14 DAY TRIAL // You can’t win the lottery without buying a ticket first, and to buy that ticket, as Jake Gyllenhaal’s character says in “Nightcrawler,” you have to have money. To have a shot at box office glory, movie studios have to spend money to boost a film’s chances of success – and sometimes, the risk doesn’t pay off.
2014 wasn’t devoid of box office bombs because, obviously, not every movie that comes out can be a guaranteed hit. On the bright side, the flops of the year that just ended weren’t even half as spectacular as those of 2013, when studios lost many millions on films like “Lone Ranger,” “After Earth,” and “White House Down.”
Then again, these 3 films came with huge production costs, which made the gap between grossing and budget only bigger when audiences couldn’t muster the interest to see them in theaters. We’ve had big-budget movies that flopped in 2014, too, and you will find them below, listed in no particular order.
“Transcendence”
Who would have thought that Johnny Depp could deliver such a stinker at the box office? “Transcendence,” from director Wally Pfister and starring Rebecca Hall and Paul Bettany, was used as irrefutable proof by those saying that Depp could no longer guarantee box office success outside of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, which, ironically, is also considered his sell-out role.
In other words, Depp has plateaued: he’s a huge star and A-lister, definitely has the talent to move on, but is stuck in a rut of playing the same character over and over again, and audiences have grown tired of it.
This sci-fi about man vs. machine, which benefitted of the actual Depp for only half a movie, cost over $100 million (€82.2 million) to make and opened to a disappointing $11 million (€9 million) in the US, grossing a meager $23 million (€18.9 million) domestically by the time its run was over. That budget, by the way, is before marketing costs.
“Pompeii”
“Games of Thrones” on HBO is the biggest TV series of the moment, and one of the most popular series ever created. If you’ve watched a single episode, you know why.
It seems hard to believe that a “GOT” central actor could land a leading role in a 3D disaster film and audiences would refuse to see it, but this is precisely what happened to Kit Harington in “Pompeii.” Not even Emily Browning and Kiefer Sutherland’s roles could save this movie from being more awful than the tragedy depicted.
“Pompeii” also became a black hole for TriStar, sucking a budget of over $100 million (€82.2 million) and opening to just $10 million (€8.2 million) domestically – and mocking, negative reviews.
“The Legend of Hercules”
Here’s a similar situation: Kellan Lutz, still fresh off his success in “The Twilight Saga,” in which he plays one of the secondary characters, tried to get a foothold in the action genre by starring in Lionsgate’s version of Hercules. This was actually one of the two Hercules movies released this year, with the second coming out later, with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and faring much better.
Lutz’s “Hercules” cost $70 million (€57.5 million) to make and opened to $8.8 million (€7.2 million) in the first month of the new year, also known as cinema’s graveyard. By the end of its run, the film made $61 million (€50 million) worldwide and was ranked lowest by critics on dedicated websites.
“I, Frankenstein”
Aaron Eckhart is a solid actor with a solid reputation, but not even he is safe from box office bombs (that also includes the esteemed Bill Nighy, who also stars in the monster pic). “I, Frankenstein” was Lionsgate’s attempt at retelling the classic monster story with a twist (there always has to be a twist!), but it turned out to be a flop.
The film was made on a $65 million (€53.4 million) budget and it barely registered at the box office when it opened. In the end, it grossed $71 million (€58.4 million) worldwide, so at least the bosses at Lionsgate have this as consolation: at least they didn’t lose money on it.
“Winter’s Tale”
Colin Farrell’s third consecutive flop was as snubbed by audiences as it was trashed by critics. Made on a $60 million (€49.3 million) budget, it barely made half of that by the time it ended its run worldwide, despite marketing efforts from the studio and the solid cast, which included Russell Crowe, William Hurt, and Jennifer Connelly as well.
“Winter’s Tale” wasn’t just a box office flop, but also a severe disappointment because it held so much promise.
“Sabotage”
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s announcement that he would return to making movies now that his political career was over was met with enthusiasm and loud cheers from his fans, but few of these fans actually rushed into theaters to show actual support for the actor in 2014.
“Sabotage” was his third consecutive flop and the biggest yet: it cost $35 million (€28.7 million) to make and barely scrapped $17.5 million (€14,3 million) worldwide by the time it was yanked from screens. To add insult to injury, it was trashed by critics and wasted the talent and star power of its entire cast (Sam Worthington, Joe Manganiello, Josh Halloway, Mireille Enos, Terrence Howard) and famous director David Ayer.
Schwarzenegger has “Terminator: Genisys” coming out next year, but initial buzz doesn’t suggest he’s on the way to getting his box office good luck back.
