Box-office bomb

In the motion picture industry, a "box-office bomb" or "box-office flop" is a film that is considered highly unsuccessful or unprofitable during its theatrical run, often following significant hype regarding its cost, production, or marketing efforts.[1][2] Generally, any film for which the production and marketing costs exceed the combined revenue recovered after release is considered to have "bombed".[3]

Box-office bomb is a subjective term, as gauging the financial success of a film is difficult. There is also no reliable definition of the term. Not all films that fail to earn back their estimated costs during their theatrical runs are considered "bombs".[2] The label is generally applied to films that miss earnings projections by a wide margin, particularly when they are very expensive to produce. Although this often occurs in conjunction with middling or poor reviews, critical reception has an imperfect connection to box-office performance.[4]

Causes of a film's failure

Negative word of mouth

Beginning in the 1980s, cinemas started to drop films that suffered a poor opening weekend. This made the performance of a film on its opening weekend much more crucial to its perception. With the growth of the Internet during the 1990s, chat rooms and websites enabled negative opinions for films to spread rapidly.

Another cause for failure is a troubled production history. This was the case for the film Heaven's Gate, which famously went three months over schedule and saw its budget mushroom from $7.5 million to $36 million.[5] These facts caught the ears of journalists and critics who were refused access to the film's set by director Michael Cimino, and upon its release, the film was negatively portrayed by the American press.

External circumstances

Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues unrelated to the film itself. These issues commonly relate to the timing of the film's release. This was one of the reasons for the commercial failure of one of the first "flops", Intolerance. Owing to production delays, the film was not released until late 1916, a time when the widespread anti-war sentiment it reflected had started to shift in favor of U.S. entry into World War I.[6] While the film would later be considered groundbreaking, its failure drove D. W. Griffith's production company, Triangle Film Corporation, out of business. Other examples include MGM's The Wizard of Oz and Walt Disney's Pinocchio, Fantasia, and Bambi, all of which under-performed merely because they were released during World War II, which cut off 60% of the international release market. However, these films became popular and critically acclaimed in later years.

Another example of external events sinking a film is the 2015 docudrama about FIFA entitled United Passions. It was released in theaters in the United States at the same time FIFA's leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption, and the film grossed only $918 at the U.S. box office in its opening weekend.[7] Comedian John Oliver lampooned the film asking "Who makes a sports film where heroes are the executives?"[8]

Other issues such as general economic malaise may cause less disposable income for potential filmgoers, resulting in fewer ticket sales. Also, many movies that open during times of national crisis and just after disasters such as the Hindenburg disaster, Pearl Harbor, the JFK assassination, the Oklahoma bombings, Columbine High shooting, the 2001 September 11 attacks, Manchester Arena bombing, Sandy Hook Elementary shooting, the 2008 recession, the Las Vegas massacre, the bombing in Boston Marathon, Virginia Tech massacre, a major tsunami and earthquake in Japan, respective wars in Iraq or Vietnam, and hurricanes (i.e. Sandy, Katrina, Harvey,[9] or Irma) under-perform at the box office.[10] In the case of the 9/11 attacks, three movies that dealt with the subject of terrorism in various ways were scheduled for release between September 12 and December 31, 2001 (Collateral Damage, Big Trouble, and Bad Company). The release dates for these films were pushed back to 2002, and none of them performed well at the box office.

High production costs

Sometimes a film may do reasonably well at the box office but still be considered a bomb due to a large budget. For example, 2005's Sahara cost over $241 million to make (including marketing and distribution), due in part to exorbitant production costs. It took in $122 million, usually enough to be successful. However, in this case, this accounted for barely over half of its expenses.[11] In 2012, Disney reported losses of $200 million on John Carter. The film had made a considerable $234 million worldwide, but this was far short of its $250 million budget plus worldwide advertising.[12]

Recovery of flops

Films which are initially viewed as "flops" may recover income elsewhere. Several films have under-performed in the United States but have been sufficiently successful internationally to recoup losses or even become financial successes.[13][14] Films may also recover money through international distribution, sales to television syndication, and distribution outside of cinemas (download, DVD, pay-per-view).[15] Other films have succeeded long after cinema release by becoming cult films or being re-evaluated over time. High-profile films fitting this description include Blade Runner and The Shawshank Redemption, which both lost money at the box office but have since become highly popular.[16]

Studios pushed into financial trouble

In extreme cases, a single film's lackluster performance can push a studio into financial losses, bankruptcy or closure. Examples of this include: RKO Pictures (The Conqueror), United Artists (Heaven's Gate) and Carolco Pictures (Cutthroat Island, once listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest box-office loss of all time[17]). The under-performance of The Golden Compass was seen as a significant factor in influencing Warner Bros.' decision to take direct control of New Line Cinema.[18]

When a failed attempt to revive a genre is particularly costly, all studios may subsequently balk at producing similar films, as was the case with Gold Circle Films' horror-comedy Slither, which made less than a quarter of its $29.5 million budget. Some financial losses have changed a company's agenda, such as Walt Disney Animation Studios' decision in the early 2000s to make only computer-animated features, which stemmed from several under-performing traditionally animated releases, including The Emperor's New Groove, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, Treasure Planet and Home on the Range. Due to the box-office underperformance of the films Cats Don't Dance, Quest for Camelot, The Iron Giant, Osmosis Jones, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Warner Bros. Animation shifted from theatrical features to television shows. However, the studio eventually returned to theatrical features with The Lego Movie in 2014, which was met with critical acclaim and became a major box-office success.[19][20]

In 2001, Square Pictures released its first film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, an animated motion picture inspired by the Final Fantasy series of video games. It received mixed reviews from critics and lost over $52 million. Following the film's struggles, Square Pictures ceased producing feature films. In 2011, Mars Needs Moms was the last film released by ImageMovers Digital before it got absorbed by ImageMovers to a loss of nearly $140 million—the largest box office bomb of all time in nominal dollar terms. Despite this loss, the decision to close the production company had been made a year prior to the film's release.[21]

Independent films

The 2006 independent movie Zyzzyx Road made just $30 at the US box office. The film, with a budget of $1.2 million and starring Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl, owes its tiny revenue to its limited box-office release — just six days in a single theater in Dallas for the purpose of meeting SAG requirements — rather than its ability to attract viewers.[22][23] According to co-star Leo Grillo, it sold six tickets, two of which were to cast members.[24]

Previously, the British film Offending Angels had become notorious for taking in less than £100 (~$150[25]) at the box office.[26] It had a £70,000 (~$105,000[25]) budget but was panned by critics including the BBC, who called it a "truly awful pile of garbage",[27] and Total Film, who called it "irredeemable".[28]

In 2011, the film The Worst Movie Ever! opened to just $11 at the US box office. It played in only one theater.[29]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Greatest Box-Office Bombs, Disasters and Flops". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  2. 1 2 "The 15 Biggest Box Office Bombs". Cnbc.com. 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  3. ↑ "Top 200 Biggest Box Office Bombs. Worst movies with respect to Box Office Gross. | Life & Times". Theforrester.wordpress.com. 2008-05-12. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  4. ↑ "As 'Battleship' Flops: Ten Other Memorable Box-Office Bombs | The Playlist". Blogs.indiewire.com. 1995-12-22. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  5. ↑ "Unmaking of an Epic - The Production of Heaven's Gate". www.filminquiry.com. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  6. ↑ "Intolerance (1916)". www.filmsite.org. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  7. ↑ "FIFA film 'United Passions' one of worst in U.S. box office history". ESPN. June 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: FIFA and the World Cup (HBO)" on YouTube
  9. ↑ Kelley, Seth (2017-08-27). "Box Office Disaster: Lackluster Releases, Mayweather-McGregor, Hurricane Harvey Create Slowest Weekend in Over 15 Years". Variety. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  10. ↑ "Weekend Box Office". Boxofficeguru.com. 2001-09-17. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  11. ↑ Glenn F. Bunting, Jurors hear tales of studio maneuvering, Los Angeles Times, March 5, 2007
  12. ↑ "John Carter flop to cost Walt Disney $200m". BBC News. 2012-03-20.
  13. ↑ Mendelson, Scott. "'Pacific Rim' And More Domestic "Flops" That Became Global Hits". Forbes. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Fleming Jr., Mike (August 7, 2013). "Isn't It Time To Take 'Waterworld' Off The All-Time Flop List?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  15. ↑ "11 Beloved Movies That Were Box Office Flops". Mental Floss. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  16. ↑ "Which film was the best box-office flop?". The Guardian. 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2017-06-14.
  17. ↑ "Guinness World Records". guinnessworldrecords.com. 2005-11-27. Archived from the original on 2005-11-27. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  18. ↑ Davis, Erik (2008-02-28). "Cinematical: BREAKING: New Line Cinema Says Goodbye!". Cinematical.com. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  19. ↑ "Warner Bros. Creates Animation Film Think Tank". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  20. ↑ "'The Lego Movie' Snaps a Bright, Colorful Franchise Into Place for Warner Bros. Animation". TheWrap. 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2017-11-20.
  21. ↑ Finke, Nikki (2010-03-12). "Disney Closing Zemeckis' Digital Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  22. ↑ Faraci, Devin (2006-12-31). "What if they released a movie and nobody came?". CHUD.com. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  23. ↑ Brunner, Rob (2007-02-09). "The Strange and Twisted Tale of ... The Movie That Grossed $30.00". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  24. ↑ Mueller, Andrew (2007-01-16). "This film is absolute dross — people are going to love it!". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  25. 1 2 Officer, Lawrence H. "Dollar-Pound Exchange Rate From 1791: 2000–2002". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  26. ↑ logboy (2006-02-03). "Offending Angels. £70k Budget, £89 Box Office. 8 DVD Sales to Double its Takings". Twitch.net. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  27. ↑ Russell, Jamie (2002-04-10). "Offending Angels (2002)". BBC. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  28. ↑ Harley, Kevin (May 2002). "Offending Angels film review". Total Film. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  29. ↑ "The Worst Movie Ever! (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
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