Many films get recognition from how much money they pull in at the box office. For instance, Avengers: Endgame (2019) is now the highest-grossing film of all time, eclipsing Avatar (2009). Previous films to hold that title include Titanic (1997), Jurassic Park (1993), and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). These are all great films with massive budgets and returns.
Some films made little money because they were not worth seeing in the theater. Battlefield Earth (2000) is one of the worst of all time and had one of the highest losses in the Hollywood box office. The film had a budget of around $73 million but grossed under $30 million worldwide. The star power of John Travolta could not make up for the $43 million loss – did anybody really want to see Travolta play an evil alien?
Tom Cruise usually chooses smart scripts, and most of his movies are moderately to phenomenally successful. However, The Mummy (2017) is not one of them. The original trailers looked promising, but scathing reviews hit the film hard. It was a box office bomb, despite grossing over $400 million worldwide. Universal Pictures spent too much money on promotion and advertising. Luckily, Cruise rebounded with Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018), which is not only his personal best but in the top 100 of the highest-grossing films of all time.
Now I would like to look at some films that did poorly at the box office but deserve better recognition. To my knowledge, these films have not developed a cult following like The Shawshank Redemption (1994), which was a bomb but is successful in video rentals and television airings to this day.
Budget and box office numbers are as reported by IMDb.com.
Oscar (1991)
I had never heard of this film until my wife introduced me to it on our very first movie night. I was laughing myself silly throughout, and I still do every time I watch it. Why it failed at the box office is a mystery to me. The story of Sylvester Stallone as a gangster trying to go straight has “comedic gold” written all over it. Maybe people only wanted to see him in a boxing ring, going machine gun-crazy, or hanging off a cliff. I give him props for trying something different.
Budget: $35,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $23,562,716 (worldwide)
Radioland Murders (1994)
Slapstick was the norm in comedies of the 1930s and 1940s. One of the things I admire about Radioland Murders is the attempt to revive it. Maybe people have had enough of that style of comedy, though. George Lucas produced the film, and even seeing his name on the promotion material apparently wasn’t enough to attract an audience. That’s a shame because this film makes me laugh every time I watch it.
Budget: $15,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $1,316,865 (worldwide)
Multiplicity (1996)
This movie is one of the funniest ever made, and it almost made my list. The premise of Michael Keaton cloning himself to make his busy life less hectic is hilarious on its own. Director Harold Ramis also has many hits to his name. Too bad audiences did not see it in the theaters. Perhaps it simply couldn’t compete with the two main events at the time: the 1996 Summer Olympics and Independence Day (1996). In my opinion, human cloning is a much more original (and interesting) storyline.
Budget: $45,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $21,075,014 (worldwide)
The Frighteners (1996)
This film faced the same obstacles as Multiplicity – the Olympics and Independence Day. This film put Peter Jackson on the map with American movie studios, and he had famed director Robert Zemeckis as a producer. Michael J. Fox plays Frank Bannister, a paranormal investigator who uses spirits for financial gain. When a ghost resembling the Grim Reaper goes on a murder spree, Bannister may be the only man to stop it. Maybe the plot was too grim, but The Frighteners had remarkable special effects, the most in a single film at the time. Without this film, I do not think Peter Jackson would have had the backing to make The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Budget: $30,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $29,359,216 (worldwide)
Fathers’ Day (1997)
Robin Williams and Billy Crystal made a few films together, but rarely as the main characters. Their on-screen pairing is hilarious and should have guaranteed a successful picture. It’s a shame that critics blasted the film. I don’t understand what was so wrong with it. Williams and Crystal play a mismatched pair searching for a missing boy, each believing himself to be the boy’s father. And what’s a comedy without a few pitfalls? Perhaps the critics thought the plot was too predictable and unoriginal, but Williams and Crystal carry the film. Very underrated.
Budget: $85,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $28,598,376 (worldwide)
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
I was blown away by the motion capture animation in this film. I have never seen anything quite like it. Not long after seeing this film, I read an article in a film magazine about how studios were considering making more films like this one. However, I think they relented after the box office failure of this film. Since it was an adaptation of a video game, I accepted the stop-motion technique, though I do not think it would be believable in a non-fantasy world. I was never into the Final Fantasy video games, but this film was worth seeing on the big screen.
Budget: $137,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $85,131,850 (worldwide)
Sahara (2005)
I’ve read a couple of Clive Cussler’s books about the adventures of Dirk Pitt. Pitt is a modern-day Indiana Jones, who goes on adventures finding ancient artifacts. Heck, Pitt even retrieved the Titanic in one of the books. In Sahara, Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) and his companions go on a mission to find a lost warship containing Confederate gold. This film had the potential for a great adventure franchise, but the unsatisfying returns kept that from happening. That’s too bad because this film had plenty of thrills and humor, and I would’ve loved to see more of that.
Budget: $130,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $119,240,351 (worldwide)
How Do You Know (2010)
This film is a sweet romantic comedy with a great cast, including Reese Witherspoon, Owen Wilson, Paul Rudd, and Jack Nicholson. I am not sure why it suffered at the box office. I didn’t expect this to be a smash, but it didn’t deserve to be a dud either. It may not have the same charm that As Good as It Gets (1997) has, but director James L. Brooks created something special with this film. Maybe the trailers and advertisements weren’t a good representation of the film. If you’re in the mood for a feel-good, romantic comedy, this is worth a viewing.
Budget: $120,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $48,668,907 (worldwide)
Cloud Atlas (2012)
I was amazed by this film, and I knew I would enjoy it. I love movies that make you think, and I couldn’t get Cloud Atlas off my mind for days. The film has six stories set far apart from each other in various timelines and locations. It also has a great cast: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, and Ben Winshaw. Each actor plays a different character in every story. The direction, writing, and production value are marvelous. Maybe people thought the film was confusing and told others not to see it, but I highly recommend this film. It’s original and underrated.
Budget: $102,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $130,482,868 (worldwide)
Missing Link (2019)
My jaw dropped after I saw the box office numbers of Missing Link. Are people not into stop-motion animation anymore? Here we have a well-made film with a loveable plot. Sir Lionel Frost (Hugh Jackman) is desperate to find a mythical creature for his own professional and financial gain. He befriends a Sasquatch (Zach Galifianakis) named Link. The two become unlikely friends and go on various adventures, from the Pacific Northwest to the Himalayas. It makes me sad to see the hard work involved in stop-motion animation go unrecognized. This film is a delight for the whole family.
Budget: $100,000,000 (estimated) Box Office: $26,565,710 (worldwide)
Happy watching!
