18 Movies With Big Budgets That Flopped, And 18 Others That Surpassed Expectations Despite A Pathetic Budget
A big budget does not really guarantee an excellent result—and 18 films in this list definitely proved it.
What most people don't realize is that it's never all fun and games in the entertainment industry, and even though it is fun to watch the behind-the-scenes while in the making of a certain movie, there are a lot of stressors that come with this type of work both on and off-screen. Being involved in a production of a film or a show may look like a lot of fun especially when we already see the finished work on screen, but we should learn by now not to take things as it is, and remember that there will always be hardships while in the middle of working on something.
Movies are a huge investment on the producers' part, and there really is no guarantee they will come out successful—especially when the marketing of it is dreadful and poorly executed. There are a lot of movies that were expected to do well, especially with the budget it has, along with the star-studded cast involved, but unfortunately, have not been received well by the audiences and became such massive flops.
Some of these 'flop' movies that had A-list celebrities were Don't Look Up (2021), Cats (2019)—Taylor Swift was even in this one but it flopped big time, and Batman & Robin (1997). This goes to say that having an all-star cast and a massive budget does not really guarantee much success!
Take a look at more of these movies below:
1. The Alamo (2004)
"Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio Texas."How much it cost: $107 million
How much it grossed: $25.8 million
How much it lost: $135 million
Buena Vista Pictures / youtube.com2. The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
"When enemies Boris, Natasha, and Fearless Leader escape into the real world with a nefarious scheme, Rocky and Bullwinkle do the same, and team up with a young F.B.I. Agent to stop the trio."How much it cost: $76–98.6 million
How much it grossed: $35.1 million
How much it lost: $100 million
Universal / youtube.com
4. Alexander (2004)
"Alexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest army leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world."How much it cost: $155 million
How much it grossed: $167.3 million
How much it lost: $102 million
Warner Bros / youtube.com
4. Battlefield Earth (2000)
"It's the year 3000 [CE], and the Earth is lost to the alien race of Psychlos. Humanity is enslaved by these gold-thirsty tyrants, who are unaware that their 'man-animals' are about to ignite the rebellion of a lifetime."How much it cost: $73–103 million
How much it grossed: $29.7 million
How much it lost: $115 million
Warner Bros / youtube.com
5. Ali (2001)
"A biography of sports legend, Muhammad Ali, focusing on his triumphs and controversies between 1964 and 1974."How much it cost: $107 million
How much it grossed: $87.7 million
How much it lost: $96 million
Columbia / youtube.com
6. The Astronaut's Wife (1999)
"After an explosion in space and subsequent two-minute radio-out period, two astronauts return home to their wives. Slowly it's revealed that they're not the same as they were."How much it cost: $75 million
How much it grossed: $19.6 million
How much it lost: $106 million
New Line Cinema / youtube.com
7. Ben-Hur (2016)
"Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after years at sea to seek revenge, but finds redemption."How much it cost: $100 million
How much it grossed: $94.1 million
How much it lost: $85–135 million
Paramount / youtube.com
8. The 355 (2022)
"When a top-secret weapon falls into mercenary hands, a wild card CIA agent joins forces with three international agents on a lethal mission to retrieve it, while staying a step ahead of a mysterious woman who's tracking their every move."How much it cost: $40–75 million
How much it grossed: $27.7 million
How much it lost: $93 million
Universal / youtube.com
9. Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever (2002)
"Tasked with destroying each other, an FBI agent and a rogue DIA agent soon discover that a much bigger enemy is at work."How much it cost: $70 million
How much it grossed: $19.9 million
How much it lost: $106 million
Warner Bros / youtube.com
10. 47 Ronin (2013)
"A band of samurai set out to avenge the death and dishonor of their master at the hands of a ruthless shogun."How much it cost: $175–225 million
How much it grossed: $151.8 million
How much it lost: $112 million
Universal / youtube.com
11. Allied (2016)
"In 1942, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war."How much it cost: $85 million
How much it grossed: $118.6 million
How much it lost: $85–102 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jlp94-C31cY&ab_channel=MovieclipsTrailers
12. John Carter (2012)
"Transported to Barsoom, a Civil War vet discovers a barren planet seemingly inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Woola and a princess in desperate need of a savior."How much it cost: $263.7 million
How much it grossed: $284.1 million
How much it lost: $133–236 million
Disney
13. The 13th Warrior (1999)
"A man, having fallen in love with the wrong woman, is sent by the sultan himself on a diplomatic mission to a distant land as an ambassador. Stopping at a Viking village port to restock on supplies, he finds himself unwittingly embroiled in a quest to banish a mysterious threat in a distant Viking land."How much it cost: $100–160 million
How much it grossed: $61.7 million
How much it lost: $112–210 million
Buena Vista Pictures
14. Beloved (1998)
"Based on the book by Toni Morrison, in which a slave is visited by the spirit of a mysterious young woman."How much it cost: $80 million
How much it grossed: $22.9 million
How much it lost: $114 million
Touchstone Pictures / youtube.com
15. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
"In the future, a man struggles to keep his lunar nightclub out of the hands of the Mafia."How much it cost: $100 million
How much it grossed: $7.1 million
How much it lost: $145 million
Warner Bros / youtube.com
16. Around the World in 80 Days (2004)
"To win a bet, an eccentric British inventor, beside his Chinese valet and an aspiring French artist, embarks on a trip full of adventures and dangers around the world in exactly eighty days."How much it cost: $110 million
How much it grossed: $72.2 million
How much it lost: $106 million
Buena Vista Pictures / youtube.com
17. Battleship (2012)
"A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals."How much it cost: $209–220 million
How much it grossed: $303 million
How much it lost: $177 million
Hasbro / youtube.com
18. The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988)
"An account of Baron Munchausen's supposed travels and fantastical experiences across late 18th-century Europe with his band of misfits."How much it cost: $46.6 million
How much it grossed: $8.1 million
How much it lost: $88 million
Columbia / youtube.com
Contrastingly, there are also a lot of movies that had smaller budgets but gathered a lot of recognition and awards.
On to the indie movies!
19. Rocky (1976)
"A small-time Philadelphia boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight the world heavyweight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect."How much it cost: $960,000
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Film Editing, #57 on the AFI's Top 100 Movies of All Time
Fotos International / Getty Images
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
"A criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rebels against the oppressive nurse and rallies up the scared patients."How much it cost: $3 million
What it won: One of only three movies in history to win the "Big Five" Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay), #33 on the AFI's Top 100 Movies of All Time
United Artists / giphy.com
21. The Graduate (1967)
"A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter."How much it cost: $3 million
What it won: Academy Award for Best Director, #17 on the AFI's Top 100 Movies of All Time
United Artists
22. Moonlight (2016)
"A young African-American man grapples with his identity and sexuality while experiencing the everyday struggles of childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood."How much it cost: $4 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actor
Araya Doheny / WireImage
23. Nomadland (2020)
"A woman in her sixties, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad."How much it cost: $5 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress in a Leading Role
Searchlight Pictures
24. Chariots of Fire (1981)
"Two British track athletes, one a determined Jewish person and the other a devout Christian, are driven to win in the 1924 Olympics as they wrestle with issues of pride and conscience."How much it cost: $5.5 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Score
20th Century Fox / youtube.com
25. Dirty Dancing (1987)
"Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances "Baby" Houseman falls in love with the camp's dance instructor, Johnny Castle."How much it cost: $6 million
What it won: Academy Award for Best Original Song
Vestron Pictures
26. Crash (2004)
"Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption."How much it cost: $6.5 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Film Editing
Lionsgate Films / youtube.com
27. Capote (2005)
"In 1959, Truman Capote learns of the murder of a Kansas family and decides to write a book about the case. While researching for his novel, In Cold Blood, Capote forms a relationship with one of the killers, Perry Smith, who is on death row."How much it cost: $7 million
What it won: Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Sony Pictures Classics / youtube.com
28. Pulp Fiction (1994)
"The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption."How much it cost: $8 million
What it won: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, #94 on the AFI's Top 100 Movies of All Time
Miramax
29. Good Will Hunting (1997)
"Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life."How much it cost: $10 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Original Screenplay
30. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
"The Monoliths push humanity to reach for the stars; after their discovery in Africa generations ago, the mysterious objects lead mankind on an awesome journey to Jupiter, with the help of H.A.L. 9000: the world's greatest supercomputer."How much it cost: $12 million
What it won: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, #15 on the AFI's Top 100 Movies of All Time
MGM
31. The Imitation Game (2014)
"During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life."How much it cost: $14 million
What it won: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
The Weinstein Company / youtube.com
32. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
"A Mumbai teenager reflects on his life after being accused of cheating on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"How much it cost: $15 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Score, Best Original Song, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
Pathé / youtube.com
33. The Hurt Locker (2008)
"During the Iraq War, a sergeant recently assigned to an army bomb squad is put at odds with his squad mates due to his maverick way of handling his work."How much it cost: $15 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, and Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Summit Entertainment / youtube.com
34. The King's Speech (2010)
"The story of King George VI, his impromptu ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer."
How much it cost: $15 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay
Paramount / youtube.com
35. Birdman (2014)
"A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production."How much it cost: $18 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Achievement in Cinematography
36. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
"The world's greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, is young, out of ideas and short of cash, but meets his ideal woman and is inspired to write one of his most famous plays."How much it cost: $25 million
What it won: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, Best Original Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Best Costume Design, and Best Score
It's quite amusing to see these contradictions, but these movies are just further proof that one does need to have an all-star cast and a big budget just to produce something that would touch the audience's hearts.
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