EW: Biggest Box Office Flops of 2015 - Blu-ray Forum

JamesG. · 12-02-2015, 10:38 PM

Biggest Box Office Flops of 2015
by Madeline Boardman
12/2/15

This year may have seen the release of such successes as Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Inside Out, but 2015 also played host to some serious turkeys.

Below are 13 wide-release films from the past 11 months that crashed and burned at the box office.

Rock the Kasbah

With an estimated production budget of $15 million, the Bill Murray-starring Rock the Kasbah made just $1.47 million at 2,012 theaters on its opening weekend.

After about a month in theaters, the comedy had made just short of $3 million, well under its budget.

Jem and the Holograms

Despite months of hype and nostalgic anticipation, Jem and the Holograms failed to fill seats for showtime. The reinterpretation of the ’80s series made just $1.38 million at 2,413 theaters on its opening weekend.

The theater count took a nosedive after a dismal second week, bringing the movie’s worldwide grand total to $2.2 million.

“People in Hollywood have a tendency to retreat from financial failure,” said producerJason Blum after the debut.

“There are movies that we have done that haven’t come out very well. That doesn’t feel very good. But Jem is in a different category. I’m proud of the movie. I stand by the movie, but I’m obviously sorry it didn’t do any better.”

Our Brand is Crisis

Even Sandra Bullock couldn’t save the box office for Our Brand is Crisis. The political drama opened to $3.24 million at 2,202 theaters, giving the star her worst wide-release opening of all time.

Dropped to just 50 theaters as of mid-November, Crisis posts a domestic total gross of $6.95 million, well under its estimated production budget of $28 million.

Blackhat

The Chris Hemsworth-starring Blackhat fell short when it hit theaters in January. The Michael Mann film earned $3.9 million at 2,567 theaters on its opening weekend, staying onscreen for just a few more weeks.

Pulled in February, Blackhat failed to make back its estimated $70 million budget with a total worldwide gross of $19.47 million.

The Walk

Failing to achieve the same kind of success that Philippe Petit had with his famed stunt, The Walk fell short of expectations. The drama opened in 448 theaters in October, making just $1.98 million.

One week later, Robert Zemeckis’ film expanded to wide release, but with little audience interest. It earned $3.7 million at the domestic box office, and has grossed just $10.14 million in total.

Fortunately, its foreign box office has fared better with $31.62 million abroad.

Seventh Son

Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore hit 2,875 theaters in Seventh Son in February, but despite its star power and theater count, the movie made just $7.2 million on its opening weekend.

After six weeks in theaters, Seventh Son earned a domestic total of $17.2 million. The action flick only broke its estimated $95 million budget when an additional $96.95 million came in from the foreign market.

Aloha

A release marked by controversy, Aloha made $9.67 million at 2,815 theaters on its opening weekend.

With the theater count slowly but surely dwindling over the following weeks, the star-studded film from director Cameron Crowe reached a worldwide gross of $26.25 million, noticeably under its estimated $37 million production budget.

Steve Jobs

Despite mountains of hype and awards buzz, Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs has failed to connect with audiences since its release in October. Two weeks of limited release earned the Michael Fassbender-led biopic $2.2 million, and the project added an additional $9.81 million from 2,493 theaters on its wide release.

So far, the film’s domestic total stands at just $17.6 million, just barely more than what Ashton Kutcher’s much derided take on the Apple co-founder earned in 2013.

“It’s very easy in hindsight, but I think it’s probably that we released it too wide too soon,” Boyle told the BBC of the box-office failure.

“It’s very disappointing that when it was released wide across America it didn’t really work, so it’s retreated back now to the main cities. And actually you hope that people will still find the film – because I think those that do obviously find it very rewarding.”

The Last Witch Hunter

Even Vin Diesel isn’t immune from box office missteps. The Last Witch Hunter opened in 3,082 theaters in October to an unimpressive $10.8 million.

Dropped to fewer than 1,000 theaters within a month, Witch Hunter posted a domestic total of $26.86 million as of mid-November. Overseas, the film, which had a reported $90 million budget, earned additional $78.35 million.

Chappie

Chappie opened in the No. 1 spot on a quiet weekend in March with a mediocre total of $13.34 million at 3,201 theaters.

The weekly gross only slowed down from there as the movie completed its run with a domestic total of $31.57 million.

Pan

Pan quickly lost its magic after a $15.3 million opening weekend at 3,515 theaters. The fairy tale film from Joe Wright dropped down in both theater count and weekly gross soon after, posting a domestic total of just $34.06 by mid-November.

Even a worldwide gross of $123.06 can’t measure up to Pan’s estimated $150 million budget.

Jupiter Ascending

Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis failed to take flight with the February release of Jupiter Ascending. The space movie opened with $18.37 million from 3,181 theaters, failing to top the weekend’s box office.

After playing for months across the globe, Jupiter just barely exceeded an estimated production budget of $176 million as the international gross reached $183.89 million.

Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four opened in a huge way, screening in 3,995 theaters. But despite that number, the movie made just $25.68 million on its opening weekend, far less than either of the previous Fantastic Four films had earned during their opening weeks.

The superhero reboot, which was marred by controversy thanks to a tweet from director Josh Trank, would finish its run with $56.1 million, well under its estimated $120 million budget.

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/02...ice-bombs-2015

The Debts · 12-02-2015, 10:54 PM

They also forgot about Tomorrowland, which had a 190 million budget and only made something like a little over 200 million worldwide.

Will. · 12-02-2015, 10:58 PM

Too bad Blackhat flopped. I think the others kind of deserved it.

Jasonic · 12-02-2015, 11:09 PM

Steve Jobs, Tomorrowland, and The Walk are all in my top 10 of the year. Tank isn't always synonymous with turd.

Walts Ghost · 12-02-2015, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasonic

Steve Jobs, Tomorrowland, and The Walk are all in my top 10 of the year. Tank isn't always synonymous with turd.

Indeed. I have Steve Jobs and The Walk in my top ten as well. Sad they didn't make money, but it doesn't at any way hurt their qualities.

imsounoriginal · 12-03-2015, 12:31 AM

only seen Blackhat F4 and Jupiter so far, Blackhat was actually decent doe.... Michael Mann is always worth watching.

Scottie · 12-03-2015, 12:37 AM

Box office disaster or not, Blackhat was great.

Chaotic · 12-03-2015, 12:40 AM

No wonder Universal and Legendary are having a falling out

Seventh Son
Blackhat
Steve Jobs
Crimson Peak

Michael24 · 12-03-2015, 12:45 AM

Chappie is one of my favorite movies I've seen all year. Didn't care for the director's previous movies, but was really surprised by this one.

And I haven't seen Blackhat, but I remember being like "Whaaaaat?" when I realized it was directed by Michael Mann. It looked so horribly cheap and pedestrian, like a TV movie on A&E or something than a feature film from an acclaimed director.

The Debts · 12-03-2015, 12:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Michael24

Chappie is one of my favorite movies I've seen all year. Didn't care for the director's previous movies, but was really surprised by this one.

StingingVelvet · 12-03-2015, 01:02 AM

I really liked Blackhat. It wasn't amazing or anywhere near his best work, but it was a solid Michael Mann crime thriller with intense action and great visuals.

Not on the list but I really, really loved Tomorrowland. I think that film will be a cult classic that gets reexamined in 10 years, like Blade Runner. It's a lovely, classic style sci-fi adventure film whose political theme issues are grossly exaggerated.

I also saw Chappie and thought it was deeply flawed. The main characters are not just annoying but also morally bankrupt cop killers, though they are treated as heroes. The core message of the movie seems to support robot police over human ones, which is weird. Lovely looking movie but really poorly plotted.

Jupiter Ascending had an embarrassingly digital look and very clunky dialog, but it did often look pretty and had a decent core concept. I want to see it again someday.

Reno Fan · 12-03-2015, 01:21 AM

So many people consume media through digital sales and streaming services.

It's not really fair to not include those numbers.

I want to see Blackhat again. The casting of Chris Hemsworth put me off.

I have said to my friends that superhero type movies bore me. Perhaps seeing someone that is good looking and very smart put me off.

Kind of like I am watching someone that is perfect.

"This can't be real, he's too good looking and smart and their is a good looking girl he loves."

Perhaps if he didn't have everything .... I would have been more intrigued and interested in the story.

In regards to Tomorrowland, I really didn't like the ending. It was too preachy.

It was a pretty good movie and the themes were good, but I think it just went a little too far.

Actually, it's kind of strange because the movie is kind of going against the modern world in which there is no/little wonder.

It makes me think "Am I lost and without wonder?"

So I am unsure, is the movie bad because it is preachy or am I just stuck in the real world where there is no wonder - in my view of the world. In that sense, is it a good movie?

I think great movies are ones which can be watched and can generate conversation. I wonder if my mind was kind of expecting something simpler and Tomorrowland was a deeper movie than I expected.

Another_Dude · 12-03-2015, 01:29 AM

Posters on this site falling in love with awful movies that won't come within a mile of critical or financial success is nothing new. There's a lot of suck on that list of fails and nobody got there by accident.

Chaotic · 12-03-2015, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another_Dude

Posters on this site falling in love with awful movies that won't come within a mile of critical or financial success is nothing new. There's a lot of suck on that list of fails and nobody got there by accident.

Last time I checked Steve Jobs and The Walk were critical successes. But keep on being a jerk.

Another_Dude · 12-03-2015, 01:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chaotic

Last time I checked Steve Jobs and The Walk were critical successes. But keep on being a jerk.

$17m and $3m domestic for those two, guess more critics should have bought tickets if they liked those stinkfests?

Seriously, $3m in domestic box office? Scary Movie 21 will beat that tenfold.

Kevin Holly · 12-03-2015, 01:52 AM

Many of those deserved to flop. The Walk is good though, that's too bad.

Some of them were predestined to flop (The Last Witch Hunter? Seventh Son? Are we pretending there's a market for DTV-grade fantasy films?) Maybe they're good maybe not, I don't care enough to see them and neither do many others apparently lol.

Walts Ghost · 12-03-2015, 02:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Another_Dude

$17m and $3m domestic for those two, guess more critics should have bought tickets if they liked those stinkfests?

Seriously, $3m in domestic box office? Scary Movie 21 will beat that tenfold.

If money is the end game of quality, than the Transformers films better be getting Oscars...but we know that's not true. So no, money made doesn't equal quality.

JamesG. · 12-03-2015, 02:11 AM

The article stated that the film Aloha was "a release marked by controversy".

Does anyone know what that's about? Thanks.

Another_Dude · 12-03-2015, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walts Ghost

If money is the end game of quality, than the Transformers films better be getting Oscars...but we know that's not true. So no, money made doesn't equal quality.

Money earned is not the sole metric of greatness, but that doesn't mean a complete financial flop doesn't tell a story.

If a "critical success" doesn't sell enough tickets to cover one day of catering the critics got it wrong.

Another_Dude · 12-03-2015, 02:19 AM

Has the "oh crap on Everest" movie shot in 3D with a bunch of actors come out and flopped yet? We saw that trailer a while back and I told my wife that's a bunch of money spent to make a movie people won't care to watch.

12-02-2015, 10:38 PM	#1
JamesG. Power Member Member since:Jul 2012	EW: Biggest Box Office Flops of 2015 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2015 by Madeline Boardman 12/2/15 This year may have seen the release of such successes as Jurassic World, Avengers: Age of Ultron, and Inside Out, but 2015 also played host to some serious turkeys. Below are 13 wide-release films from the past 11 months that crashed and burned at the box office. *Rock the Kasbah* With an estimated production budget of $15 million, the Bill Murray-starring Rock the Kasbah made just $1.47 million at 2,012 theaters on its opening weekend. After about a month in theaters, the comedy had made just short of $3 million, well under its budget. *Jem and the Holograms* Despite months of hype and nostalgic anticipation, Jem and the Holograms failed to fill seats for showtime. The reinterpretation of the ’80s series made just $1.38 million at 2,413 theaters on its opening weekend. The theater count took a nosedive after a dismal second week, bringing the movie’s worldwide grand total to $2.2 million. “People in Hollywood have a tendency to retreat from financial failure,” said producerJason Blum after the debut. “There are movies that we have done that haven’t come out very well. That doesn’t feel very good. But Jem is in a different category. I’m proud of the movie. I stand by the movie, but I’m obviously sorry it didn’t do any better.” *Our Brand is Crisis* Even Sandra Bullock couldn’t save the box office for Our Brand is Crisis. The political drama opened to $3.24 million at 2,202 theaters, giving the star her worst wide-release opening of all time. Dropped to just 50 theaters as of mid-November, Crisis posts a domestic total gross of $6.95 million, well under its estimated production budget of $28 million. *Blackhat* The Chris Hemsworth-starring Blackhat fell short when it hit theaters in January. The Michael Mann film earned $3.9 million at 2,567 theaters on its opening weekend, staying onscreen for just a few more weeks. Pulled in February, Blackhat failed to make back its estimated $70 million budget with a total worldwide gross of $19.47 million. *The Walk* Failing to achieve the same kind of success that Philippe Petit had with his famed stunt, The Walk fell short of expectations. The drama opened in 448 theaters in October, making just $1.98 million. One week later, Robert Zemeckis’ film expanded to wide release, but with little audience interest. It earned $3.7 million at the domestic box office, and has grossed just $10.14 million in total. Fortunately, its foreign box office has fared better with $31.62 million abroad. *Seventh Son* Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore hit 2,875 theaters in Seventh Son in February, but despite its star power and theater count, the movie made just $7.2 million on its opening weekend. After six weeks in theaters, Seventh Son earned a domestic total of $17.2 million. The action flick only broke its estimated $95 million budget when an additional $96.95 million came in from the foreign market. *Aloha* A release marked by controversy, Aloha made $9.67 million at 2,815 theaters on its opening weekend. With the theater count slowly but surely dwindling over the following weeks, the star-studded film from director Cameron Crowe reached a worldwide gross of $26.25 million, noticeably under its estimated $37 million production budget. *Steve Jobs* Despite mountains of hype and awards buzz, Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs has failed to connect with audiences since its release in October. Two weeks of limited release earned the Michael Fassbender-led biopic $2.2 million, and the project added an additional $9.81 million from 2,493 theaters on its wide release. So far, the film’s domestic total stands at just $17.6 million, just barely more than what Ashton Kutcher’s much derided take on the Apple co-founder earned in 2013. “It’s very easy in hindsight, but I think it’s probably that we released it too wide too soon,” Boyle told the BBC of the box-office failure. “It’s very disappointing that when it was released wide across America it didn’t really work, so it’s retreated back now to the main cities. And actually you hope that people will still find the film – because I think those that do obviously find it very rewarding.” *The Last Witch Hunter* Even Vin Diesel isn’t immune from box office missteps. The Last Witch Hunter opened in 3,082 theaters in October to an unimpressive $10.8 million. Dropped to fewer than 1,000 theaters within a month, Witch Hunter posted a domestic total of $26.86 million as of mid-November. Overseas, the film, which had a reported $90 million budget, earned additional $78.35 million. *Chappie* Chappie opened in the No. 1 spot on a quiet weekend in March with a mediocre total of $13.34 million at 3,201 theaters. The weekly gross only slowed down from there as the movie completed its run with a domestic total of $31.57 million. *Pan* Pan quickly lost its magic after a $15.3 million opening weekend at 3,515 theaters. The fairy tale film from Joe Wright dropped down in both theater count and weekly gross soon after, posting a domestic total of just $34.06 by mid-November. Even a worldwide gross of $123.06 can’t measure up to Pan’s estimated $150 million budget. *Jupiter Ascending* Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis failed to take flight with the February release of Jupiter Ascending. The space movie opened with $18.37 million from 3,181 theaters, failing to top the weekend’s box office. After playing for months across the globe, Jupiter just barely exceeded an estimated production budget of $176 million as the international gross reached $183.89 million. *Fantastic Four* Fantastic Four opened in a huge way, screening in 3,995 theaters. But despite that number, the movie made just $25.68 million on its opening weekend, far less than either of the previous Fantastic Four films had earned during their opening weeks. The superhero reboot, which was marred by controversy thanks to a tweet from director Josh Trank, would finish its run with $56.1 million, well under its estimated $120 million budget. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/12/02...ice-bombs-2015

12-03-2015, 01:21 AM	#12
Reno Fan Active Member Member since:Feb 2012 Blu-ray collection:85 DVD collection:44 Trading Score:1	So many people consume media through digital sales and streaming services. It's not really fair to not include those numbers. I want to see Blackhat again. The casting of Chris Hemsworth put me off. I have said to my friends that superhero type movies bore me. Perhaps seeing someone that is good looking and very smart put me off. Kind of like I am watching someone that is perfect. "This can't be real, he's too good looking and smart and their is a good looking girl he loves." Perhaps if he didn't have everything .... I would have been more intrigued and interested in the story. In regards to Tomorrowland, I really didn't like the ending. It was too preachy. It was a pretty good movie and the themes were good, but I think it just went a little too far. Actually, it's kind of strange because the movie is kind of going against the modern world in which there is no/little wonder. It makes me think "Am I lost and without wonder?" So I am unsure, is the movie bad because it is preachy or am I just stuck in the real world where there is no wonder - in my view of the world. In that sense, is it a good movie? I think great movies are ones which can be watched and can generate conversation. I wonder if my mind was kind of expecting something simpler and Tomorrowland was a deeper movie than I expected. Last edited by Reno Fan; 12-03-2015 at 01:40 AM.

12-02-2015, 10:54 PM	#2
The Debts Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Jun 2013 Location:ME 4K collection:57 Blu-ray collection:334 DVD collection:181 MA collection:143 Digital collection:211 iTunes collection:147 Prime collection:122 Blu-ray reviews: 5	They also forgot about Tomorrowland, which had a 190 million budget and only made something like a little over 200 million worldwide.

12-02-2015, 10:58 PM	#3
Will. Blu-ray Samurai Top contributor Member since:Feb 2015 Location:MN Blu-ray collection:313 Digital collection:28 Blu-ray reviews: 13 Trading Score:94	Too bad Blackhat flopped. I think the others kind of deserved it.

12-02-2015, 11:09 PM	#4
Jasonic Blu-ray Ninja Top contributor Member since:Aug 2011 Location:Utah 4K collection:47 Blu-ray collection:877 Trading Score:115	Steve Jobs, Tomorrowland, and The Walk are all in my top 10 of the year. Tank isn't always synonymous with turd.

12-03-2015, 12:31 AM	#6
imsounoriginal Blu-ray Grand Duke Top contributor Member since:Dec 2008 Location:NYC 4K collection:322 Blu-ray collection:950 DVD collection:70 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:59	only seen Blackhat F4 and Jupiter so far, Blackhat was actually decent doe.... Michael Mann is always worth watching.

12-03-2015, 12:37 AM	#7
Scottie Moderator Top contributor Member since:Oct 2010 Location:Rhode Island Trading Score:647	Box office disaster or not, Blackhat was great.

12-03-2015, 12:40 AM	#8
Chaotic Blu-ray Grand Duke Member since:Mar 2009 Location:Denver, CO	No wonder Universal and Legendary are having a falling out Seventh Son Blackhat Steve Jobs Crimson Peak

12-03-2015, 12:45 AM	#9
Michael24 Blu-ray Champion Top contributor Member since:Nov 2009 Location:California 4K collection:11 Blu-ray collection:559 DVD collection:164 Trading Score:2	Chappie is one of my favorite movies I've seen all year. Didn't care for the director's previous movies, but was really surprised by this one. And I haven't seen Blackhat, but I remember being like "Whaaaaat?" when I realized it was directed by Michael Mann. It looked so horribly cheap and pedestrian, like a TV movie on A&E or something than a feature film from an acclaimed director.

12-03-2015, 01:02 AM	#11
StingingVelvet Blu-ray Grand Duke Member since:Jan 2014 Location:Philadelphia, PA 4K collection:853 Blu-ray collection:2332 DVD collection:111 Digital collection:12 Trading Score:69	I really liked Blackhat. It wasn't amazing or anywhere near his best work, but it was a solid Michael Mann crime thriller with intense action and great visuals. Not on the list but I really, really loved Tomorrowland. I think that film will be a cult classic that gets reexamined in 10 years, like Blade Runner. It's a lovely, classic style sci-fi adventure film whose political theme issues are grossly exaggerated. I also saw Chappie and thought it was deeply flawed. The main characters are not just annoying but also morally bankrupt cop killers, though they are treated as heroes. The core message of the movie seems to support robot police over human ones, which is weird. Lovely looking movie but really poorly plotted. Jupiter Ascending had an embarrassingly digital look and very clunky dialog, but it did often look pretty and had a decent core concept. I want to see it again someday.

12-03-2015, 01:29 AM	#13
Another_Dude Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:191 Blu-ray reviews:8	Posters on this site falling in love with awful movies that won't come within a mile of critical or financial success is nothing new. There's a lot of suck on that list of fails and nobody got there by accident.

12-03-2015, 01:52 AM	#16
Kevin Holly Banned Member since:Nov 2011 Location:Canada	Many of those deserved to flop. The Walk is good though, that's too bad. Some of them were predestined to flop (The Last Witch Hunter? Seventh Son? Are we pretending there's a market for DTV-grade fantasy films?) Maybe they're good maybe not, I don't care enough to see them and neither do many others apparently lol.

12-03-2015, 02:11 AM	#18
JamesG. Power Member Member since:Jul 2012	The article stated that the film Aloha was "a release marked by controversy". Does anyone know what that's about? Thanks.

12-03-2015, 02:19 AM	#20
Another_Dude Blu-ray Guru Member since:Dec 2008 Blu-ray collection:191 Blu-ray reviews:8	Has the "oh crap on Everest" movie shot in 3D with a bunch of actors come out and flopped yet? We saw that trailer a while back and I told my wife that's a bunch of money spent to make a movie people won't care to watch.

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