Close-up of Ares with a helmet on, looking up in determination.
For every runaway hit, there are probably several flops that live in its shadows. Over the last decade, Hollywood has spent billions chasing the next guaranteed hit, only to watch some of its most expensive bets collapse on arrival.
However, some of them are not surprise failures; in fact, some movies could raise eyebrows from the moment they were announced. Whether they're unnecessary remakes or middling superhero movies, the warning signs could be seen long before opening weekend. Here, we look at the box office flops from the last ten years that everyone saw coming. We discuss what went wrong and why we could see these movies bombing before they were released. Together, there are some trends that we can learn from, and hopefully, the studios are taking notes as well. 10 'Madame Web' Set within Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, Madame Web follows Cassandra Webb , a paramedic who begins experiencing clairvoyant visions after a near-death experience. Her vision leads her to save three young women, Julia , Anya , and Mattie , who are each destined for superpowered futures as Ezekiel Sims hunts the trio down before they can fulfill their roles. The film’s flop felt inevitable long before release, especially after Morbius became a laughing stock. Critically, Madame Web was widely panned for its weird pacing, terrible ADR, and awkward dialogue. Its most famous line,"He was in the Amazon with my mom when she was researching spiders just before she died," became the subject of mockery because of how stilted and blatantly expository it was. The movie tried its best to connect it with the larger Spider-Man universe, with Adam Scott and Emma Roberts playing the roles of Ben and Mary Parker, but it just came off as desperate rather than necessary. 9 Tron: Ares Tron: Ares shifts the film's focus from the Flynns to the rivalry between Eve Kim , the current CEO of ENCOM, and Julian Dillinger , the CEO of Dillinger Systems, as they both search for the Permanence Code that can enable digital assets to live in the real world. Dillinger unleashes Ares , an intelligent yet rogue master control program, to obtain the code from Eve at all costs. The Tron franchise has always had a passionate but limited fanbase, and the long gap since Tron: Legacy cooled mainstream interest significantly. Jared Leto, despite being an Oscar winner, also has a limited draw at the box office. Without continuing the story of Sam Flynn and Quorra, the film had a hard time selling its concept, resulting in a disappointing $140 million worldwide gross, which is way below Tron: Legacy's $400 million box office taking. Tron: Ares is a respectable continuation of the franchise with excellent visuals and an even more mesmerizing score by Nine Inch Nails, but it just couldn't justify its existence. 8 'Gods of Egypt' Set in a mythological version of ancient Egypt, Gods of Egypt follows Bek , a human thief who initially wanted to steal one of Horus' eyes but instead joins forces with him. Together, they devise a plan to reclaim the throne from the tyrannical Set , who killed his brother to ascend as King. Lionsgate had a lot riding on this movie after their crown jewel, The Hunger Games, ended, and the film was intended to be the first of a full-fledged movie franchise. Its only setback was that no one was asking for this film. Before its release, it already had negative buzz surrounding the casting, which predominantly has a white cast playing Egyptian gods. The actual film was not safe from critics and audiences, as it is a CGI-fest with a non-engaging storyline, which was far from its intention to be the next epic film. Gods of Egypt made $150 million worldwide, which was not enough to kickstart a cinematic universe of its own. 7 'Ben-Hur' This modern remake of Ben-Hur, from the director of Wanted, Timur Bekmambetov, retells the story of Judah Ben-Hur , a Jewish prince who is falsely accused of treason and sent to slavery by his adopted Roman brother, Messala . After five years, he returns to face Messala while his path intersects with Jesus Christ. Not sure what went on in the producers' and studio's minds when they decided to greenlight a modern remake of a beloved, eleven-Oscar-winning classic. Critics were unimpressed by the film’s rushed storytelling and lack of emotional weight compared to the Charlton Heston film, which was in itself a remake. Audiences showed little interest in yet another unnecessary remake, leading to a disastrous box office run that failed to recoup its budget. The iconic chariot race sequence is shot and edited like a typical Hollywood actioner, with rapid cuts and CGI enhancements. 2016's Ben-Hur does have strong lead performances and a fine message about forgiveness, but audiences can also find them in the 1959 original. 6 'Cats' Based on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s long-running stage musical, Cats follows a tribe of Jellicle cats as they gather to decide which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer, or the afterlife, and be reborn. Directed by Oscar winner Tom Hooper, the film boasts a star-studded cast that includes Judi Dench, Idris Elba, Ian McKellen, and Taylor Swift. Cats' abstract storytelling may have worked wonders on stage, but apparently not on screen. No matter how elaborately staged they are, the long musical numbers seemed endless without a coherent plot to tie them together. The visual effects, which feature digitally rendered human-cat hybrids, are both so terrifying and laughable that they were mocked by their own cast at the Oscars. It was also overconfident in itself as it was released on the same weekend as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Now, Cats stands as one of the worst films released in recent memory and one of the most infamous big-budget flops. 5 'Kraven the Hunter' Kraven the Hunter follows Sergei Kravinoff , who gains a predator-like ability after being saved by the mysterious Calypso. Years later, he is known as the mythic vigilante Kraven, who hunts criminals. Driven by jealousy, Sergei's competitor, Aleksei Systevich , who possesses the power and strength of a rhinoceros, kidnaps Sergei's brother, forcing the hunter to team up with Calypso and mount a daring rescue. It was actually quite commendable for Sony to keep their universe after a string of flops, yet it was also an incredibly risky business decision. Despite its intriguing anti-hero premise and a committed performance from Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kraven the Hunter underperformed on every front. After numerous release date delays that killed the hype surrounding the film, it only grossed around $62 million worldwide, worse than the year's notorious flops, Argylle and Madame Web. While Morbius and Madame Web still have some cultural footprint with their fans and detractors making up memes about them, Kraven the Hunter simply disappeared. After this film bombed, Sony finally came to its senses and paused all developments on its Spider-Man Universe. 4 'Snow White' Disney’s live-action Snow White reimagines the classic fairy tale with Rachel Zegler playing the titular character. Her stepmother, the Evil Queen , takes over the Kingdom and attempts to kill Snow White as she is perceived to threaten her reign. After the Huntsman ordered to kill her lets her go, Snow White finds refuge with the Seven Dwarves and a group of bandits. Together, they join forces to reclaim her kingdom. Recent Disney live-action films were not safe from public controversies, but Snow White suffered the most. The film faced heavy backlash before its release, from Zegler's casting and leaked set photos to updated story elements and dodgy CGI in the trailers. Snow White was also caught in the crosshairs as the film's two main actresses have opposing political views and are incredibly vocal about their stances. Add all those problems with the general audience's skepticism towards Disney live-action remakes, and the result was a lackluster $200 million worldwide gross against a massive budget. The film itself received mixed reviews, but Rachel Zegler shines in the lead role. 3 'The Flash' The Flash follows Barry Allen as he attempts to save his mother by using his newfound abilities to time-travel. His journey brings him to an alternate universe where he meets another version of Batman , and he must save Earth from General Zod's invasion with the help of Supergirl . Subscribe for Deeper Takes on Box-Office Flops Want smarter takes? Subscribing to the newsletter gives you informed breakdowns of big-budget flops, recurring studio missteps, and the patterns that predict box-office failure. Our coverage reveals industry lessons so you can spot the warning signs. Subscribe Subscribe for Deeper Takes on Box-Office Flops Want smarter takes? Subscribing to the newsletter gives you informed breakdowns of big-budget flops, recurring studio missteps, and the patterns that predict box-office failure. Our coverage reveals industry lessons so you can spot the warning signs. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Billed as the film that would forever change the DCEU, The Flash did so not because of its groundbreaking multiverse storyline but because the universe was rebooted soon after. After years of development, the film arrived with a whimper, especially with Miller's off-screen antics, questionable CGI choices, and the franchise's lack of vision. The Flash squanders the return of Keaton and Calle's strong Supergirl performance. Still, it somehow managed to get the likes of Tom Cruise to endorse it despite it being a middling superhero affair. The film was considered a bomb and a sad epilogue to the troubled cinematic universe. 2 'Megalopolis' Megalopolis follows Cesar Catilina , a visionary architect who possesses the ability to stop time and has access to the revolutionary new material called Megalon. He wants to rebuild the city of New Rome using the material for a utopian community. However, the city's mayor, Cicero , completely objects to his ambitious plans and instead opts for a conservative plan for a casino, which will bring more taxes. Francis Ford Coppola took over 20 years to develop this film, and the result is, frankly, an epic mess. While artistically bold, Megalopolis fails to connect with the audience. Critics were sharply divided, with many praising its ambition but questioning its narrative incoherence. Even before release, the film struggled to find a distributor, with big studios and even Netflix passing on this opportunity because they deemed it too risky. Its box office gross speaks for itself, but Megalopolis is still watchable for those who want to experience a subversive auteur cinema. 1 'The Marvels' The Marvels brings together Carol Danvers , Kamala Khan , and Monica Rambeau as their switch powers everytime they use their abilities. Here, they face an extreme Kree leader hell bent on exacting revenge on Captain Marvel, who brought the fall of the Kree home planet after she destroyed the Supreme Intelligence that led the Kree empire. Marvel miscalculated this film, as they thought all of their audiences would have watched WandaVision and Ms. Marvel on Disney+. After Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania disappointed the fans, the excitement for this movie also fell. It arrived in the middle of superhero fatigue, and the industry strikes, and the film's plot just seemed like an extended TV episode, which was a shame because the main trio had superb chemistry. The global box office was notably low for an MCU release, making it Marvel's first big bomb. Its underperformanceis even more noticeable when compared to Captain Marvel, which hit the $1 billion mark in 2019. Cast Brie Larson, Teyonah Parris, Iman Vellani, Samuel L. Jackson, Zawe Ashton, Gary Lewis, Park Seo-jun, Zenobia Shroff, Mohan Kapur, Saagar Shaikh, Leila Farzad, Abraham Popoola, Lashana Lynch, Tessa Thompson, Daniel Ings, Alex Hughes, Ffion Jolly, Savannah Skinner-Henry, Rachel John, Kya Garwood, Hailee Steinfeld, Kelsey Grammer, Elie Bouakaze, Ross Carter, Daniel Eghan Runtime 105 minutes Director Nia DaCosta Writers Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik, Nia DaCosta Genres Science Fiction, Adventure, Action, Superhero Powered by Expand Collapse
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