20 box office flops that are actually worth watching

Birds of Prey deserves to be seen as one of the best films yet released under the banner of the DC Extended Universe. In addition to being very quippy and fun, it features one of Margot Robbie’s most deliciously unhinged performances, as she captures the criminal energy of Harley Quinn. The pandemic hampered its box office, but even so, it’s worth watching and appreciating for the extent to which it finally gives women a central role in a superhero film. 

Jon M. Chu brings his musical film chops to In the Heights, the screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s beloved play. The film has much to recommend, including a vibrant palette, infectiously listenable songs, and a powerful message about the enduring power of community. Like many other films of 2020 and 2021, its box office take was significantly affected by the ongoing pandemic, but its wide availability on streaming means that many people can still appreciate the extent to which it exudes the beautiful vitality of the musical genre.  

Ridley Scott has repeatedly shown that he is one of today’s finest epic filmmakers, even if not all of his big-budget spectacles succeed. One of his misfires is Kingdom of Heaven, which focuses on Jerusalem during the era of the Crusader Kingdoms. It’s a fascinating and surprisingly thoughtful engagement with the historic struggle between Christianity and Islam, and the fact that it came out at the height of the War on Terror makes its deliberate approach to the material all the more remarkable. Even its box office success can’t take away from its intellectual and emotional power.

The success of Mad Max: Fury Road essentially guaranteed a follow-up or a prequel, and Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga  features Anya Taylor-Joy as Imperator Furiosa. Like its predecessor, it's a profoundly kinetic film, immersing the viewer in the terrifying post-apocalyptic landscape that leaves little room for beauty or vulnerability. Despite its stumble at the box office, it remains a powerful piece of filmmaking and further evidence that George Miller is a visionary filmmaker unlike almost anyone else working in Hollywood today.

Bros, the romantic comedy co-written and starring Billy Eichner, gained a lot of press, good and bad, for being one of the first gay romantic comedies bankrolled and released by a major studio. It is, to be sure, a very funny and also very romantic film, and it grapples with many issues facing gay couples today. Unfortunately, it underperformed at the box office, but this shouldn’t take away from the fact that it was a groundbreaking piece of LGBTQ+ filmmaking. Hopefully, other filmmakers will find the right formula to make a queer rom-com palatable to a mainstream audience.

It took several years for Dungeons & Dragons to come to the big screen, but when it did, the result was the very funny Honor Among Thieves. It’s the type of film that manages to stay true to the game's ethos and fun while crafting a narrative that works on its own terms. It did a decent job at the box office, and it was quite beloved among critics. Its struggles at the box office no doubt doomed any further films set in this particular universe, but there is still a lot to love about this movie, particularly the lead performance from Chris Pine.

Tár is an extraordinary film in many ways, not least because it features an electrifying and terrifying performance by Cate Blanchett. She plays Lydia Tár, a famous conductor whose life is brought crashing down thanks to a sex scandal. Despite its undeniable artistry, Blanchett’s performance, and its relevance to the moment, it struggled at the box office, perhaps as a continuing result of the pandemic and its influence on theater-going. Even so, it remains a powerful piece of filmmaking and a warning about the dangers of narcissistic genius.

Fight Club is one of those films that perfectly captured the sense of angst and anger that many men felt at the end of the 1990s and into the beginning of the 2000s. Despite its cultural importance and subsequent reputation, it actually struggled at the box office. While it did make some money, it wasn’t enough to offset its budget. Nevertheless, the film is a potent reminder that just because a movie doesn’t perform well doesn’t mean it won’t come to be regarded as a classic in subsequent years.

Today, most people think of Blade Runner as one of Ridley Scott’s best films and a groundbreaking piece of sci-fi filmmaking. At the time of its release in 1982, however, it failed to turn a profit, and over the years, it has been released in many different formats. One thing remains true throughout the different versions, however: this is truly remarkable sci-fi filmmaking, filled with both style and thought-provoking philosophical questions. It remains one of the most compelling adaptations of the works of Philip K. Dıck.

Few films are more infamous than Cleopatra,  which endured quite a few production woes before it finally hit the big screen. It was, to be sure, enormously popular with audiences, many of whom wanted to see Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton together. However, the cost overruns of its production ended up meaning it didn’t turn a profit. However, subsequent years have been kind to it and, beneath all of the spectacle and the over-the-topness that one associates with this genre, there is a surprisingly melancholy film about one of history’s most remarkable women and the world she almost created. 

Given the extent to which The Shawshank Redemption has become one of the best Stephen King adaptations, it’s rather shocking to see that it was actually not especially successful during its initial run. Fortunately, it managed to accrue quite a few accolades, and further releases helped it to be more profitable. More to the point, it’s also a stirring and powerful prison drama that, like the best of the genre, demonstrates the unquenchable power of the human spirit.

Anthony Mann’s The Fall of the Roman Empire is one of the last of the big-budget ancient world epics that were so popular in the 1950s and 1960s. As its title suggests, it takes place at a key moment when the Roman Empire began to buckle, in this case, the reign of Commodus. Despite its sophisticated screenplay and some noteworthy performances from Stephen Boyd and Sophia Loren, it tanked at the box office. Still, it stands as a testament to the ways that the ancient world epic could be a genre of ideas as well as spectacle.

Even though The Fall Guy  boasted a strong cast in the form of Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, The Fall Guy ended up being a bit of a flop at the box office in 2024. The film is still a delight, however, due to its performances and the fact that it so skillfully blends action and comedy. Like so many other films of the streaming era, it simply couldn’t overcome the inertia dragging down theater attendance in order to turn a profit. 

Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life is, for many people, essential viewing during the Christmas season. It is, likewise, often regarded as one of those movies that’s as American as apple pie. As so often in American film history, however, it wasn’t a financial success on its release. It only became a success once it entered the public domain and was thus shown very widely on television. Sometimes, it really is a matter of accident as to which movies end up being classics and beloved by a large audience. 

Given the enormous critical esteem in which Orson Welles’ masterpiece Citizen Kane continues to be held, it may come as a surprise to find that it was actually not especially successful on its release. Indeed, it only really became regarded as a masterpiece of filmmaking in the 1950s, thanks in no small part to French film critics. Nowadays, it’s impossible to think about Hollywood film history, particularly the period known as classical Hollywood, without acknowledging the way that this film continues to cast a very long shadow.

By the early 2000s, it started to seem that Disney was running on fumes, and many of the films of the period struggled to attain the height of success of the preceding Renaissance. One unfortunate casualty of that is Treasure Planet, a retelling of the novel Treasure Island that takes place in space. Despite the film’s rather lackluster reputation and disastrous box office, it remains a poignant film that manages to have quite a lot of the traditional Disney magic while also being unafraid to chart its own course.

Director Martin Scorsese has made no secret of his love of film and its history, and Hugo is in some ways his love letter to the history of cinema. For all of the love and care taken in its crafting, and for all that it has a sweet story lovingly told, the film didn’t do particularly well at the box office, falling quite short of doubling its budget. Nevertheless, it’s a beautiful film that pays homage to the early years of the moving image, particularly the pioneer Georges Méliès, whose work in film changed the medium forever.

Few films have captured the ennui of late capitalism quite as well as Office Space. To this day, it continues to exert an influence on how people think about office work and its soul-draining power. Given this, it’s rather surprising to find that the film didn’t do very well at the box office during its original run, barely earning as much as it cost to produce. Nevertheless, it managed to secure a legacy for itself that has far outshone its box office numbers, and it is arguably one of the most beloved films of the late 1990s.

Annihilation, based on the Southern Reach series by Jeff VanderMeer, is one of those sci-fi films that is both thought-provoking and deeply disturbing. It also featured some stunning special and practical effects, including a notably horrifying bear creature. For all that it explored some fascinating territory in terms of embodiment and the nature of the human, Annihilation struggled at the box office. Even so, it is still worth a watch for the way that it uses the conventions of sci-fi and body horror to grapple with deep questions. 

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Children of Men  immerses the viewer in a world where people no longer produce children, leading to widespread societal collapse. It’s a startling piece of filmmaking, with powerful and searing realism that allows it to become a masterpiece of post-apocalyptic cinema. It didn’t perform particularly well at the box office, but it remains one of the director’s most noteworthy films, and it features some remarkable performances from the likes of Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Julianne Moore.