Since the dawn of cinema, the box office has been a crucial element in the movie industry that can easily make or break a film depending on its financial performance. In recent years, the number of movie goers has unfortunately dwindled at the theaters, which has taken a massive toll on the box office and hurt movies that actually earn rave reviews from audiences and critics.
The year 2024 gave movie fans a handful of solid films, but it also delivered a string of bombs at the box office which is likely to be expected in any year. While there are a few films that received positive reviews but fell short of their projected numbers, there were also a handful of movies, such as The Crow, Joker: Folie á Deux, and Borderlands that just tanked both with audiences and the box office. Out of all the movies released in 2024, including The Fall Guy, Fly Me to the Moon, and Argylle, these are the ten biggest bombs at the box office, ranked.
10
'Borderlands' (2024)
Directed by Eli Roth
Image via Lionsgate
The science-fiction action comedy, Borderlands, is one film of the year that came and went, barely making a dent in the box office opening weekend. Based on the video game series by the same name, Borderlands stars Cate Blanchett as an outlaw who returns to her home planet where she forms an alliance with a group of misfits to try and find the daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.
According to Deadline, Borderlands was projected to cost the studio $20 to $30 million dollars due to its disappointing release, but the film did cause an increase in sales of the video game, proving at least a minor silver lining to its failure. Aside from failing at the box office, Borderlands was also panned by audiences and critics, citing it as a mediocre adaptation that fell short in every area imaginable.
Release Date
August 9, 2024
Runtime
102 Minutes
Main Genre
Sci-Fi
Studio
Studio(s)
Arad Productions
, Picturestart
Distributor(s)
Lionsgate
9
'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (2024)
Directed by George Miller
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the latest installment in George Miller's franchise that, despite performing poorly at the box office, did earn overall positive reviews. The film follows the origin story of Fury Road character, Furoisa, played by Anya Taylor-Joy and Alyla Browne, and her journey from being kidnapped as a child all the way to her rise to the rank of Imperator.
Many critics and outlets, including Collider's Chris McPherson cited the lack of interest in the famous franchise and its prequels were a major contribution to the film's downfall. The movie earned five out of five stars from Empire's John Nugent, who praised Taylor-Joy's performance, noting it to be a fitting tribute to Charlize Theron's original character. The fact thatFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga did receive numerous positive reviews just proves that sometimes the box office isn't always a movie's ultimate deciding factor.
Release Date
May 24, 2024
Director
George Miller
Runtime
148 Minutes
Writers
George Miller
, Nick Lathouris
Budget
168 million
Studio(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributor(s)
Warner Bros. Pictures
8
'The Fall Guy' (2024)
Directed by David Leitch
Image via Universal Pictures
Ryan Gosling stars in the action comedy, The Fall Guy, as a stuntman, Colt Seavers, who comes out of retirement to work on an upcoming film directed by his former girlfriend (Emily Blunt). When the star of the movie suddenly disappears, Seavers soon finds himself in the middle of an unexpected conspiracy. The Fall Guy is another film that received rather exceptional reviews but sadly failed to stick the landing at the box office.
Overall, the movie earned a worldwide total of over one-hundred and eighty million dollars. According to Variety,The Fall Guy would have had to gross between $275 to $300 million dollars in order to break even, ultimately resulting in a financial loss for the studio. Despite flopping at the box office, several critics commended The Fall Guy for its level of entertainment, which was a refreshing change from today's heavy CGI and lack of character development seen in most movies.
Fly Me to the Moon is a romantic comedy set during the approaching days of NASA launching Apollo 11 for its historical moon landing. While NASA feels confident in their mission, they decide to lean towards the side of caution and resort to orchestrating a fake moon landing in case the mission goes south. They recruit an advertising executive (Scarlett Johansson) who must work with one of NASA's launch directors (Channing Tatum) and other staff members to put on a convincing show.
Fly Me to the Moon flopped at the box office but not as hard as some of the other films of 2024. It was projected to earn about $12 million during the opening weekend, but it still came up short, earning only a little north of $4 million. Despite the film's star-power and unique concept,Fly Me to the Moon wasn't well received by general audiences, but some critics did praise Johansson and Tatum's screwball comedic chemistry as the film's saving grace.
Release Date
July 12, 2024
CastScarlett Johansson
, Channing Tatum
, Woody Harrelson
, Ray Romano
, Jim Rash
, Anna Garcia
, Donald Watkins
, Noah Robbins
, Christian Clemenson
, Colin Woodell
, Nick Dillenburg
, Christian Zuber
, Gene Jones
, Joe Chrest
, Stephanie Kurtzuba
, Colin Jost
, Dariusz Wolski
, Peter Jacobson
, Lauren Revard
, Njema Williams
, Gary Weeks
, Todd Allen Durkin
Runtime
132 Minutes
Main Genre
Comedy
Writers
Keenan Flynn
, Bill Kirstein
, Rose Gilroy
6
'The Ministry of Ungentlemany Welfare' (2024)
Directed by Guy Ritchie
Image via Lionsgate
Guy Ritchie's action-packed movie The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is set during World War II and follows a group of men who are recruited by Winston Churchill to exterminate Adolf Hitler's fleet of U-Bombers. The team operates under the radar, allowing them to use unconventional methods to complete their mission and hopefully change the course of the war. The film is a highly fictionalized telling of Operation Postmaster and is based on the 2014 novel, Churchill's Secret Warriors: The Explosive True Story of the Special Forces Desperados of WWII by Damien Lewis.
Even though the film had Ritchie at the helm captaining a star-studded cast including Henry Cavill, Cary Elwes and Smallville'sAlan Ritchson, nothing could've saved this movie from sinking at the box office, grossing only a little over $27 million on a $60 million dollar budget. The main issue with The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is that it was presented with a ready-to-go and compelling story but instead, it was drowned out by oversaturated action and a mindless structure that failed to capture the importance of the real-life heroes and their dangerous mission.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Release Date
April 19, 2024
Runtime
120 Minutes
Studio(s)
Black Bear
, Jerry Bruckheimer Films
, Toff Guy Films
Distributor(s)
Lionsgate
5
'Argylle' (2024)
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Image via Universal
The initial previews for Argylle seemed somewhat promising, featuring an interesting plot with an ensemble cast, but the movie's performance at the box office was devastating.Bryce Dallas Howard stars in the espionage comedy as a best-selling author, Elly Conway, who has gained success with her book series about a secret agent named Argylle. When the plots of Conway's books begin to reflect the actions of a real-life spy operation, she's thrown into a world that toes the line between reality and fiction.
Argylle is a stand-alone spin-off of the popular Kingsman franchise with a crossover between the films in a shared universe. With a $200 million dollar budget, Argylle only earned $96 million at the global box office, deeming it to be a disappointing box office bomb. To add insult to injury, the film earned overall negative reviews, many addressing how the film starts off with an exciting, silly twist on the traditional spy thriller but loses its momentum about mid-way through.
Many film fans had high hopes for Francis Ford Coppola's highly anticipated movie, Megalopolis, which had been delayed several times, creating more suspense for its debut. When it finally made it to the silver screen, many were baffled by the epic science-fiction film drama that seemed more focused on presenting a visual spectacle than a compelling story. Set in an alternate 21st century, Megalopolis follows an ambitious architect (Adam Driver) whose visions cause him to clash with opposing forces of power, especially the city's mayor (Giancarlo Esposito).
The Godfatherdirector has a reputation for genre hopping, ranging from intense dramas to romantic comedies, but no one could have ever expected the utter tragedy of Megalopolis, which only earned $13 million (against a whooping $136 million dollar budget) at the box office. Instead of delivering a captivating narrative, Coppola's Megalopolis is essentially a series of visually stunning scenes that, aside from their visual appeal, come off like a bewildering and confusing puzzle.
There are some movies that should never be remade and when fans learned that the 1994 movie The Crow was set to be remade, almost everyone knew it would be a major flop. The original film has almost a sacred legacy that is beloved and protected by fans, not only due to Brandon Lee's tragic death but also, his incomparable performance that is impossible to match, let alone surpass. Bill Skarsgård stars as Eric Davern who, along with his soulmate, are brutally murdered and when he's given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, he takes the opportunity to seek his revenge against those who took their lives.
Deadline called the premiere of The Crow "disastrous," earning only a total of $24 million worldwide against a $50 million dollar budget. It's hard to understand how and why anyone thought remaking this treasured cult classic would be even somewhat of a success and, while it's not a knock against Skarsgård, the film felt like a cheap money grab the studio thought they could pull off with some over-the-top action and gore. The original had its fair share of violence and bloodshed, but unlike the remake, its main appeal was Lee's tour de force performance as well as the magnitude of storytelling.
Release Date
August 23, 2024
Runtime
111 Minutes
Writers
James O'Barr
, Zach Baylin
Budget
$50 Million
Distributor(s)
Lionsgate
2
'Madame Web' (2024)
Directed by S.J. Clarkson
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Marvel's Madame Web made history as one of the lowest-grossing films in the comic franchise, becoming the ultimate punch-line of superhero movies. The film follows the origin story of Cassie Web (Dakota Johnson) who, after discovering that she has supernatural powers, tries to save three other women from Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim), who wants to kill them before they can become Spider-Women in the future.
Surprisingly, Madame Web broke close to even at the box office, earning a little over $100 million worldwide against nearly the same budget. With any Marvel film, fans will almost always flock to the theaters to see it, but while Madame Web also failed to accumulate any significant profit, it also earned painfully negative reviews from critics. The movie has an initially interesting approach, but it essentially unfolds with an uneven and choppy execution, feeling broken and jumbled with several humorous moments that were not intended to be comical. Between its airless, stiff tone and mechanical storyline, Madame Web is without question Sony's worst film in the entire Spider-Man Universe to date.
Studio(s)
Columbia Pictures
, Di Bonaventura Pictures
Distributor(s)
Sony Pictures Releasing
1
'Joker: Folie á Deux' (2024)
Directed by Todd Phillips
Image via Warner Bros.
After the immense success of Todd Phillips' stand-alone film, Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix, fans were thrilled to learn that a second film was in the works. Considered to be one of the year's most anticipated films, Joker: Folie á Deux is a less than inspired sequel which was met with less than positive reviews and is easily the year's most surprising box office bomb. The film picks up with Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) who is being held at Arkham Asylum and as he struggles with his duel identity, he meets the love of his life, Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga).
Fans were aware that the film was set to be a musical, but no one ever expected to see the absolute disaster which unfolded on the big screen, resulting in many viewers walking out of the theaters mid-way through. Joker: Folie á Deux grossed over $200 million at the global box office and, according to Variety, the film's even breaking point was about $450 million, resulting in a hefty financial loss for Warner Bros. Even though other films of 2024 tanked hard at the box office, there's no denying that Joker: Folie á Deux takes the cake as the biggest box office bomb of the year.
Image via Federico Napoli
Image via Lionsgate
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Image via Universal Pictures
Image via Sony
Image via Lionsgate
Image via Universal
Image via American Zoetrope
Image via Lionsgate
Image via Sony Pictures Releasing
Image via Warner Bros.
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