However, every so often, an acclaimed film can come along that absolutely tanks after being unveiled for the public.<\/p>\n
Over the years, there have been a startling number of films that have struggled, or indeed failed, to recoup their budget, and have consequently earned the \u201cbox office flop\u201d label \u2013 this summer alone has already racked up a fair few<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to pin down exactly why movies such as these \u2013\u00a0Children of Men<\/a> and\u00a0It\u2019s a Wonderful Life, to name a few \u2013 initially struggle to find an audience. Fortunately, though, the film\u2019s quality shines through and it ultimately finds a fanbase beyond its theatrical release.<\/p>\n Thanks to the advent of streaming services, reliance on box office figures has diminished somewhat over the years. This also means that films which struggled to find an audience upon release could potentially go on to find love years later after being added to\u00a0Netflix<\/a>, Prime Video or another service.<\/p>\n Below, we run through a list of films that unexpectedly \u2013 and unfairly \u2013 bombed at the box office.<\/p>\n The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)<\/p>\n Andrew Dominik\u2019s revered Western only just recouped half of its $30m (\u00a322m) budget when released in cinemas in 2007. However, it fortunately found love after being released on DVD and Blu-ray, no doubt helped by its inclusion on several \u201cbest films of the year\u201d lists. <\/p>\n Babylon (2022)<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to know exactly what was behind Babylon\u2019s insipid box office showing. Was it poor marketing, or the fact that the film was 190 minutes long? Whatever the reason, it\u2019s a damn shame \u2013 in her five-star Babylon review<\/a>, Clarisse Loughrey describes the \u201cdebauched drama\u201d as being \u201ctailor-made to divide audiences\u201d, adding that it \u201cputs a bullet in the head of any notion that the film industry\u2019s silent era was ever austere or quaint\u201d.<\/p>\n Blackhat (2015)<\/p>\n Michael Mann\u2019s underrated cyber thriller was a box office bomb, earning a mere $19.7m (\u00a315m) at the box office against a budget of $70m (\u00a352.5m). The unfairly scathing reviews probably didn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n Blade Runner (1982)<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to imagine a seminal film like Blade Runner being a flop at the time of its release, but that\u2019s exactly what Ridley Scott\u2019s sci-fi film was. After a lacklustre run in America, the film proved it had staying power thanks to worldwide audiences and became a word-of-mouth hit in the process. Still, it only made back $10.5m (\u00a38m) more than its budget of $30m (\u00a322.5m). <\/p>\n Children of Men (2006)<\/p>\n While it\u2019s now considered to be one of the best films of the 21st century, Alfonso Cuar\u00f3n\u2019s dystopian thriller, starring Clive Owen, failed to make its money back at the box office at its time of release in 2006. <\/p>\n Citizen Kane (1941)<\/p>\n Orson Welles\u2019 film may now be a beloved classic, but it was a different story back in the early 1940s: it failed to recoup its costs at the box office \u2013\u00a0and was beaten to the Oscar Best Picture by (the actually very good) How Green Was My Valley.<\/p>\n Clockers (1995)<\/p>\n Spike Lee\u2019s Clockers ranks as one of the director\u2019s most disappointing performances at the box office to date, taking just $13m (\u00a310m) from a $25m (\u00a318.7m) budget.<\/p>\n Deepwater Horizon (2016)<\/p>\n Peter Berg\u2019s real-life drama fell more than $30m (\u00a322.6m) short of its $156m (\u00a3117m) budget \u2013 a shame considering it\u2019s one of the Friday Night Lights creator\u2019s best films to date (which, from the guy who directed Battleship and Mile 22, we suppose is not saying much).<\/p>\n Donnie Darko (2004)<\/p>\n Donnie Darko grossed just over $7.5m (\u00a35.6m) worldwide on a budget of $4.5m (\u00a33.3m). A notable reason for its flop was likely due to the fact its marketing campaign centred on the scene involving a crash of a plane\u2019s engine just weeks before 9\/11. Thankfully, the film went on to earn a cult following after being released on DVD and is now one of the most celebrated films of the 2000s.<\/p>\n Event Horizon (1997)<\/p>\n With its B-movie-style scares and ridiculous twists, Event Horizon had all the ingredients to become a sleeper hit. Instead, it was a commercial and critical failure, grossing $26.7m (\u00a320m) on a $60m (\u00a345m) production budget. <\/p>\n The Fabelmans (2022)<\/p>\n Steven Spielberg\u2019s late-career efforts have seldom enjoyed the kind of box office sorcery that defined his early hits. But it was still shocking to see just how few people turned out to see The Fabelmans, a mostly autobiographical drama focusing on the filmmaker\u2019s childhood, and his parent\u2019s marital troubles. Perhaps it was the marketing that was at fault \u2013 trailers suggested this would be a mawkish love letter to the wonder of cinema, whereas the actual film offers a far more cynical and nuanced worldview. <\/p>\n To find out what others are saying and join the conversation scroll down for the comments section or\u00a0click here for our most commented on articles\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n Heaven\u2019s Gate (1980)<\/p>\n Michael Cimino\u2019s ambitious epic is notable for being one of the biggest box office bombs of its time, losing studio United Artists an estimated $37m (\u00a327.7m) \u2013 which is over $114m (\u00a385.5m) when adjusted for inflation. The film, which received a mauling from critics at the time, has been reevaluated in recent years \u2013\u00a0and is best viewed as one of the last truly director-driven films in that Hollywood era.<\/p>\n Hugo (2011)<\/p>\n![\"Tang](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756032189_318_newFile-1.jpg\")
Tang Wei and Chris Hemsworth in \u2018Blackhat’ (Frank Connor\/Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures)<\/p>\n![\"\u2018Citizen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756032189_549_newFile-4.jpg\")
\u2018Citizen Kane\u2019 (RKO Radio Pictures)<\/p>\n![\"\u2018Donnie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756032189_647_newFile-5.jpg\")
\u2018Donnie Darko\u2019 (Dale Robinette\/Flower\/Gaylord\/Adam Fields Prod\/Kobal\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n
![\"\u2018Hugo\u2019\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756032189_660_newFile-6.jpg\")
\u2018Hugo\u2019 (Paramount\/Gk\/Kobal\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n![\"James](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756032190_485_newFile.jpg\")
James Stewart and Donna Reed in \u2018It\u2019s a Wonderful Life’ (Paramount)<\/p>\n![\"\u2018Scott](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/1756032190_926_newFile-2.jpg\")
\u2018Scott Pilgrim vs the World\u2019 (Big Talk Productions\/Kobal\/Shutterstock)<\/p>\n