Slightly easier bombs to find than weapons of mass destruction, these rank as the TOP TEN biggest wastes of time in Hollywood History. These numbers only reflect the raw loss at the box office. Many of these flops spent enormous amounts of money on promotion and piles of merchandise that no one bought.
I am embarrassed to say how many of these films I actually enjoyed. Just goes to show that just because a movie makes money doesn’t mean it wasn’t neccessarily bad, just not widely enjoyed. And now in reverse order ….Drumroll please?
#10 – Howard the Duck – Cost= $37 million…. Made $16m -I liked it… but not suprised most didnt. It did have a cool theme song… you know its stuck in your head now.
#9 – Husdon Hawk – Cost= $60 million…. Made $17.2m -Widely understood as Bruce Willis’ worst move, but I liked it.. I own it.. watched it last month.
#8 – Ishtar – Cost= $55 million…. Made $12.7m – Haven’t seen it
#7 – Battlefield Earth – Cost= $73 million…. Made $21.5m -Had fun making fun of how sucky this movie is. I should insist that DLap repost his review of this movie here for your enjoyment. Rumour has it that an animated series was made, but it was supposed to come out in May this year. Anyone heard of this?
#6 – Cleopatra – Cost= $44million (in 1963!!) …. Made $26m – Though “Cleopatra” was the highest-grossing movie of 1963 and was nominated for nine Oscars (it won four), it wasn’t enough to rescue 20th Century Fox, which was fighting to survive. To save money, the studio shut down for four months, forcing 2,000 people out of work, and sold off its expansive back lot. The era of extravagant historical epics was over, and Mankiewicz’s career suffered the consequences. Oh, and Taylor and Burton married and divorced … twice.
#5 – Heaven’s Gate – Cost= $44 million…. Made $3m (ouch) – I haven’t even heard of this film. I guess I know why now. This failure was what caused United Artists to be sold to MGM, and I hear they got it for a hand full of shiny rocks they found in the parking lot.
#4 – The Postman – Cost= $100 million…. Made $17.6m – I hate to admit it, and I am seeking professional help but I like Costner movies. I didn’t say I liked Costner, but I do like his movies. I own a number of them and I did enjoy Postman AND Waterworld.
#3 – Town and Country – Cost= $90 million…. Made $6.7m – The director describes this as a “middle aged sex comedy” Why are they suprised that no one went to see it?
#2 – Cutthroat Island – Cost= $110 million…. Made $9.9m – Loved it, own it. Going to watch it when I finish this post. This may not have hurt so much if the director had not actually commissioned ACTUAL ships to be built instead of using sets.
And before you say it… #1 isnt Gigli…
#1 – The Adventures of Pluto Nash – Cost= $100 million…. Made $4.4m – I am suprised that I haven’t seen this. I am usually a sucker for movies that resort to Uranus jokes. Eddie Murphy refuses to admit he was in this movie. In one interview he actually said it was an imposter and he has taken legal action against the offending party.
