20 movies that were unexpected failures at the box office

James Bond and Indiana Jones teamed up to fight aliens in the Old West, which sounds like the coolest concept ever. The problem was that the movie took itself way too seriously, and the $163 million budget was just too high to recoup. It stumbled in theaters and proved that putting two cool genres together doesn't always equal cash.

A boy befriends a giant robot from space in this beautifully animated tearjerker. Warner Bros. barely marketed it because they didn't believe in it, so it opened with a disastrous $5.7 million. 

Tom Cruise tried to reboot the classic monster franchise with this action-heavy take, intended to launch a whole "Dark Universe." Audiences weren't interested in the confusing plot, though, and the massive marketing costs meant it needed to make a fortune just to break even. It flopped so hard it canceled the entire cinematic universe plan.

An insomniac office worker starts an underground fighting ring that spirals into domestic terrorism. It’s a cultural touchstone now, but in 1999, the studio didn't know how to market it, and it underperformed significantly. It barely made $37 million domestically against a $63 million budget.

A drifter tries to claw her way to the top of the Las Vegas showgirl scene in this NC-17 drama. The hype was huge, but the movie was universally mocked for its acting and script, and it crashed at the box office. 

Gene Wilder plays an eccentric candy maker who traumatizes a group of children on a factory tour. It’s a childhood favorite now, but it was considered a box-office disappointment in 1971, earning only $4 million. 

This origin story showed us how Han met Chewie and got the Millennium Falcon. Unfortunately, it came out too soon after The Last Jedi and suffered from behind-the-scenes drama that ballooned the budget. 

Researchers in Antarctica are hunted by a shapeshifting alien capable of assuming any form. It’s now considered a horror masterpiece, but it was absolutely despised by critics and ignored by audiences who wanted the friendly alien from E.T. instead. It lost money and nearly ruined director John Carpenter's career at the time.

Batman and Wonder Woman assemble a team of heroes to save the planet in what was supposed to be DC’s answer to The Avengers. A messy production and a mid-shoot director swap led to a ballooning budget that the box office just couldn't cover. It ended up losing Warner Bros. millions despite grossing over $600 million.

Three witches are resurrected in Salem on Halloween night and wreak havoc on the town. Disney bizarrely released this Halloween movie in July, where it got stomped by Jurassic Park and Free Willy. It was a total flop at the box office, only gaining cult status years later thanks to Disney Channel reruns.

A young boy who can control the elements tries to save the world in this live-action adaptation of the beloved cartoon. Fans absolutely hated the changes and the casting, leading to toxic word-of-mouth that undermined its box-office potential. It made money on paper, but it killed the franchise immediately and remains a massive missed opportunity.

A banker wrongly convicted of murder bonds with a fellow inmate over decades in a rough prison. Today, it's one of the top-rated movies on IMDb, but it got absolutely crushed in theaters because nobody knew what "Shawshank" meant. It barely earned back its production budget before finding a second life on cable TV.

Tom Hanks and Bruce Willis starred in this satire about greed and class warfare in New York City. On paper, it was a guaranteed smash, but critics tore it apart and audiences found it confusing and unlikable. It ended up grossing just $15 million against a $47 million budget, becoming a legendary Hollywood cautionary tale.

Harrison Ford hunts down rogue androids in a rainy, neon-lit future that basically invented the cyberpunk aesthetic. It came out the same summer as  E.T. and The Thing, and audiences just weren't ready for its dark, slow-burn vibe. It was a commercial dud that barely scraped back its budget before becoming a sci-fi masterpiece.

A giant lizard attacks New York City in this blockbuster that promised to prove that "size does matter." The marketing campaign was huge, but fans hated the creature's new design and the goofy tone. It made money globally but fell drastically short of the studio's massive expectations, killing plans for a sequel.

George Bailey learns what the world would be like without him in this heartwarming holiday staple that we all cry at every year. Despite the tears, this Christmas classic totally tanked at the box office when it premiered, failing to even recoup its budget and leaving the studio in serious debt. It only became famous because they forgot to renew the copyright, and TV stations played it for free!

A Civil War vet gets transported to Mars and discovers he has superpowers due to the planet's gravity. Disney poured a staggering amount of cash into this sci-fi epic, but audiences were confused by the marketing and stayed home instead. It ended up losing the studio around $200 million, making it one of the biggest write-offs in history.

Dorothy gets swept away by a tornado to a magical land of witches, munchkins, and yellow brick roads. While it’s arguably one of the most famous movies ever made now, it barely broke even during its initial run because the production was so expensive. It took decades of re-releases and TV broadcasts to finally turn a profit.

In a future where the polar ice caps have melted, a mutant mariner fights for survival on the open ocean. This Kevin Costner vehicle was the most expensive movie ever made at the time, and the "soggy" production became a punchline before it even hit theaters. It eventually made some cash back, but not enough to shake its reputation as a massive financial headache.

This mystery about a newspaper tycoon’s dying word is basically the answer to every "Greatest Movie of All Time" trivia question. Back in 1941, though, audiences completely ignored it, and the Hearst newspaper empire actively campaigned to bury it. It failed to recoup its costs during its original release, which is wild considering its legacy.