2009 was filled with great success and also with great failure. And although there were no major, multi-million dollar movies that failed to even crack the million dollar mark (ie: Delgo; cost $40 million, made just under $1 million), or big budget motion pictures that bankrupted a studio (2001's Final Fantasy movie cost $137 million and only made $85 worldwide, bankrupting newly created Square Pictures), there were a lot of movies that did much less than expected.It was actually hard making a top ten because a lot of these movies are very close in the ink of red. Also, if you account for the fact that a movie studio's revenues is averaged out to about 55% of the box office receipts, then we may have a lot more box office disappointments. Anyways, here are the top ten box office duds, flops, bombs... whatever you may call it... of 2009.
2008 Box office Flops
10) Did You Hear About the Morgans?Budget: $58 million
Domestic Gross: $28.7 million
Total: $29.2 million as of 01/18/10
Taking in about half of a $58 million budgeted movie is never a good sign for a studio. Hugh Grant's witty English charm, and Sarah Jessica Parker's Sex and the City following couldn't get this movie to find an audience.
9) Taking WoodstockBudget: $30 million
Domestic Gross: $7.5 million
International Gross: $2.5 million
Total Gross: $9.9
Poor Ang Lee... one of the great directors of our time. And yet, no one knew he made this dramedy about Woodstock.
8) Where the Wild Things AreBudget: $100 million
Domestic Gross: $76.9 million
Total Gross: $76.9 million
Yes, this movie may have a strong cult following on DVD or Blu-ray (this is why this isn't higher on my list) because of its internal message and also because of the fact that most people really like it or hate it. However, after years of production and major reshoots, this $100 million Spike Jonze film, failed to find an audience at the box office.
7) PandorumBudget $40 million
Domestic Gross: $10.3 million
International Gross: $3 million
Total Gross: $13.3 million
I remember this movie having lots of buzz on the internet, almost as much as that Paranormal Activity movie. However, when Pandorum was finally released in theaters, all that fan buzz never really amounted to money at the box office. People would rather just sit and talk about movies on the internet than actually see it.
6) OutlanderBudget: $50 million
Domestic Gross: $166 thousand
International Gross: $6.1 million
Total Gross: $6.3 million
I've never heard of this movie until I began making this list. I know... me never hearing of a $50 million movie from 2009? That's uncanny. I guess the studios didn't find it worthy enough to be marketed to the public. Outlander is probably this year's Delgo, if I had to pick one.
5) Imagine ThatBudget: $55 million
Domestic Gross: $16.1 million
International Gross: $2.2 million
Total Gross: $18.3 million
Eddie Murphy, what the hell are you doing? I know you must be making money from these movies as I saw you on the Forbes highest paid celebrities in the past year... but come on.
4) Astro BoyBudget: $65 million
Domestic Gross: $19.5 million
International Gross: $1.7 million
Total Gross: $21.2 million
Nicholas Cage movies either hit, or miss terribly. This is the case for his Astro Boy as it will join the ranks of recent Cage misses as did Bangkok Dangerous, Next, and Wicker Man. It's a good thing that the production company, Summit, has the Twilight franchise.
3) SurrogatesBudget: $80 million
Domestic Gross: $38.6 million
International Gross: $22 million
Total Gross: $60.6 million
This looked like a cool idea with a mix of I, Robot, and Phillip K Dick stories. However, the trailer made it seem very bland for a sci-fi action film. Even with Bruce Willis in the mix, Surrogates failed to find an audience.
2) Land of the LostBudget: $100 million
Domestic Gross: $49.4 million
International Gross: $19.3 million
Total Gross: $68.7 million
This is the first Will Ferrell movie that had a huge budget coped with lots of visual effects. I actually thought this would've been a great movie because of it's weird mix of comedy and adventure. Apparently, I was wrong. Now, it sits in my Netflix que constantly being push to the bottom as other new movies keep being released.
1) NineBudget: $80 million
Domestic Gross: $18.3 million as of 01/18/10
Total Gross: $18.3
This might be to early to call, because if it gets nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, then it might find an audience (although, all its Golden Globe nods didn't really help it's box office). Unlike Rob Marshall's other film, Chicago, Nine is off to a very slow start (probably due to its release date, pitting it against Avatar, Sherlock Holmes, Alvin and the Chipmunks 2, and the list goes on), and reviews have also been less than stellar.
Honorable Mention:
Pirate Radio: Budget: $50 million; Total Gross: $36.3 million
Whiteout: Budget: $35 million; Total Gross: $12.2 million
Amelia: Budget: $40 million; Total Gross: $19.2 million
The Box: Budget: $30 million; Total Gross: $15 million
Planet 51: Budget: $70 million; Total Gross: $39.7 million
Box office Flops of 2010
2008 Box office Flops
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