world in search of her missing scientist father – a classic Disney storyline. Except, it is a plot that has been driven into the ground by Hollywood! Ava Duvernay, the Director of the movie, believed that using politically correct tones in a movie is the way to go to attract the 21st Century audience. It wasn’t. The audience hated the movie and it only earned a mere 132 Million dollars against a budget of 100 Million. That may not sound as bad but factor in Disney’s extremely expensive marketing campaign for the movie and you have a freaking nightmare. This is Disney’s biggest flop of 2018.
2. London Fields
The movie was strife with troubles from the very beginning. The Director sued the studio midway during post-production and then the Studio sued Amber Heard, the lead of the movie. Amber heard then counter-sued the Studio. Even with heavyweights like Johnny Depp, Billy Bob Thornton and Jaime Alexander at the helm, the movie earned only 250 thousand dollars worldwide. The budget of the movie was more than 8 Million!
1. Robin Hood
The tale form centuries ago has been done and dusted so many times that we have lost count. Why would a studio think that making a movie on a story that every guy and girl on this planet knows is a good idea? It would come as no surprise when we say that Robin Hood, starring Taron Edgerton in the eponymous role bombed big time. The movie had a budget of 100 Million dollars. It made only 73 Million dollars at the Box Office.
