Box Office Bomb / S-T

Box Office Bomb index
#-B | C | D | E-F | G-H | I-J | K-M | N-R | S-T | U-Z | DC Comics Films | Marvel Comics Films

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S - Sh

• Sabotage (2014) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $17,508,518. This was Arnold Schwarzenegger's worst opening weekend in thirty years. Its negative reviews citing its gratuitous violence and unlikable protagonists didn't help. Director David Ayer had better luck later that year with Fury.
• Sabrina (1995) — Budget, $58 million. Box office, $53,672,080 (domestic), $87,313,761 (worldwide). This remake of Billy Wilder's 1954 classic got generally good reviews from critics, even if they didn't think it lived up to the original.
• Safe (2012) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $17,142,080 (domestic), $40,346,186 (worldwide). This opened on sixth place on its first weekend and was buried by The Avengers the next.
• Sahara (1983) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $1,402,962. This was the last film MGM distributed for Cannon Films. It was mauled so badly by critics that it wasn't released east of the Mississippi. It was a Star-Derailing Role for Brooke Shields, who won a Razzie as Worst Supporting Actor, since her character disguises herself as a man. (Ironically, producer Menahem Golan was convinced Shields would not only get an Oscar nomination but win!) However, she was later able to make a comeback with Suddenly Susan.
• Sahara (2005) — Budget, $160 million. Box office, $119,269,486. After a lawsuit from author Clive Cussler put several documents relating to the film's production into the public domain, the Los Angeles Times did a report using the film as a case study in Hollywood Accounting and production costs run amok (some of said production costs were bribes to the Moroccan government to shoot there). This was the first time since Raise the Titanic! that Cussler had allowed a feature film based off his work to be made, and the fallout from its massive production effectively reinforced his stance against his books being adapted for the rest of his life. Sahara was also a career-derailing directing job for Breck Eisner, son of Disney boss Michael Eisner, who did not do another cinematic film for 5 years and didn't helm a tentpole until The Last Witch Hunter 10 years later. Some of the producers and writers also saw their careers pushed to the caboose until The New '10s started rolling around.
• The Salton Sea (2002) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $764,554. D.J. Caruso's directorial debut topped out at 30 theaters and closed after seven weeks.
• Salvador (1986) — Budget, $4.5 million. Box office, $1.5 million. This biopic of journalist Richard Boyle, who co-wrote the screenplay with director Oliver Stone, was a highly Acclaimed Flop, with particular praise going to James Woods' performance as Boyle. Stone rebounded that year with his Oscar-winning smash hit, Platoon.
• Santa Claus: The Movie (1985) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $23,717,291. This movie was a setback to all the top players who were involved with it, with one, Leslie Newman, not writing another film until 2000. It later became a Cult Classic.
• Satisfaction (1988) - Budget, $13 million. Box office, $8,253,123. This rock'n'roll dramedy was the final film directed by Joan Freeman and, because of Blood Red's stint in The Shelf of Movie Languishment, Julia Roberts's film debut.
• Saturn 3 (1980) — Budget, at least $10 million. Box office, $9 million. This Sci-Fi Horror movie suffered a Troubled Production that saw original director John Barry replaced by Stanley Donen, while an uncooperative Harvey Keitel was over-dubbed in post-production. Critics were largely dismissive when it was released, deriding it as derivative and dull. This contributed to the ultimate bad year for ITC Entertainment — it had a lot of underperforming films, of which Raise the Titanic! was the biggest loss and killed the company. ITC boss Lew Grade was not happy with the final product, and presold TV rights to NBC for $4 million, which offset some of the film's losses. Later became a minor Cult Classic on home video.
• Saving Silverman (2001) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $19,402,030 (domestic), $26,086,706 (worldwide). This was Jason Biggs' Star-Derailing Role and his only leading roles since this romantic comedy failed were in the American Pie sequels and Anything Else. He bounced back with Orange Is the New Black, though.
• Say It Isn't So (2001) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $12,320,393. It was panned by critics and audiences so badly that it got booted out after five weeks. This was Fox's second consecutive flop after Monkeybone and it led to them taking a write-off for their losses.
• The Scarlet Letter (1995) — Budget, $46 million. Box office, $10,382,407. The film was derided for adding sex and action scenes and changing the ending. Demi Moore didn't help by claiming "In truth, not very many people have read the book." This movie, along with Super Mario Bros, would begin producer Roland Joffe's drop into the B and then C-lists of producers/directors.
• School for Scoundrels (2006) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $23,947,685. This remake of the 1960 British movie spent its first two weeks in over 3,000 theaters before most of them dropped it.
• School Ties (1992) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $14,715,067.
• Scorched (2002) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $8,000. It's an understandable gross considering the film played in 12 theaters and was booted out of theaters after its opening weekend. It didn't help that it sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for two years.
• Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (2010) — Budget, $85–90 million ($60 million after tax rebates). Box office, $47,664,559. This box office bob-omb sputtered hard mainly due to its targeted demographic of only teenagers and gamers who would get most of the jokes. Poor marketing^note The film's official poster was nothing more than Scott jamming on his guitar, with the tagline "An epic of epic epicness", telling people not familiar with the material absoluting nothing about the high-concept action movie and implying it might just be about a guy in a band., some Michael Cera fatigue, and coming in at the tail end of summer in 2010 didn't help it either. It was still met with rave reviews from anyone who actually did see it, essentially becoming a Cult Classic on arrival. Its performances on home video and the subsequent success almost every young cast member led to Netflix greenlighting an animated adaptation with almost the entire original cast set to reprise their roles.
• The Scout (1994) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $2,694,234. The second film in 1994 for director Michael Ritchie to flop following Cops and Robbersons.
• Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $14.9 million. A victim of Paramount's choice to release the film near-simultaneously to VOD, resulting in major cinema chains like Regal and Cinemark boycotting the film. Director Christopher Landon later rebounded with Happy Death Day.
• The Sea of Trees (2016) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $20,444 (domestic), $825,577 (worldwide). This was booed out of the Cannes Film Festival the previous year and spent a while looking for a distributor. It was finally released in late August where audiences greeted it just the same.
• Search and Destroy (1995) — Budget, $4 million. Box office, $389,503. The first and only feature film directed by artist David Salle was given a paltry release of 22 theaters.
• Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $7,266,383. Steven Zaillian's directorial debut was this biopic of chess prodigy Josh Waitzkin. It was an Acclaimed Flop that never left limited release. Zaillian had better luck that year writing the script for Schindler's List, though it took him five years to direct another feature, A Civil Action.
• Second-Hand Hearts (1981) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $19,450. Filmed in 1978 as a way for director Hal Ashby to keep busy in the period between making Coming Home and Being There, this quirky Romantic Comedy/Road Movie had a Troubled Production, then sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for three years before it got a limited release in very few theatres for the sole purpose of selling the TV rights. The film's critical and commercial failure marked the beginning of the end for Ashby after his remarkable run during The '70s.
• The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $31,400,740. This In Name Only adaptation of The Dark is Rising had the second worst debut for a wide release movie at the time ($3,745,315, less than the cost of sending the prints out to theaters) and lost nearly all of its theaters by its third weekend. The director and screenwriter, both of whom freely admitted they did not care for the book, saw their careers cast off the big screen after this fiasco. Naturally, this was despised by both the books' fans and Susan Cooper, the author of the book series.
• Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $9,636,289. This comedy revolved around two people who meet Just Before the End and it does end. Critics and audiences consequently gave it mixed reviews for its Mood Whiplash and dreariness. Director Lorne Scafaria promptly went back to writing films only until 2015's The Meddler, but managed to get better luck with 2019's Hustlers.
• Seeking Justice (2011, 2012) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $411,746 (domestic), $12,355,798 (worldwide). Lasted three weeks in theaters, with an 87% average drop between weeks and losing all but 8 theaters, before it was thrown out of those theaters. One of a handful of bombs in The New '10s for Nicolas Cage.
• Self/Less (2015) — Budget, $26 million. Box office, $12,279,691 (domestic), $30,523,226 (worldwide). This was the second release by the newly-resurrected Gramercy Pictures, which became a specialty label for Focus Features. Its financial and critical takedown guaranteed it a run of seven weeks.
• Semi-Pro (2008) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $43,884,904. This is the last movie from standalone New Line Cinema, who were absorbed into Warner Bros. after The Golden Compass. This is also the last movie involving producer and director Kent Alterman.
• Senseless (1998) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $12.8 million. It would be seven years before Penelope Spheeris directed another narrative film, The Kid and I. She directed two music documentaries between the two, but they were never released on home video due to rights issues.
• The Sentinel (2006) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $36,280,697 (domestic), $78,084,827 (worldwide). This political thriller's failure sent director Clark Johnson to exclusively TV work until he started production on Juanita.
• September (1987) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $486,434. Woody Allen's drama loosely inspired by Uncle Vanya is infamous for Allen having reshot it with half the actors replaced. It's his lowest grossing film.
• September Dawn (2007) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $1 million. The controversial film about the 1857 Mountain Meadows Massacre lasted in theaters for two weeks before being pulled. It's the last theatrical release that Christopher Cain has directed so far.
• Serena (2014) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $5 million. Despite two major stars, this sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for two years despite there being no hiccups during post-production apart from director Susanne Bier taking time off to promote Love Is All You Need and spending eighteen months editing it. The end result was eviscerated by critics and limped at every market it opened.
• Serenity (2005) — Budget, $39 million. Box office, $38,869,464. The Movie of the cult television series Firefly was also the first film to be directed by Joss Whedon. Despite positive word-of-mouth and great reviews, the poor box office killed Hollywood interest in the franchise once and for all. It pulled in enough in DVD and streaming sales to tip it past the break even point, and the franchise continued in comic book and novel form. Disney has talked of a reboot now that it owns 20th Century Studios, but nothing concrete exists yet. This film is noteworthy for being the only theatrical spinoff of a series that did not even finish its first season.
• Serenity (2019) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $8,547,045 (domestic), $14,454,622 (worldwide). Despite the presence of Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, the film was dumped into the market with nearly no advertising by distributor Aviron Pictures after poor test screenings where audiences were left baffled by its infamously nonsensical plot twist, where it’s revealed the majority of the movie is actually a video game designed by the protagonist’s son... and the protagonist is actually dead in real life... and the game was just the son living out his fantasy of murdering his new stepfather (and then he kills him for real). Everybody got that? The film's negative reviews, which also questioned the ludicrous twist, likely didn’t help. It is yet another series of commercial bombs for the troubled Aviron (formerly Clarius Entertainment).
• Serial Mom (1994) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $7,820,688. This John Waters film topped out at 560 theaters. Critics generally praised the satire and Kathleen Turner's performance, while others found the film too dark to be funny. It was also overshadowed that year by Natural Born Killers, which dealt with similar themes. This was one of a series of busts that eventually doomed Savoy Pictures the following year. It eventually became a Cult Classic like many of Waters' films.
• A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004) — Budget, $140 million. Box office, $118,634,549 (domestic), $209,073,645 (worldwide). It got good reviews from critics, but it still ended the career of screenwriter Robert Gordon, who does not have a single credit after this film. A stop-motion sequel was canceled, and the book series was later adapted into a far more faithful and better reviewed TV series.
• Serving Sara (2002) — Budget, $29 million. Box office, $20,146,150. Reginald Hudlin didn't direct another movie in 15 years, but he's still visible as a producer. This was also a blow to Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley's theatrical film careers, only doing a couple films since.
• Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird (1985) — Budget, around $10 million. Box office, $13.9 million. The first feature film spin-off of Sesame Street opened to glowing reviews from critics but was buried by a mountain of competitors that summer. The failure to perform hurt the Children's Television Workshop financially and led to no other Sesame Street movies being made until 1999's The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland.
• Seven Years in Tibet (1997) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $37,957,682 (domestic), $131,457,682 (worldwide). This movie's production earned its makers, including stars Brad Pitt and David Thewlis and director Jean-Jacques Annaud, a ban from entering China for over a decade since it portrays the Dalai Lama and criticizes the government, both of which are major Berserk Buttons to the Chinese government. It's unknown whether or not John H. Williams was among the banned, but this was his penultimate live-action film before the failure of The Tuxedo consigned him to animation including with DreamWorks Animation. Finally, screenwriter Becky Johnston did not write another cinematic film until 2012, the year the Chinese ban on Annaud was lifted.
• Seventh Son (2015) — Budget, $95 million. Box office, $17,223,265 (domestic), $110,623,265 (worldwide). This sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for two years due to the bankruptcy of its visual effects company, Rhythm and Hues, and Production Company Legendary Pictures signing a distribution deal with Universal. Its resulting failure gave Universal an $85 million loss.
• Sex Drive (2008) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $18,755,936. This was one of a string of flops for Summit Entertainment's first year as an independent distributor, though they rebounded the next month when they began The Twilight Saga. It also caused producer Alloy Entertainment to stick to television until Everything, Everything.
• Sex Lives of the Potato Men (2004) — Budget, $1.8 million. Box office, $1.25 million. Often cited as one of the worst British films in years, this Awful British Sex Comedy was slammed by virtually every critic and has a rare 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Compounding the issue was the fact that half of the budget was provided by The National Lottery's "good causes" funding via The UK Film Council and this "absolutely, indescribably horrible, vulgar, stupid, tawdry, depressing, embarrassing, filthy, vile, stinky, repugnant, slimy, unclean, nasty, degenerative and mind-numbing" film (as Mark Kermode put it) is not what people expected their money to go towards.
• Sextette (1978) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $51,000. One of two films Mae West made after coming out of retirement, with Myra Breckinridge being the other, this adaptation of her play was also her final film. Part of the film's lack of appeal was presenting the far past her prime West as a memetic sex goddess surrounded by much younger men (including Timothy Dalton, her on-screen husband, who regrets starring in it).
• Sgt. Bilko (1996) — Budget, $39 million. Box office, $37,956,793. This film version of the classic TV series was one of several busts in the mid-'90s for director Jonathan Lynn.
• Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $20 million. The film version of the Beatles' album was ripped to shreds for its thin and incomprehensible story. This was a Star-Derailing Role for almost everyone in the cast with the notable exceptions of Steve Martin, George Burns, Donald Pleasence, and Earth, Wind & Fire. It was overshadowed that summer by the far more successful musical Grease.
• Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero (2018) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $2,831,366 (domestic). This animated film about the World War One hero dog was the first feature for Labyrinth Media & Publishing's American subsidiary Fun Academy. Critics liked it well enough, but it suffered from Invisible Advertising and died against Rampage on its opening weekend.
• The Shadow (1994) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $32,063,435 (domestic), $48,063,435 (worldwide). The film version of the old radio show and pulp hero started out strong but it faded out in a crowded summer. This was also among several bombs that ended Alec Baldwin's leading-man reputation, though he's had great success since as a character actor.
• Shadow Conspiracy (1997) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $2,312,463. This was the final directing job from George P. Cosmatos, and its embarrassing failure assassinated his career, which he was not able to revive before his death 8 years later. This movie also helped derail Charlie Sheen's main cinematic career, with the man moving to television, and co-writer Adi Hasak did not write in Hollywood again at all until 2010, and did not get another producer credit until 2014. This film also convinced distributor Disney to end their relationship with Cinergi Pictures, which led to that label plunging into darkness the next year once it released Burn Hollywood Burn.
• Shadows and Fog (1992) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $2,735,731. One of Woody Allen's least well-received films. This was also his last film with Orion Pictures, which declared bankruptcy that year.
• Shaft (2019) — Budget, $30-35 million. Box office, $15.9 million. The fifth film in the Shaft series, and the third to use the title, was met with critical apathy and limited audience. Part of its struggle to make its money back came from its theatrical release being limited to the United States and Canada, with the rest of the world getting it on Netflix.
• Shag (1989) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $6.9 million. Director Zelda Barron wouldn’t direct another theatrical film again, mostly doing TV work afterwards.
• Shanghai (2010) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $9,245,667. This was filmed in 2008 but it was placed on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for a while. It debuted in China in 2010 and waited five years before its US release, where it died a quiet death in limited release with Invisible Advertising. Its US total amounted to 0.5% of its total box office.
• Shanghai Surprise (1986) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $2,315,683. Derailed Madonna's film career, but Sean Penn's mainstream career managed to recover (though their relationship did not). Director Jim Goddard, however, was much less fortunate.
• Shark Night (2011) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $18,877,153 (domestic), $40,136,479 (worldwide). This shark attack film was director David R. Ellis's final film before his death.
• Shattered (1991) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $11,511,031. Critics gave it mixed reviews and were particularly divided over the film's Twist Ending.
• Shattered Glass (2003) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $2.9 million. In spite of great reviews, this biopic of disgraced journalist Stephen Glass couldn't expand beyond a limited release and ensured that Hayden Christensen, who played Glass, would only be remembered for playing Anakin Skywalker/a suitless Darth Vader in the second and third Star Wars prequel trilogy films (for better and worse).
• She Said (2022) - Budget, $32 million. Box office, $13.9 million. A movie about the downfall of Harvey Weinstein that was marketed in the Oscar Bait style he helped pioneer may have been an Audience-Alienating Premise, even with some good reviews.
• Sheena (1984) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $5,778,353. Writer Lorenzo Semple Jr.'s career began to wind down after this movie, as did director John Guillermin (they only worked on one more movie).
• Shelter (2008) — Budget, $500,000. Box office, $142,666. Its limited release topped out at 10 theaters. But critics gave it generally favorable reviews and it won numerous awards at various film festivals.
• The Sheltering Sky (1990) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $2,075,084. The film version of the Paul Bowles novel topped out at 95 theaters during its theatrical release. The critics were mixed about it while Bowles, who also narrated the film, despised it.
• Sherlock Gnomes (2018) — Budget, $59 million. Box office, $43,242,871 (domestic), $90,345,871 (worldwide). The first fully-animated film produced by Paramount Animation, this hold-over from the late Brad Grey's regime was released over seven years after its predecessor. Critics weren't allowed to see it until opening day, and were unsurprisingly hostile when they did get to see it, and many of them questioned its very existence, especially considering Gnomeo & Juliet wasn't especially well received itself. It was also part of a very nasty string of bombs for Paramount and star Johnny Depp (although the former saved face with the micro-budgeted Sleeper Hit A Quiet Place just two weeks later).
• She's Having a Baby (1988) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $16,031,707. This was John Hughes's first film to disappoint both critically and financially. He rebounded the next year with Uncle Buck.
• She's So Lovely (1997) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $7,281,450. John Cassavettes developed this romantic drama in the 1980s but it was put on the back-burner when he died in 1989. His son, Nick, finished the film. The end result was released on Labor Day weekend where it was greeted with mixed-to-positive reviews and topped out at 844 theaters.
• Shining Through (1992) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $21,633,781 (domestic), $43,838,238 (worldwide). This World War II spy melodrama got negative reviews and was a career setback for Melanie Griffith and director David Seltzer.
• The Shipping News (2001) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $24,405,825. The film version of E. Annie Proulx's novel received mixed reviews and a limited release which topped out at 434 theaters. It still received various nominations and awards from various organizations, including a National Board of Review award for Cate Blanchett.
• A Shock to the System (1990) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $3,417,056.
• Shock Treatment (1981) — Budget, $3.5 million (estimated). Box office, less than $100,000. This sort-of sequel to The Rocky Horror Picture Show was released as a midnight movie due to the ongoing success of its predecessor as one. Instead, it got an even worse critical and audience reception than its predecessor and flopped worse than the original's run as a general release movie. It never had a general release due to its resounding failure. It still became a minor Cult Classic in later years, though.
• Shoot 'Em Up (2007) — Budget, $39 million. Box office, $26,820,641. Critics liked this Affectionate Parody of action films for its shameless and over-the-top demeanor, but it got shot down after six weeks in theaters. This ended up a Creator Killer for director Michael Davis, who hasn't made another movie since, and was part of a string of flops that discredited Clive Owen as a leading actor in Hollywood.
• Shoot the Moon (1982) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $9.2 million. This was an Acclaimed Flop released in late January/early February to avoid competition with star Diane Keaton's more-high profile release Reds. Keaton and co-star Albert Finney both got Golden Globe nominations out of it.
• Shooter (2007) — Budget, $61 million. Box office, $47,003,582 (domestic), $95,696,996 (worldwide). This film version of Stephen Hunter's first Bobby Lee Swagger novel, Point of Impact, fell short of its budget, but it did inspire a TV series nine years later.
• Short Circuit 2 (1988) - Budget, $15 million. Box office, $21.6 million. While its predecessor made $40.7 million on a $15 million budget, this sequel fell short, likely due to it being released in a packed summer. It also got worse critical reviews (though Roger Ebert, who disliked the original, liked this one).
• Short Cuts (1993) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $6,110,979. This ensemble film adapted from several Raymond Carver short stories received rave reviews but it never left limited release.
• Shorts (2009) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $20,919,166 (domestic), $28,972,508 (worldwide). This was part of a string of flops for Robert Rodriguez which he broke the next year with Machete. Critics gave it generally mixed reviews.
• Shout (1991) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $3,547,684. This film did not open in many markets, and was criticized by Roger Ebert for being historically and geographically inaccurate in its setting. Shout served as choreographer Jeffrey Hornaday's only theatrical direction job, and he wouldn't try directing anything again for 20 years.
• Show Dogs (2018) — Budget, $44.4 million. Box office, $39,156,854. It received lousy reviews and was part of a string of flops that would kill Global Road Entertainment only a year after they were renamed from Open Road Films.
• Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991) — Budget, about $8,000,000. Box office, $2,275,557. Brandon Lee's American film debut suffered from Executive Meddling from Warner Bros. which cut the film down from 90 to 79 minutes and gave it a limited theatrical release in the United States, Mexico, Italy, Israel, and Hungary. It became Vindicated by Video following Lee's death on the set of The Crow (1994).
• Showgirls (1995) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $20,350,754. Derailed the Hollywood career of star Elizabeth Berkley, and the viability of NC-17 rated films in general. Also put a heavy dent in director Paul Verhoeven's career as well as writer Joe Eszterhas who had a double-whammy with this and Jade, which earned him a tongue-lashing from Gene Siskel at the end of 1995. Another Worst Picture Golden Raspberry Award winner, Burn Hollywood Burn, would finally fell him 3 years later. This film became an immediate joke to almost everyone on the crew (co-star Kyle MacLachlan was rumored to have almost stormed out on the film, while composer Toni Halliday actually did); Verhoeven even became the first person to accept a Razzie in person at the awards show. Showgirls was partially salvaged by home video sales, however, becoming one of MGM's highest home entertainment sellers. ^note  Carolco Pictures originally developed the movie before selling its rights to a textile company to raise money for Cutthroat Island, which was a much larger bomb and destroyed Carolco for the next 2 decades.
• Showtime (2002) — Budget, $85 million. Box office, $77,741,732. One of three flops in 2002 that severely impacted Eddie Murphy's career.
• Shut In (2016) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $8.4 million (worldwide). This is the second film distributed by EuropaCorp in 2016, and like the film before it, it was panned by critics and faced competition from major blockbusters by other studios, such as Doctor Strange (2016).

Si - Sp

• The Sicilian (1987) — Budget, $16.5 million. Box office, $5,406,879 (domestic). Solidified the downfall of director Michael Cimino after the disaster of Heaven's Gate removed his Auteur License, as this was yet another Troubled Production that, among other things, saw Cimino losing a courtroom battle over final cut rights. Critics were largely negative and audiences mostly ignored this adaptation of the Mario Puzo novel, to which the film trimmed its references to The Godfather for copyright reasons. While an extended cut was later released on home video, it failed to rehabilitate its reputation.
• Sid & Nancy (1986) — Budget, $4 million. Box office, $2,826,523. After this and a pair of critical flops the next year (Straight to Hell and Walker), director Alex Cox's cinematic career was sent straight to Hell; he's only done TV movies since.
• Side Out (1990) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $450,000. This volleyball drama permanently benched Aurora Productions when it flopped.
• The Siege (1998) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $40,981,289 (domestic), $116,672,912 (worldwide). This thriller about terrorist attacks in New York City was controversial upon its release, with Arab and Muslim groups protesting the film for reinforcing them being associated with terrorism. The film gained new life after 9/11.
• Siesta (1987) — Budget, $5,000,000. Box office, $604,491. Mary Lambert's directorial debut had a very limited release and was scarcely reviewed. It still got nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, though.
• Silence (2016) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $16,106,536. This second adaptation of the Shusaku Endo novel was Martin Scorsese's long time passion project. Unfortunately, its late release date prevented it from qualifying for many pre-Oscar awards, thus preventing the awards buzz needed to expand from a very limited release. Its minimal advertising, dark subject matter, immense length and the fact it opened on a crowded holiday season, meant that the film itself was greeted with Silence. Not helping matters was the release of another historical religious epic that also starred Andrew Garfield, which overshadowed Silence come awards season. Part of a bad string for Scorsese.
• Silent Fall (1994) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $3,180,674. This mystery thriller was Liv Tyler's film debut. Critics ripped it apart for its ineptly constructed plot, which ran on contrivances and solved by an untwist.
• Silk Stockings (1957) — Budget, $2,581,000. Box office, $2,800,000. Recorded loss, $1,399,000. This musical remake of Ninotchka was the final film for veteran director Rouben Mamoulian, who retired after getting replaced on both Porgy and Bess and Cleopatra. Fred Astaire wanted this to be his last movie musical but he was brought back for Finian's Rainbow.
• The Silver Chalice (1954) — Budget, $4.5 million. Box office, $3.2 million. This was Paul Newman's film debut, and when the movie aired on TV in 1966, Newman put out a newspaper advertisement warning people not to watch the film. This backfired, as The Silver Chalice pulled in surprisingly high ratings.
• Simon Birch (1998) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $18.3 million. This extremely loose adaptation of John Irving's novel A Prayer for Owen Meany received mixed reviews for its excessive Glurge, though Siskel & Ebert both liked it, with Siskel naming it one of the best films of the year.
• Simon Sez (1999) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $292,152. NBA star Dennis Rodman's second swing at being an action star flopped even harder than his first; after a direct-to-TV movie the following year, his film career was done. Ringo Lam did not produce another film until 2007.
• A Simple Plan (1998) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $16 million. This was the last film greenlit by Savoy Pictures before it shuttered in 1995. It ended up being an Acclaimed Flop which topped out at 660 theaters.
• A Simple Wish (1997) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $8.3 million. This was the final film from director Michael Ritchie before his death in 2001, and child actress Mara Wilson's penultimate live-action film.
• Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) — Budget, estimated between $60 million to $70 million. Box office, $35,093,856. Compare its opening weekend (number 8 at $6,317,683) to its predecessor movie, which debuted number 1 at the box office with $29,120,273 against a budget of $40 million. The nine-year-long gap between both films resulting in diminished interest and controversy over its teaser poster featuring a semi-nude Ava Lord didn't help matters. The failure of this and Machete Kills kept Robert Rodriguez out of the director's chair for five years until Alita: Battle Angel.
• Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $26,483,452 (domestic), $80,767,884 (worldwide). This was DreamWorks Animation's final 2D animated film. Co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg announced that they were abandoning traditional animation after Sinbad sunk at the box office, and the film itself, along with Disney's Treasure Planet and Home on the Range, effectively put an end to theatrical 2D animation until 2009. Sinbad's also one of three films in that time period that dealt a setback to screenwriter John Logan's career (The Time Machine (2002) and Star Trek: Nemesis are the other two). This film, along with several other bombs in 2003, lost DreamWorks over $166 million, beating out Cutthroat Island for biggest confirmed loss in a bomb adjusted for inflation; the company nearly went bankrupt, and might have played a part in DreamWorks Animation splitting off from its namesake parent company.
• Sing (1989) — Budget, $11.5 million. Box office, $2.2 million. The second and last feature film directed by Richard J. Blaskin.
• The Singing Detective (2003) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $337,173. This film version of the British miniseries suffered from brutal critical reviews and an extremely limited release of 46 theaters. Director Keith Gordon retreated to television after this fiasco while star Robert Downey Jr.'s career stayed afloat until Iron Man saved it.
• The Sisters Brothers (2018) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $10,328,777. One of many bombs for Megan Ellison's Annapurna distribution unit.
• Six Degrees of Separation (1993) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $6,410,676. An Acclaimed Flop, however.
• Six Weeks (1982) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $6.7 million. It lasted five weeks in theaters.
• Sky Bandits (1986) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $2,295,500. This was visual effects artist Zoran Perisic's directorial debut and it set the record for the largest crew on a feature film (532). Perisic directed one more film, 1995's The Phoenix and the Carpet, before he left the film industry for good.
• Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $57,958,696. The film destroyed brothers Kerry (director and writer) and Kevin (production designer) Conran's careers — neither have done anything of note since.
• Slackers (2002) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $6,413,915. This was expelled from theaters after two weeks. This is photographer Dewey Nicks' first and only directorial effort.
• Slaves of New York (1989) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $463,972. This movie, along with Pink Cadillac, ran Bernadette Peters's cinematic career back off the road after she took a seven year hiatus from the big screen for her role in several bombs at the beginning of the '80s. The stage actress and singer has never been the leading lady in any movie since.
• Sleeping Beauty (1959) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $5.3 million (original release), $51.6 million (after worldwide re-releases!). Although it was quite successful that year, its huge production costs accumulated from its decade-long Development Hell led to Disney losing $1 million that year. Disney would adopt the much cheaper Xerox process for their next film, 101 Dalmatians, and it remained in use until at least 1977. The film's prospsects would improve with its subsequent theatrical reissues and its home video release in 1986. It's best remembered now for, among other things, introducing defining Disney Big Bad Maleficent, its artwork by Eyvind Earle (which led to a feud between him and director Clyde Geronimi), and being where Don Bluth started his professional career.
• Sleepless (2017) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $28,928,766. This remake of the French film Sleepless Night was intended to be released on February 24th but was moved to Martin Luther King Day weekend. Its heavy competition and tepid reviews buried it at the box office.
• Sleepover (2004) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $10,148,953. Joe Nussbaum's directorial debut was heavily panned by critcs and evicted from theaters after five weeks.
• Slither (2006) — Budget, $15 million (not counting marketing costs), $29.5 million (counting them). Box office, $12,834,936. James Gunn's directorial debut received great reviews and has since become a Cult Classic.
• Slow Burn (2007) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $1.7 million. This sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for four years, during which it played at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. The end result set the record at the time for the biggest second weekend drop at the box office (84.7%) and was snuffed out of theaters after two weeks. Director/Writer Wayne Beach has yet to work on another film.
• Slow Dancing In The Big City (1978) - Budget, $2.5 million. Box office, $1,576,500. This was John G. Avildsen's first film after his Oscar-winning Rocky and its dismal failure kept writer and co-star Barra Grant from acting on-screen ever again. It was never released on home media due to music rights issues.
• The Slugger's Wife (1985) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $1,878,561. Hal Ashby had this movie taken away from him; he had one more movie after this one before he died, and producer Ray Stark had to wait four years for his next film.
• Small Time Crooks (2000) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $17,266,359 (domestic), $29,934,477 (worldwide). Another Woody Allen Acclaimed Flop; this was his highest grossing film in the North American box office before Match Point broke his unlucky streak.
• A Smile Like Yours (1997) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $3,330,352. The critics and box office frowning on this film made it the last writing job for Kevin Meyer, and the only theatrical directing job for Keith Samples, whose production company, Rysher Entertainment, also never returned to the cinemas, and two years later it shut down with its library going to a variety of owners (first Viacom, then 2929 Entertainment, and now CBS/Qualia).
• Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $2,372,903. This film version of the novel Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow got a mixed reception by critics, with most reviews taking issue with the Halfway Plot Switch ending. The film's failure marked the end of Julia Ormond's headlining career in a major movie.
• Smokey and the Bandit Part 3 (1983) - Budget, $9 million. Box office, $7 million. The third film in the Smokey and the Bandit series attempted to compensate for a lack of Burt Reynolds (other than a cameo) by having Jackie Gleason's Buford T. Justice assume the role of the Bandit, only for the filmmakers to rework the story by having Jerry Reed's Cledus Snow become the Bandit after a poor test screening. This change didn't help the film at all and it crashed and burned at the box office.
• Snake Eyes (1998) — Budget, $73 million. Box office, $55,591,409 (domestic), $103,891,409 (worldwide). The film's marketing campaign was derided for revealing the identity of the Big Bad. Director Brian De Palma defended the marketing in an interview by saying the film "isn't about who did it. It's a mystery about a relationship." It started a series of career-demoting busts for De Palma.
• Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins (2021) — Budget, $88-$110 million. Box office, $28,264,325 (domestic), $36,964,325 (worldwide). A Continuity Reboot of the G.I. Joe film series centered on the titular ninja's origins; marketing played down connections to the larger series. The film was hit by poor reviews, being caught in the middle between two much-more-hyped martial arts-themed blockbusters (Mortal Kombat and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), a truncated marketing campaign (it was moved into summer 2021 at the last minute to replace Top Gun: Maverick), and rising cases of the delta variant of COVID-19. Was moved to VOD just weeks after opening and led Paramount to delay most of its remaining slate into 2022.
• Snatched (2017) — Budget, $42 million. Box office, $45,852,178 (domestic), $60,845,711 (worldwide). Goldie Hawn's first film role in 15 years was overshadowed on opening weekend by Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which was in its second week. While Amy Schumer's next vehicle, I Feel Pretty, had much more success, it had already entered production when Snatched failed at the box office and may have contributed to Schumer drawing back from lead film roles.
• Snoopy, Come Home (1972) - Budget, $1 million. Box office, $245,073. This was the last film to be produced by Cinema Center Films, with its failure obliterating any chances of the company surviving.
• Snow Falling on Cedars (1999) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $23,049,593. The film version of David Gutterson's novel was praised for its Oscar-nominated cinematography but derided for its slow pacing.
• Snowden (2016) — Budget, $40-50 million. Box office, $31,346,669. The film about the famed CIA whistle-blower had the lowest opening for an Oliver Stone-directed film to date and got mixed reviews in comparison to another "based on a real person" film released the week before, Sully, which was critically acclaimed.
• The Snowman (2017) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $6,670,765 (domestic), $42,670,765 (worldwide). This film version of Jo Nesbø's novel saw numerous directors considered (one of whom, Martin Scorsese, executive produced it) before Tomas Alfredson signed on. The film was so rushed into production that up to 15% of the screenplay went unfilmed, creating Plot Holes and confusion for the editors. The end result was a critical fiasco, with numerous reviews mourning the wasted premise, and melted in theaters. Unsurprisingly, Alfredson isn't happy with the film. Also a part of a bad string of flops for executive producer Scorsese, along with the aforementioned Silence, his short-lived HBO series Vinyl, and his other 2017 producing ventures, Free Fire and Good Time. Most certainly part of a very bad string of flops for star Michael Fassbender, quite possibly his worst flop so far, and may have contributed to him shifting his focus from acting to Formula 1 racing; his only acting role for the next six years would be in 2019's Dark Phoenix, another massive flop.
• So Fine (1981) — Budget, $11.5 million. Box office, $10 million (approximate). Contributed to the derailment of Ryan O'Neal's movie career.
• So I Married an Axe Murderer (1993) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $11,585,483. This movie murdered the cinematic prospects of director Thomas Schlamme, who returned to television instead. After this movie and Wayne's World 2, Mike Myers would take a 4-year hiatus from acting before he returned with the Austin Powers movies.
• Solar Crisis (1990) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, Unknown. This film is here because despite its tentpole budget, it never escaped a limited release and faded from theaters without a trace. This was the last time director Richard Sarafian ever directed a theatrical film, and he ordered himself credited as Alan Smithee in the end because he was ashamed of the final product. Co-producer James Nelson only produced one more movie, and it led to Charlton Heston taking supporting roles for the rest of his career.
• Solarbabies (1986) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $1,579,260. This film was personally financed by Mel Brooks, who nearly declared bankruptcy when the budget spiraled out of control. It was the second film from choreographer Alan Johnson, but also his last, since it blew any more directing jobs he could have had into a supernova. Opening the same day as the successful Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home can't have helped.
• Solaris (2002) — Budget, $47 million. Box office, $30,002,758. This is one of two bombs for James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment, with Strange Days being the other (neither were directed by Cameron).
• Soldier (1998) — Budget, $60-75 million. Box office, $15 million. After this and the previous year's Event Horizon, director Paul W.S. Anderson didn't direct another theatrical film until Resident Evil (2002) in 2002. This film also derailed Blade Runner writer David Webb Peoples's career, as he has not written a new screenplay for decades.
• Solitary Man (2010) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $5,178,582. This was an Acclaimed Flop, especially for Michael Douglas's performance, but it topped out at 177 theaters. This is the second and last theatrical film directed by Brian Koppelman and David Levien, who still work as screenwriters.
• Solo (1996) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $5,107,669. Director Noberto Barba focused mainly on television, most notably Grimm, since this movie failed.
• Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) — Budget, $275 million (production including reshoots). Box office, $213,767,512 (domestic), $392,924,807 (worldwide). An extremely Troubled Production resulted in the firing of directors Phil Lord & Chris Miller, and replacement director Ron Howard reshot three-fourths of the movie, more-or-less doubling its production costs. In addition, audience uncertainty over the recasting of Harrison Ford in the lead role, the controversial reception of The Last Jedi still being fresh in naysayers' memory (having been released fewer than five months prior, a shorter gap between Star Wars movies than ever before), and Disney underpromoting and refusing to give a later release date despite audience reactions suggesting Star Wars fatigue all resulted in the first Star Wars film to flop at the box office, with analysts projecting that Disney lost at minimum $50-80 million on the film. Despite generally positive critical and fan reception, the film grossed a disappointing $103 million in its opening weekend and a dramatically low $29.6 million for the following weekend. The A Star Wars Story Anthology sub-series was scrapped following this film's poor performance, and after the franchise as a whole was rescued by the runaway success of The Mandalorian the next year, Disney shifted their strategy from flooding cineplexes with annual Star Wars films to producing a constant stream of Disney+ streaming shows, including retooling their planned Obi-Wan Kenobi solo film; no Star Wars films have been released since 2019's The Rise of Skywalker, with Disney becoming infamous in the interim for constantly announcing and scrapping new film projects to try to avoid another Solo-sized disaster. The film's bombing may have also been a Star-Derailing Role for Alden Ehrenreich, who wouldn't appear in another theatrical film until 2023 when he played supporting roles in Cocaine Bear and Oppenheimer. Lord and Miller likewise have not directed a film since, though they've remained immensely successful producers.
• The Soloist (2009) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $38,332,994. This was to be released the previous fall but it was delayed to April when DreamWorks and Paramount ended their partnership. The film got respectful reviews which praised the acting but felt it was one of director Joe Wright's weaker films and gradually tuned out in theaters.
• Some Girls (1988) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $401,421.
• Someone Like You (2001) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $27,343,067 (domestic), $38,689,940 (worldwide). This romantic comedy opened at number two behind Spy Kids and quickly fell flat.
• Someone to Watch Over Me (1987) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $10,278,549. This was an Acclaimed Flop for Ridley Scott that did better on home video.
• Something Borrowed (2011) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $39,046,489 (domestic), $60,183,821 (worldwide). A rancid critical reception and Thor opening the same day gave this romantic comedy an unpleasant trip down the box-office aisle.
• Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) — Budget, $19 million (estimated). Box office, $8.4 million. This adaptation of the Ray Bradbury novel was a failed attempt by Walt Disney Productions to shake off their family friendly image. In fact, this film, more than the merely middling performance of the higher-profile TRON, nearly bankrupted the company and played a major part in CEO Ron Miller losing his job. Miller started Touchstone Pictures the following year to produce more adult fare from Disney, but it was too little, too late. He subsequently left Hollywood and started up the Silverado vineyards (which do supply wines to the Disney Theme Parks). A remake by David Katzenberg, the son of Disney exec turned DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg, is said to be in the planning stages.
• Son of the Mask (2005) — Budget, $84 million. Box office, $57.5 million. The star of the original Mask, Jim Carrey, refused to be attached to this film due to his disdain for sequels, and the film, which was planned for a '90s release, found itself in Development Hell after Carrey bolted.^note The makers did an infamous contest in Nintendo Power that won one Nathan Ryan Runk a cameo in Mask 2; New Line and THQ later sent Runk a care package of video games, a Mask jacket, and $5,000 once production ground to a halt. The sequel finally got released in 2005 and became one of the biggest critical and commercial blunders of the 2000s, and nearly every major cast and crew member who did work on this movie never really recovered from it (including Jamie Kennedy, who was incensed at the disdain the film got; co-star Traylor Howard was saved by her role on Monk). Copyright holder Dark Horse shut the franchise down for 9 years as a result.
• Son of the Pink Panther (1993) — Budget, $25 million (not counting marketing costs), $28 million (counting them). Box office, $2,438,031. This movie tried to reboot the troubled franchise, but ended up becoming stillborn instead, nearly killing Roberto Benigini's then-fledgling American reputation and forcing director Blake Edwards to retire from films. Famed Czech actor Herbert Lom, who reprised his long-running role as Inspector Dreyfus in the film, became blindsided by the film-making process after the film's failure that he retired from acting, though he would make two final appearances on the television series Agatha Christie's Marple, eleven years later.
• Songwriter (1984) — Budget, $8.6 million. Box office, $865,915. This was the last theatrical film written by sportswriter and author Bud Shrake, whose only film credits since were two TV movies. His other careers survived.
• Sons of Provo (2004) — Budget, $200,000. Box office, $120,488. Yet another dud for Halestorm Entertainment.
• Sorcerer (1977) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $12 million. William Friedkin's remake of The Wages of Fear suffered from a heavily Troubled Production which ran overbudget and saw many of the cast and crew stricken with illnesses. The end result was given a mixed to negative reception by critics and was left stranded on Earth while everyone else was in line to watch Star Wars that year. It didn't help that the Non-Indicative Title caused some confusion for audiences. The film was eventually taken out of Friedkin's hands and extensively reedited for foreign release under the title Wages of Fear. Friedkin found his contract with Universal (which co-produced this film with Paramount) terminated after Sorcerer failed to live up to the expectations of the filmmaker's previous hits, The French Connection and The Exorcist. Over time, it became Vindicated by History thanks to TV and Video and is now a Cult Classic.
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) — Budget, $150 million. Box office, $63,150,991 (domestic), $215,283,742 (worldwide). A failed attempt by Disney and executive producer/star Nicolas Cage to (very loosely) adapt the signature number from Fantasia into a live-action film. While their live-action remakes of Disney Animated Canon films were saved by the remake of Alice in Wonderland the same year, Disney would not try to adapt anything else from the Fantasia movies Jay Baruchel and Cage both took a big hit to their careers and would not be entrusted again with a leading role in a tentpole this size. Screenwriter Doug Miro would not write another cinematic screenplay until The Great Wall in 2016/2017, and he wouldn't be credited on anything again at all until creating Narcos in 2015. It also resulted in director Jon Turteltaub not trying for another 9 figure tentpole until 2018 and putting a major hex on his career. Story writers and longtime Hollywood players Lawrence Konner and Mark Rosenthal have not written another film.
• Soul Men (2008) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $12,343,883. This was one of three posthumous releases for Bernie Mac and it was overshadowed by one of the others, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which opened the same day. This was also the final film for Isaac Hayes, who died the day after Mac. Director Malcolm D. Lee didn't direct again until 2013's Scary Movie 5.
• Soul Plane (2004) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $14,822,346. Part of the reason why it flopped was blamed on bootleggers, who leaked the film a few months before release, though negative reviews and competition from Shrek 2 and The Day After Tomorrow didn't help.
• Soul Survivors (2001) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $4,299,141. After getting sucked up and spat out by critics, this movie became part of a year's slate that put production company Artisan Entertainment on life support; they would rebound the next year before being absorbed by Lionsgate.
• A Sound of Thunder (2005) — Budget, $52 million. Box office, $11,665,465. This adaptation of the classic Ray Bradbury short story completed filming in 2002 and found itself on The Shelf of Movie Languishment due to a fraud lawsuit against its production company, Franchise Pictures, which ultimately led to the company closing up shop, and this movie being their second-to-last production (and also the last movie they would be credited on-screen for). Initially budgeted at $80 million, Franchise's financial setbacks led to the special-effects budget being slashed, leading to plenty of Special Effects Failure. Distributor Warner Bros. ultimately buried the film with minimal advertising and a quasi-limited release in 816 theaters. This was the third underperforming film in a row for director Peter Hyams, who would wait four years for his next movie, and the writing team's careers were set back somewhat too.
• South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000) — Budget, $4,000,000. Box office, $28,149. This crucified Dwight Yoakam's directing and writing career after one picture.
• Southland Tales (2007) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $374,743. A failed followup to Richard Kelly's previous film, Donnie Darko. The movie tanked thanks to bad reviews, claiming the movie to be a pretentious, incoherent mess that tried to recapture the spirit of Darko but to no avail. This movie tanked Kelly's career, as he would make one more movie after this, another flop in The Box.
• The Space Between Us (2017) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $14,793,385. The negative critical reviews and STX practically playing Keep Away with its release date did not help this movie make any traction at the box office.
• SpaceCamp (1986) — Budget, $18-25 million. Box office, $9,697,739. Being released mere months after the Challenger explosion is suggested to be one of the major reasons this movie flopped. It was also the last film released by ABC Motion Pictures.
• Space Chimps (2008) — Budget, $37 million. Box office, $30,105,968 (domestic), $64,834,964 (worldwide). This animated film got a lukewarm response from critics and audiences and it did itself no favors by opening against The Dark Knight. While this entry didn't soar through the box office, it still got a direct-to-video sequel.
• Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983) — Budget, $14.4 million. Box office, $16.5 million. Columbia Pictures did this 3D sci-fi movie no good by opening it five days before Return of the Jedi. This was the final theatrical film for director Lamont Johnson, whose final overall film was the TV movie Wallenberg: A Hero's Story.
• Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021) — Budget, $150 million. Box office, $70,592,228 (domestic), $163,692,228 (worldwide). While it did decently on its first weekend despite being critically panned, the movie's simultaneous domestic US release on HBO Max (where it ranked among the most popular films on the site), as well as a Chinese ban and the fact that many people were still wary of attending theaters during the COVID-19 Pandemic, negatively affected its box-office performance; the film's significant drop in its second weekend was attributed to both a rise in Delta cases and the film's easy at-home availability.
• Spanglish (2004) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $55,041,367. This was one of Adam Sandler's better received films, but the box-office performance of this more dramatic movie, along with Punch-Drunk Love, Reign Over Me, and Funny People, confirmed his typecasting as a comedic actor. James L. Brooks waited six years to direct his next film, How Do You Know, which is his last.
• The Spanish Prisoner (1997) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $9.5 million. This David Mamet thriller received glowing reviews from critics but it never left a limited release.
• Spark: A Space Tail (2017) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $790,355. And that's not even the American box office, which was only $192,705. Although, certainly being hit with both Invisible Advertising and being Not Screened for Critics (and once they were able to get into the movie it got terrible reviews... but even then, it took more than a few days for a Tomatometer to even register, which sat at a 0% at one point), as well as being screened in only 365 theaters (even Delgo and The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure played in at least 2,000!) couldn't have helped its case. All in all, the film was pulled only 13 days after it debuted from the few theaters playing it, and its international release was heavily pushed back. While the film grossed slightly more with its international release, it was way far from enough to recoup its budget. Part of a very gloomy year for distributor Open Road Films.
• Spartan (2004) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $8,112,772. Critics were mixed-to-positive toward this slow-burning espionage thriller, but audiences didn't turn out. One of several busts that took down Franchise Pictures. David Mamet waited four years to direct again.
• Species II (1998) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $26,817,565. Trying to make this Sci-Fi Horror sequel both Bloodier and Gorier and Hotter and Sexier than the already-lurid original film only served to turn away critics and audiences alike. Co-producer (and the original film's writer) Dennis Feldman only worked on one more movie the following year before sticking with comic books, director Peter Medak didn't work on any more movies period, as did writer Chris Brancato (the latter moved to TV), and the movie's sequels went straight to cable. Michael Madsen considered this film a "big mistake" and Natasha Henstridge had nothing nice to say about it either. H. R. Giger, who was behind much of the set and creature design of the first film, demanded to go uncredited for this one.
• Speechless (1994) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $20,667,959. This romantic comedy starring Michael Keaton and Geena Davis debuted at No. 5 in the United States and received mostly negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 10% based on reviews from 29 critics. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade B on scale of A to F. Speechless is probably most noteworthy now for the former Batman Keaton sharing screentime with former Superman Christopher Reeve.
• Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997) — Budget, $145 million. Box office, $48,608,066 (domestic), $164,508,066 (worldwide). The absence of Speed star Keanu Reeves (who declined due to not liking the script) plus the sequel getting the exact opposite critical reception of the original movie resulted in one of three films released in 1997 to become a poster child of Sequelitis (the other two being Mortal Kombat: Annihilation and Batman & Robin). Any plans to turn Speed into a film series crashed and burned with this movie, while any attempt to turn Jason Patric into a movie star ended with this film. Sandra Bullock, who did return for this sequel, disowns this film, as does Patric. Director Jan De Bont (who had previously directed Speed) took a major blow from this failure. Unusually, both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film positive reviews, keeping it out of the 0% club on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Speed Racer (2008) — Budget, $120 million (not counting marketing costs), $200 million (counting them). Box office, $93,945,766. Began the career and reputation disintegration of The Wachowskis. It also derailed the Speed Racer franchise in turn along with the careers of two of the leads, Emile Hirsch and Christina Ricci. Misaimed Merchandising likely played a role in its failure, as trailers promoted it with a grittier tone instead of the faithfully over-the-top adaptation that it was. Retrospectives have been much kinder to the film in the years since its release.
• Sphere (1998) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $37,020,277. This film version of Michael Crichton's novel was lambasted by critics for its Cliché Storm plot that derived from numerous sci-fi works. It severely harmed the careers of both Barry Levinson and star Dustin Hoffman, ensuring the latter would mostly transition to supporting rather than leading roles for the remainder of his career. It was also an early Star-Derailing Role for Sharon Stone, and the failure of this film and the massive bomb that was The 13th Warrior was a more than adequate double-tap to end Crichton's involvement in the movie business.
• Sphinx (1981) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $2,022,771. This adventure film based on a Robin Cook novel was a major embarrassment for director Franklin J. Schaffner, who ended up doing three more films in his lifetime. Critics mocked the film for, among other reasons, its absurd and confusing plot. While its Adventurer Archaeologist protagonist may draw comparisons to Raiders of the Lost Ark, this was released four months before the blockbuster.
• Spider (2002) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $5,808,941. This only topped out at 54 theaters despite glowing reviews from critics. It did get David Cronenberg a Genie Award.
• Spies in Disguise (2019) - Budget, $100 million. Box office, $171.6 million. The last completed film produced by Blue Sky Studios received muted marketing in the months after the Disney-Fox merger was consummated; the studio would be formally scrapped by Disney two years later, which left what would have been their next film, Nimona, almost unfinished until Annapurna Pictures resurrected it.
• The Spirit (2008) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $39,031,337. This is Frank Miller's second-worst box office bomb, surpassed in 2014 by Sin City: A Dame to Kill For.
• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) — Budget, estimated at around $90 million. Box office, $73,280,117 (domestic), $122,563,539 (worldwide). This DreamWorks film was the penultimate 2D animated film from the studio, and it opened in the wake of Spider-Man and Attack of the Clones (it also opened against The Powerpuff Girls Movie and the more family appealing Lilo & Stitch). The film is rather quiet and introspective in nature for an animated film about an animal (we only ever hear the titular character's thoughts), which might have turned off children looking for a zanier and more upbeat film; it also faced some backlash from conservatives for its villainous depiction of American settlers. This is the last time DWA founder Katzenberg wrote a story for a theatrical film; and he only wrote and created Father of the Pride before that series' failure led to it being stuffed in a vault and Katzenberg remaining a businessman for the rest of his DreamWorks career. However, Spirit did get glowing reviews from Roger Ebert and Leonard Maltin among other critics, and very good home video sales kept it from being a huge flop. A Netflix series, Spirit: Riding Free, premiered in 2017, which later was adapted into its own film, Spirit Untamed.
• Spirit Untamed (2021) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $42,636,215 million. This is the lowest-grossing film from DreamWorks, surpassing Trolls World Tour, The Road to El Dorado and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. It also had the lowest opening day domestically with $6.1 million
• Splice (2010) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $26,857,459. This was supposed to have been released the previous September but it wound up a victim of The Shelf of Movie Languishment when its production company went under. A successful screening at Sundance got it saved by Joel Sliver's Dark Castle Entertainment, who released it with Warner Bros. Critics generally liked it but viewers were less receptive, and getting released in a crowded summer didn't help.
• Split Image (1982) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $263,635. This drama died out in limited release, but director Ted Kotcheff survived when First Blood opened the same month.
• Spy Game (2001) — Budget, $92 million. Box office, $62,362,560 (domestic), $143,049,560 (worldwide). This spy thriller which involved a terrorist plot opened two months after 9/11. Universal pressed on with the release date when they found that test audience scores improved after the attacks. It got generally good reviews upon release and held the number three spot at the box office for two weeks. It fell flat afterwards.
• The Spy Next Door (2010) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $24,307,086 (domestic) $45.2 million (worldwide). This is the only Jackie Chan movie aimed directly at kids rather than families, fading in the wake of his Karate Kid reboot, and its poor critical and commercial performance sent director Brian Levant's career to the Direct to Video floor; writer Gregory Poirier also got a demotion to a lower level of writers.

Sq - St

• The Squeeze (1987) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $2,228,951. This action comedy was plagued with mishaps, including a stuntman's death, that ballooned its budget. Critics were unimpressed with the end results and its financial failure sent director Roger Young exclusively to TV.
• Stanley And Iris (1990) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $5,820,015. This was the last film Martin Ritt ever directed, and he later died months after its release. It also prompted Jane Fonda to stop acting for 15 years.
• Star (1968) — Budget, $14,320,000. Box office, $4 million (domestic), $10 million (worldwide box office), $4.2 million (rentals). This was part of a string of musical bombs for 20th Century Fox that killed the live-action musical, the Fox careers of Darryl Zanuck and his son Richard (Richard bounced back as a producer; his father didn't), and put the studio in a financial black hole until Star Wars in 1977 and the move to embrace VHS as an alternate viewing method. In a desperate move, Fox took the film out of director Robert Wise's hands, edited the three hour film to two hours, retitled it Those Were the Happy Times, and re-released the film a year later under this new cut and title, but it was too little too late. The film put Julie Andrews' career in jeopardy for a while, and blacked out the theatrical career of writer William Fairchild and put a hit in the careers of Wise and producer Saul Chaplin.
• Star 80 (1983) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $6,472,990. An Acclaimed Flop, it would be the last film Bob Fosse ever directed before his death in 1987.
• Star Trek
  • Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $43,254,409 (domestic), $67,312,826 (worldwide). A critical mauling and stiff competition halted the Star Trek movie franchise until the reboot seven years later. It also halted Stuart Baird's directorial career, though he would return to his usual career in editing. This also derailed TNG cast member Brent Spiner, who had a story credit and appeared that year in the reviled The Master of Disguise, though he is still visible. Worst of all, it derailed Tom Hardy's career for a while (he played Shinzon, the film's Big Bad), and he hates this movie with a passion and blames it for his drinking problems and near-suicide in the years that followed (both of which also led directly to his divorce from producer Sarah Ward); unsurprisingly, he refuses to discuss it (three other TNG crew members, LeVar Burton, Marina Sirtis, and Gates McFadden, also despise the film). Its negative reception concluded the mission of both Star Trek: The Next Generation and the post-Star Trek: Voyager time period in the franchise's "prime universe" that the movie is set in, which would only resume in 2020 with Star Trek: Picard.
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016) — Budget, $185 million. Box office, $158,848,340 (domestic), $343,322,891 (worldwide). Despite receiving fairly strong reviews (if not quite as impressive as previous installments), it's another victim of 2016's expanse of wrecked tentpole films.^note Though opening in July while its two predecessors came out in May and broke $200 million was also probably short-sighted It was released weeks after Paramount's other faltering tentpole, TMNT: Out of the Shadows. Both films were released during the nuclear breakdown of the relationship between Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman and Viacom's primary shareholders at the National Amusements cinema chain company, which has Sumner and Shari Redstone; their stance and a slump in Viacom under Dauman sunk a deal to sell almost half of Paramount to Dalian Wanda along with Dauman's career with the firm. While the Star Trek franchise has since been going strong on the television front, a new movie has been languishing in Development Hell since Beyond’s underperformance.
• Starchaser: The Legend of Orin (1985) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $3,360,800. The New York Times accused this film of being a Star Wars ripoff, and coming out only months after another film it was similar to, The Black Cauldron, didn't help either. It also failed to kick-start interest in 3D movies back then. Only one member of the crew that wasn't part of the cast or music department, Donald W. Ernst, remained visible after this film; he joined Disney and worked on Aladdin and Fantasia 2000.
• Stardust Memories (1980) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $10,389,003. This was not one of Woody Allen's most critically renowned works, though it did get a Writer's Guild Nomination and was later somewhat Vindicated by History. This was his last film with United Artists, which was suffering from the Troubled Production of Heaven's Gate, and his following films were made with Orion Pictures until its own bankruptcy. Allen still considers this his favorite of his films.
• Starman (1984) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $28.7 million (domestic). This atypical John Carpenter sci-fi drama earned critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Jeff Bridges, making it the only Carpenter film to be nominated for an Oscar. Unfortunately, it premiered the same day as Dune (1984), which slightly out-grossed it, and both were crushed by the runaway success of Beverly Hills Cop.
• Stars and Bars (1988) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $100,000. This was one of a slate of films by Columbia Pictures greenlit by outgoing president David Puttnam that the studio left out to dry. Daniel Day-Lewis would rebound the next year with his first Oscar-winning role in My Left Foot.
• Starship Troopers (1997) — Budget, $105 million. Box office, $54,814,377 (domestic), $121,214,377 (worldwide). Paul Verhoeven's decision to satirize the militaritic themes of the original novel angered its fans and was missed by most critics, who simply viewed the film as mindless sci-fi bug action. This didn't prevent a small franchise based on the movie, mostly consisting of Direct to Video films without the satire, from taking root. It was later regarded as one of the most entertaining movies of the '90s, and its satire was later Vindicated by History after the events of 9/11 and the subsequent resurgence of American militarism. While Verhoeven managed to recover from Showgirls somewhat with this movie, its domestic bombing ensured it would be his penultimate American movie until Hollow Man, after which he returned to Europe.
• The Starving Games (2013) — Budget, $8.5 million. Box office, $3,889,688. Although most of Aaron Seltzer and Jason Friedberg's movies up to this point had been unanimously reviled by critics, this was the first of their spoofs to clearly flop at the box office (helps that this time they didn't have a major distributing it). Everything from them since hasn't even reached American theaters.
• State Fair (1962) — Budget, $4.4 million. Box office, $3.5 million. This remake of the 1945 movie musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein and the third film version of Phillip Strong's novel was greeted with critical and financial apathy. This is unambigously agreed to be Rodgers and Hammerstein's biggest film failure. ^note sources vary as to whether Carousel flopped. This was the final film directed by Jose Ferrer.
• State of Grace (1990) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $1,911,542. This gangster film had the misfortune of being released five days before Goodfellas, which eclipsed it at the box office. Critical reception for this film was still pretty good and it became a Cult Classic years later.
• State of Play (2009) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $37,017,955 (domestic), $87,812,371 (worldwide). This was part of a string of flops and overbudget films in production that cost Universal chairman Marc Smuger his job.
• The Statement (2003) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $1.5 million. Norman Jewison never directed another film again after this movie flopped in its limited release.
• States of Grace (2005) — Budget, $800,000. Box office, $203,144.
• Stateside (2004) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $174,318. This shipped out of theaters after its third weekend.
• Stay (2005) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $8,342,132. This was mauled by critics and audiences so badly that it lost all but 63 theaters by its third week and was in only one theater on its sixth and final week.
• Stay Tuned (1992) — Budget, $25 million. Box Office, $10,736,401. This was Not Screened for Critics, who gave it mixed reviews once they saw it. It was later saved by showings on HBO.
• Steamboy (2004) - Budget, $26 million. Box office, $18,900,000. This was Katsuhiro Otomo's first movie since AKIRA and was the highest budgeted anime movie at the time after a decade in production. After heavy competition with other blockbusters, it went unnoticed and as of 2020, Otomo has still to make another major anime movie (not counting any stand alone shorts).
• Steal Big Steal Little (1995) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $3,150,170. This was one of a series of busts that did in Savoy Pictures a few months later.
• Stealing Harvard (2002) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $14,277,032. The film ensured Tom Green could only get cast in B to C-level films. It also ensured director and actor Bruce McCulloch would not direct another major film and damaged the careers of the writers.
• Stealing Home (1988) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $7,467,504. Struck out the career of producer Hank Moonjean, who retired after this and a few 1988 successes, and put a serious dent in the career of director Steven Kampmann.
• Stealth (2005) — Budget, $135 million. Box office, $76,932,872. Was also slaughtered by critics, with Roger Ebert calling it a "dumbed down Top Gun crossed with the HAL-9000 pilot from 2001". The film slaughtered the career of writer W.D. Richter, who never received another credit in Hollywood until getting attached to a remake of Big Trouble in Little China. The careers of its stars also took hits: It was part of a string of critically blasted films for Jessica Biel, did severe damage to the career of Josh Lucas, and (combined with Miami Vice) put a dent in Jamie Foxx's star power until Django Unchained put him back on top.
• Steel (1997) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $1,710,972. The movie only confirmed that basketball legend Shaquille O'Neal should "stick to hoops". He would not be in a movie where he played a fictional character rather than himself again until Smurfs 2. Steel, along with Batman & Robin and an assist in the infamous Superman 64 1999 video game, quashed DC Comics' dominance in the industry, and Marvel would fully take over as the alpha comic book company from that point on starting with the first Blade movie the next year and picking up steam with the original X-Men in 2000. DC wouldn't recover until Batman Begins in 2005. Steel also slam-dunked the directing/writing career of Kenneth Johnson; after this bomb, he did two Disney Channel TV movies in 1999, and then he didn't write or create another show or script until 2007, just directing TV episodes in the meantime.
• Steel Dawn (1987) — Budget, $3.5 million. Box office, $562,000. Ended up being Doug Lefler's only screenwriting credit, and Lance Hool wouldn't direct another movie for twelve years.
• The Stepfather (1987) — Budget, $3 million. Box office, $2.4 million. Earned a lot of good reviews and became a Cult Classic, though. It still managed to spawn a few sequels (in 1989 and 1992) and a remake in 2009.
• The Stepford Wives (2004) — Budget, $90 million. Box office, $59,484,742 (domestic), $102,001,626 (worldwide). This case of "remakitis" was heavily criticized for swapping the thriller/horror elements of the base novel and 1975 film in favor of being a comedy. It derailed Paul Rudnick's cinematic career, as he's never written another screenplay and, apart from script revisions in 2006, did not get another writing credit until a TV movie in 2016. It's also the second-to-last film Frank Oz has directed. The movie's matters weren't helped when reports of a Troubled Production and tension between Oz and the film's cast surfaced.
• Stepping Out (1991) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $246,000.
• Steve Jobs (2015) — Budget, $30 million (not counting marketing costs), $60 million (counting them). Box office, $17,766,658 (domestic), $34,441,873 (worldwide). Despite highly positive reception and breaking numerous records on its initial limited run, the biopic of the namesake legendary tech icon opened at just $7.2 million on its opening weekend when it was widely released. It had a notorious Troubled Production (Sony ended up dropping the film for Universal to pick up thanks to disputes over creative direction) and was disowned by the estate of Jobs as well as Apple CEO Tim Cook over its presumed negative portrayal of the Apple founder, despite having never saw the film themselves by the time they made their complaints (one of Jobs's colleagues from Disney/Pixar, Ed Catmull, also criticized the film). Universal ultimately pulled it from all but a handful of theaters about a month after its release due to continuous poor performance — they'd end up doing the same with another disaster not one week later. The start of a very bad string for Michael Fassbender.
• Stick (1985) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $8,489,518. It opened at number one on its first weekend but it crashed and burned immediately after. Star/Director Burt Reynolds would wait eight years before he occupied the director's chair again with the TV movie The Man from Left Field.
• Still of the Night (1982) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $5,979,947. This Hitchcockian thriller is a self-admitted rough start for Meryl Streep, whose Oscar-winning role in Sophie's Choice followed a few weeks later. Director/co-writer Robert Benton rebounded with his next Oscar-winner, Places in the Heart.
• Stoker (2013) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $1,714,221 (domestic), $12,077,441 (worldwide). The first English-language film by Park Chan-wook got generally good reviews but never got out of a limited release.
• Stolen (2012) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $2,106,558. This got kicked out of theaters after two weeks. Part of a string of flops starring Nicolas Cage in that period.
• Stone (2010) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $9,479,718. The last film released by Starz's ill-fated film division, Overture Films.
• Stone Cold (1991) — Budget, $17-25 million. Box office, $9,151,887. A Non-Actor Vehicle for former NFL linebacker Brian Bosworth, critics dismissed it as an aggressively meatheaded actioner. Froze director Craig R. Baxley's cinematic career solid; apart from one 1997 film and the third Kirk Cameron Left Behind movie (which premiered in churches), Baxley's future movies are made for TV. Bosworth didn't appear in another movie until 1995. Later earned a small cult following on home video.
• Stonewall (2015) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $186,354. This film, based on the riot at New York City's Stonewall Inn that started the gay rights movement, was doomed to failure once director Roland Emmerich decided to make the real-life LGBT people associated with the riots, some of them people of color, become Supporting Protagonists to a fictional white male character, then played extremely fast and extremely loose with the facts surrounding the event. The entire LGBT community was quick to condemn the film once the first trailer came out, and some comments from Emmerich defending his decisions didn't help matters. Then the first weekend's box office came in, and everyone rushed to declare Stonewall a bigger disaster than Emmerich's actual disaster films like 2012 or The Day After Tomorrow.
• Stop-Loss (2008) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $11 million. Got decent reviews, but it still stopped director/writer Kimberly Peirce's and co-writer Mark Richard's cinematic careers dead in their tracks. Richard never worked on another movie, while Peirce didn't write at all ever again and didn't direct another film until 2013.
• Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot (1992) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $28.4 million (domestic), $70,611,210 (worldwide). Sylvester Stallone absolutely despises having been in this movie, calling it the worst movie he did and joking it was "one of the worst films in the entire solar system, including alien productions we've never seen" and "a flatworm could write a better script". He also claims he punishes his children by forcing them to watch it. There's a longstanding Hollywood rumor that Arnold Schwarzenegger tricked Stallone into doing the film by faking an interest in the part. He and director Roger Spottiswoode recovered with other movies, but the "mom", Estelle Getty, took critical damage to her career, since she did not appear in another theatrical film until Stuart Little at the end of the '90s and only appeared in one other movie before she was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (the disease that led to Robin Williams committing suicide), which eventually claimed her life. Its failure led co-producer Michael C. Gross to retire from filmmaking shortly afterward, while a writer of the film's "flatworm could write better" script, Blake Snyder, only did one more movie, Blank Check, before he vanished from Hollywood, finding better success as a teacher and as the author of the Save the Cat screenwriting instruction books.
• The Story of Us (1999) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $27,100,031 (domestic), $58,900,031 (worldwide). This romantic dramedy starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis was roundly criticized for its writing and lack of chemistry between the two leads. Another box-office bust for Rob Reiner, and writer Alan Zweibel (who co-wrote Reiner's infamous North) hasn't written another feature film screenplay since.
• Storyville (1992) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $422,503.
• The Straight Story (1999) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $6,197,866 (domestic). This true-life story was David Lynch's first and only film that did not deal with Mind Screw, as well as his only Disney film. It was a highly Acclaimed Flop that earned an Oscar nomination for Richard Farnsworth in his last film.
• Strange Days (1995) — Budget, $42 million. Box office, $7,959,291. This is one of two bombs for James Cameron's Lightstorm Entertainment, with Solaris being the other (neither were directed by Cameron). Co-writer Jay Cocks went 7 years without another screenwriting credit (he did some rewriting to Titanic, but he was not credited for that).
• Strange Invaders (1983) — Budget, $5.5 million. Box office, $1,362,303. This was meant to be the second part of a trilogy, but the weak returns got the third part sent into orbit. Director Michael Laughlin did not hang around Hollywood for much longer.
• Strange Magic (2015) — Budget, $70-100 million. Box office, $13,603,453. Its opening weekend was only $5.5 million, making it the all-time worst-opening ever for an animated film in 3,000+ theaters. This can be mostly blamed on Disney releasing it in January with minimal advertising under the dying Touchstone Pictures brand, which at this point was only being used for live-action DreamWorks films and as their sort of equivalent to Alan Smithee, and it being a Juke Box Musical that critics despised. This film's failure would be the last film credit for George Lucas (save an executive producer tag on Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), and it would ultimately become the only Lucasfilm Animation production not tied to the Star Wars franchise.
• Strange Wilderness (2008) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $6,964,734. Worth noting for the fact that its distributor, Paramount, removed its logo from the beginning, perhaps out of shame; much like DreamWorks Animation's 2006-2012 filmography, it only appears at the very end of the movie with a "Distributed by" tag on it.
• Strange World (2022) - Budget, $135–180 million. Box office, $73.6 million. Many only learned about this Disney Animated Canon release on its opening weekend given the studio barely cared to promote it despite mildly positive reviews (which often compared the film to fellow Disney animated sci-fi adventure bomb Treasure Planet); audiences who actually saw it were somewhat cooler, with its B Cinemascore being almost unheard of for an animated tentpole. In spite of opening in 4,000 theaters during Thanksgiving, it couldn't even break $20 million by Monday. In a few countries, Disney downright skipped the theatrical release (including the ones that Disney knew would object to a gay character). After just one month Strange World moved from theaters to Disney+, with analysts projecting a loss of at least $100 million (and possibly closer to $200 million) for Disney, which was already reeling from the box office failure of Lightyear earlier that year.
• A Stranger Among Us (1992) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $12,282,994. Sidney Lumet's crime drama about a detective who goes undercover as a Hasidic Jew is best known as James Gandolfini's credited film debut. Critics unfavourably compared it to Witness and it fell flat in a weekend led by fellow newcomer Honey, I Blew Up the Kid.
• Straw Dogs (2011) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $10,324,441. This remake of the 1971 film sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for two years. It got generally mixed reviews from critics who derided the film for glorifying violence and was forced out of theaters after four weeks. Rod Lurie didn't direct again until the TV movie Killing Reagan.
• Strays (2023) — Budget: $46 million. Box office: almost $36 million (worldwide).^note Box Office Mojo claims it made $35,999,015 worldwide, while The Numbers claims it made $35,952,204 worldwide. This R-rated comedy about stray dogs received a mixed reception from critics and audiences and was released in August on the same weekend as fellow bomb Blue Beetle. It debuted in fourth on its opening weekend and dropped out of the top five the following weekend, showing that it was all bark and no bite in theaters and becoming yet another underperformer during a weak year for theatrical comedies.
• Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $12,764,201. A video game movie based on just one popular character rather than the games' famous ensemble, it sunk most of its inbuilt fanbase's interest when they cast the quarter-Chinese Kristin Kreuk as the fully Chinese character of Chun Li. Accusations of whitewashing aside, this was an indication that the makers of the movie were discarding whatever (admittedly flimsy) canon information there was to be had about the character and her world to make an "In Name Only" film. The film became the second Stillborn Franchise for Street Fighter movies after Jean-Claude Van Damme's version 15 years prior also got derided by critics, and this one hammered the cinematic careers of most of the crew; Kreuk moved to a steady job on the Beauty and the Beast TV show reboot in 2012, but director Andrzej Bartkowiak didn't direct again until 2017 and screenwriter Justin Marks didn't write again until Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book (2016).
• Street Smart (1987) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $1,119,112. This is one of the movies that eventually did in The Cannon Group and was the first of two busts for them and Christopher Reeve that year, with Superman IV coming along a few months later (not to mention Masters of the Universe the same year for The Cannon Group alone); Reeve had agreed to do the Superman movie to fund this one. This gave Morgan Freeman a major career boost and his first Oscar nomination, so all was not lost.
• Streets of Fire (1984) — Budget, $14.5 million. Box Office, $8,089,290. This movie was originally pitched to Paramount, but wound up being distributed by MCA/Universal instead. Paramount executive Jeffrey Katzenberg's confrontation with producer Larry Gordon over it and Gordon's next film Brewster's Millions (1985) torched Gordon's friendship with Paramount/Disney boss Michael Eisner for 2 years. Its mixed critical reception (it still got a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and opening against Paramount's Star Trek III: The Search for Spock led to a planned trilogy crashing and burning (an unofficial "sequel" was made in 2008). Co-writer Larry Gross was dismayed by the film's reception, and the project led to his cinematic career grinding to a halt for the rest of the 1980s. However, despite the film's failure in its country of origin, it found success in Japan, which led to the creation of Bubblegum Crisis and Capcom's Street Fighter. The film also had a Breakaway Pop Hit in the form of the Dan Hartman single "I Can Dream About You."
• Striking Distance (1993) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $24,107,867. This faced a massively Troubled Production which dealt with extensive re-shoots and problematic behavior by star Bruce Willis among other issues.
• Stroker Ace (1983) — Budget, $16.5 million. Box office, $13 million. Burt Reynolds later said doing this NASCAR comedy instead of Terms of Endearment was his biggest mistake. Critics agreed.
• Stronger (2017) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $5.5 million. This biopic of Boston Marathon Survivor Jeff Bauman received glowing reviews, especially for Jake Gyllenhaal's performance as Bauman, but its limited release didn't do it any favors. As with Patriots Day, which was released about a year earlier, the topic it covered may have been its detriment.
• Stuart Little 2 (2002) — Budget, $120 million. Box office, $65 million (domestic), $170 million (worldwide). Despite being considered a Surprisingly Improved Sequel by critics, it seriously damaged the viability of Stuart Little; a third film went Direct to Video, and an animated spinoff only lasted 13 episodes, with not much being done with the book afterwards. Writer Bruce Joel Rubin had to take a 5-year hiatus from writing screenplays.
• Stuart Saves His Family (1995) — Budget, $6.3 million. Box office, $912,082. This movie's failure put a temporary halt on the previously successful Saturday Night Live films until A Night at the Roxbury three years later; only It's Pat! did worse than Stuart.
• Stuck on You (2003) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $33,832,741 (domestic), $65,784,503 (worldwide). This got lost in a crowded holiday season, but it was one of the Farrelly Brothers' best reviewed movies.
• The Stupids (1996) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $2,491,989. Was critically blasted as well. One of the 3 career-halting films with Tom Arnold released that year and part of a string of busts for director John Landis.

Su - Sz

• Suburban Commando (1991) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $7 million. This sci-fi comedy starring Hulk Hogan and Christopher Lloyd was universally panned by critics and it was the final film for veteran Western director Burt Kennedy. It subsequently became a Cult Classic, particularly for Lloyd's character's exasperated declaration of "I WAS FROZEN TODAY!"
• Suburbicon (2017) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $9,048,590. This George Clooney dark comedy based off a script by The Coen Brothers crashed and burned with critics and audiences, mainly due to its Mood Whiplash and its failure to balance its two storylines. Its opening weekend was Paramount's worst wide release opening ever, and it left theaters after only three weeks. It was also Dark Castle’s first production in 4 years, and it took yet another 4 years before their next one.
• Sucker Punch (2011) — Budget, $82 million. Box office, $36,392,502 (domestic), $89,792,502 (worldwide). This Zack Snyder film's marketing campaign couldn't clarify if this was an Animesque action movie with Fanservice or a Deconstruction of such. Audiences of both spectrums were turned off and those who saw it were left confounded. It promptly fell flat in the box office but later gained a cult following.
• Sudden Death (1995) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $20,350,171 (domestic), $64,350,171 (worldwide). Late rewrites that turned this Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner from an Affectionate Parody of Die Hard to something more serious left many critics scratching their heads at the Mood Whiplash of the final product. Killed writer Gene Quintano's cinematic career for 6 years, and contributed to the financial pains of the Pittsburgh Pirates during the 1990s that helped lead to their bankruptcy in 1998 (Howard Baldwin, then co-owner of the Pirates, was a producer on this film). A Direct to Video remake starring Michael Jai White was released in 2020.
• Sugar & Spice (2001) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $16.9 million. Was director Francine McDougall's theatrical debut; since its failure she has yet to do another one, mainly sticking to television features now.
• Summer Catch (2001) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $19,772,447. This film took Freddie Prinze Jr. off the A-List.
• Summer Lovers (1982) — Budget, $5,000,000. Box office, $4,968,000. Like many films that summer, it was buried by the success of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It inspired a real-life gift shop of the same name in Greece. It's also remembered for its soundtrack, which included "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and "So Excited".
• Summer of Sam (1999) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $19,288,130. This Spike Lee film about the Son of Sam serial killings got mixed reviews from critics and fell flat during the Fourth of July weekend led by Wild Wild West.
• The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) — Budget, $9 million. Box office, $5,374,029. This adaptation of Nicola Yoon's novel opened against a tight crowd, including newcomer John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum and box-office juggernaut Avengers: Endgame, and was lost in the shuffle. Middling reviews didn't help either.
• The Sunchaser (1996) — Budget, $31 million. Box office, $21,508. Michael Cimino's first film since Desperate Hours, his behavior with this film and its failure in its limited test run, which sent it Direct to Video, killed off what was left of his career and reputation. Cimino was never heard from in Hollywood again after 1996, but he did write a few books in the early 2000s and directed the No Translation Needed segment of the French anthology film To Each His Own Cinema.
• Sunrise (1927) - Budget, $1.2 million. Box office, unknown. This silent epic was F. W. Murnau's first American film, and while it was critically acclaimed, the release of The Jazz Singer two weeks later and its dark storyline warded off audiences, and it faded away at the box-office. It still won three awards at the first Academy Awards ceremony for Best Cinematography, Best Actress for Janet Gaynor (also for her performances in 7th Heaven and Street Angel) and the only Oscar for Best Unique and Artistic Picture. Today, it's been Vindicated by History as an all-time classic which codified many of today's filmmaking techniques
• Sunset (1988) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $4,594,452. Sunset was writer Rod Amateau's final film credit, and its failure along with the creation of The Garbage Pail Kids Movie completely shredded his career.
• Sunshine (2007) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $32.1 million. It fell victim to a dour premise, a botched advertising campaign which misrepresented its final-act twist as the main plot, a limited release in the middle of a packed summer box office, and a somewhat underwhelming title. It's been Vindicated by History as one of the more critically praised sci-fi films of the 21st century, and almost everyone attached quickly recovered; Danny Boyle bounced back with Slumdog Millionaire the very next year and the ensemble cast all saw their careers survive (and in many cases attain even greater heights). Even the score has become a highly recognizable, being regularly featured in trailers and even other films.
• The Super (1991) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $11 million. This was Vincent Gardenia's final film before his death the following year.
• Super Mario Bros. (1993) — Budget, $42 million (not counting marketing costs), $48 million (counting them). Box office, $20,915,465. The first live-action film based on a video game also started the Video Game Movies Suck trend. A Troubled Production led to a Darker and Edgier take on Mario which alienated fans and was rendered extinct by the time another dinosaur-themed film arrived a few weeks later. Stars John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper and especially Bob Hoskins were unhappy with it (though Leguizamo eventually found peace with it, while franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto was more forgiving), while the husband-and-wife team of Annabel Jenkel and Rocky Morton, whom they disdained, never directed another film. This and several subsequent bombs squashed production companies Lightmotive/Allied Filmmmakers and Cinergi's prospects, as well as those of producer Roland Joffe. The fallout led Nintendo to issue a No Adaptations Allowed Policy (barring Pokémon: The Series and some other minor exceptions) for its major works for the next two decades; Pokémon Detective Pikachu and especially The Super Mario Bros. Movie would see great success at the box office when that was finally relaxed.
• Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2 (2004) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $9.4 million. This was the last movie that Bob Clark directed before he died in 2007. Where the first film was profitable despite rancid reviews, this sequel reviewed even worse than the original and drove off audiences, being among the rare films with a 0% on Rotten Tomatoes. Any further sequels have since gone Direct to Video.
• Supercross (2005) — Budget, $9 million. Box office, $3.3 million (domestic).
• Superfast (2015) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $1.8 million. The second bomb in a row for the duo of Seltzer and Friedberg.
• Supernova (2000) — Budget, $90 million. Box office, $14,828,081. A long Troubled Production and Executive Meddling from MGM saw director Walter Hill take his name off this sci-fi horror film^note which made it the first film to use a pseudonym other than Alan Smithee after that name was retired, which was shoved out the airlock in January to apathetic audiences and a blasting from critics. MGM lost an estimated $83 million on this, making it one of the biggest bombs of the 2000s. This is the second film and bomb for David C. Wilson after 1991's The Perfect Weapon, and his career was sent back into deep space until The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in 2015.
• Surf Ninjas (1993) — Budget, $6.5 million. Box office, $4.9 million. The film was slammed with negative reviews and wiped out by the competition. Director Neal Israel's film directing career was swept away in the surf.
• Surf's Up (2007) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $58,867,694 (domestic), $149,044,513 (worldwide). Although reviewed well by critics for its water effects and mockumentary style and scoring Sony Pictures Animation their first Oscar nomination, a lot of people avoided this movie for its "surfing penguins" premise alone, due to it coming out after both March of the Penguins and Happy Feet caused a considerable Hype Backlash against penguin movies. Co-director Chris Buck didn't direct for 6 years (he rebounded with Frozen), and the other director, Ash Brannon, wouldn't direct again until 2016. A sequel to this would show up, but it would be 10 years later and on direct-to-VOD.
• Surrender (1987) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $5 million (domestic). This was the final film directed by Jerry Belson and the last screen appearance of Jackie Cooper. It never had a home video release past VHS.
• Surrogates (2009) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $38,577,772 (domestic), $122,444,772 (worldwide). This sci-fi thriller was released the week after Disney chairman Dick Cook was fired and replaced by Rich Ross. It subsequently got mixed reviews from critics and it dropped down after opening at a weak number two. Its failure also derailed the career of director Jonathan Mostow, who later re-emerged to do The Last Ship.
• Surviving Christmas (2004) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $15,120,800. One of the reasons this film did not survive the box office was being released right before Halloween rather than during Christmas. After this film and Disney's Sky High, director Mike Mitchell has stayed virtually in animation, with almost all of his project as animator from 2007 on being DreamWorks Animation films (he did direct one more live-action Alvin and the Chipmunks movie along with the second SpongeBob SquarePants movie and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part). It's also the last film Betty Thomas had a producer's credit on, did damage to the careers of the 4 writers on it, was one of several films in that period that dented Ben Affleck's career, and was one of the last straws that led to Steven Spielberg selling DreamWorks Pictures^* which was the last remaining part of the DreamWorks conglomerate after DreamWorks Animation and DreamWorks Records were spun off by this film's release to Paramount for a brief time.
• Surviving Picasso (1996) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $2,021,348. Its widest release was 49 theaters.
• Suspect Zero (2004) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $11,416,075. One of several busts that year for Intermedia Films, which ultimately doomed the company a few years later.
• Suspiria (2018) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $2,483,472 (domestic), $7,942,093 (worldwide). This remake of Dario Argento's horror film polarized critics with its Surreal Horror and it never expanded beyond a limited release.
• The Swan Princess (1994) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $9,771,658. This was the first film from former Disney animator Richard Rich's animation company, Rich Animation Studios, and it wasn't a good start for them; it already had a Troubled Production due to being animated by hand-painting cels, a process that led to the film taking four years to complete. It didn't survive a packed holiday season, primarily the re-release of that year's juggernaut The Lion King. However, it did very well when it was released on video (selling over 2.5 million units when it was in print on VHS), leading to a direct-to-video series materializing.
• The Swarm (1978) (1978) — Budget, $11.5 million to $21 million. Box office, $7.6 million. This didn't last more than two weeks in theaters, and was the first of three disaster disasters that blew apart the career of Irwin Allen.
• Sweet and Lowdown (1999) — Budget, $29,750,000. Box office, $4,197,015 (domestic). Still another Acclaimed Flop from Woody Allen.
• Sweet Charity (1969) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $8 million. This movie musical was Bob Fosse's directorial debut and Ben Vereen's film debut as well. Its disastrous reception dealt a huge blow to Universal Pictures. Fosse rebounded with his next film, Cabaret.
• Sweet Dreams (1985) — Budget, $13.5 million. Box office, $9 million. Director Karel Reisz would only direct one more film after this before retiring from the industry and passing away in 2002. It also put a slight dent into actor Ed Harris' leading career, though he did rebound a bit in the following decade. Despite its poor commercial performance, it did very well in reviews and Jessica Lange garnered another Oscar nomination for her performance as Patsy Cline.
• Sweet Hearts Dance (1988) — Budget, $9 million. Box office, $3,790,493. Ernest Thompson didn't write another theatrical film until 2013's Time and Charges after this romantic comedy bombed.
• Sweet November (2001) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $25,288,103 (domestic), $65,754,228 (worldwide). This movie crippled the careers of the producers and director; said director, Pat O'Connor, didn't direct his next film until 2012.
• Sweet Smell of Success (1957) — Budget, $3.4 million. Box office, $2.25 million. This film version of Ernest Lehman's novelette debuted to a disastrous test screening but was received warmly by critics. Lehman, who also co-wrote the screenplay, bounced back with North By Northwest, while his co-writer Cliford Odetts had a few more credits before he died in 1963. Director Alexander Mackendrick wouldn't make another film until 1963.
• The Sweetest Thing (2002) — Budget, $43 million. Box office, $24,718,164 (domestic), $68,696,770 (worldwide). This is the one and only screenplay written by Nancy Pimental. It was heavily panned by critics and was gone by its sixth weekend.
• Swept Away (2002) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $598,645. This adaptation of the 1974 film got labeled a terminal case of "remakitis" by critics and later the Razzies, and only played on 196 screens in the States, going down to 59 for the last week before Sony pulled the film; it also went Direct to Video in the United Kingdom. Madonna was so dismayed by the reception that she hasn't appeared in a starring live-action role since. Director Guy Ritchie and writer Matthew Vaughn, on the other hand, bounced back after a couple of years.
• Swing Kids (1993) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $5,632,086. Thomas Carter's directorial debut received mixed reviews, including a spot on Roger Ebert's Most Hated Film List. Its limited release of 544 theaters didn't help either.
• Swing Shift (1984) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $6,650,206. This suffered from difficulties between director Jonathan Demme and star Goldie Hawn over the tone of the film. It did receive good reviews, but writer Nancy Dowd did not share the sentiment due to the numerous rewrites and is credited as “Rob Morton.” It was also the only credit to Jerry Bick Productions. It is perhaps best known nowadays as the film where Hawn and Kurt Russell met and fell in love during the making of the production.
• Swing Vote (2008) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $17,634,313. This Kevin Costner dramedy in which his character's vote will decide the next Presidential election was greeted with little critical and financial approval.
• Swiss Family Robinson (1940) - Budget, $681,000. Box office, $890,000. Recorded loss, $180,000. The first ever film version of the classic novel marked Orson Welles's film debut as the uncredited narrator a year before Citizen Kane. It was kept out of the public eye by Disney when it produced its own film version in 1960 until TCM brought it to DVD in 2010.
• Switch (1991) - Budget, $14 million. Box office, $15.5 million. Blake Edwards' remake of Goodbye Charlie debuted at number 2 behind F/X 2 and flatlined soon after. Its trailer inspired a meme and a Running Gag in Mystery Science Theater 3000 due to the unusual way it introduced co-star Jimmy Smits.
• Switchback (1997) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $6,492,660. Writer Jeb Stuart's directorial debut and his last film credit of any kind until 2010's Blood Done Sign My Name. Danny Glover wouldn't have many leading roles after this.
• Switching Channels (1988) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $9,129,999. This remake of The Front Page stars Christopher Reeve, who took on the project to help deal with his divorce when Michael Caine was originally attached. Reeve instead had to deal with the Hostility on the Set between Burt Reynolds (who replaced Caine) and Kathleen Turner. He cited this as a Star-Derailing Role for him along with The Aviator, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, and Street Smart.
• Swordfish (2001) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $69,772,969 (domestic), $147,080,413 (worldwide). This high-tech heist thriller, helmed by Dominic Sena and produced by Joel Silver, was critically pulverized for its far-fetched plot, excessive flashiness, and its dearth of sympathetic characters.
• Sydney White (2007) — Budget, $16.5 million. Box office, $13,620,075. This was the final theatrical film produced by Morgan Creek Productions until 2011; they produced Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective in the interim.
• Sylvia Scarlett (1935) — Budget, $1 million. Box office, Unknown, but by 1984, the film was still in the red. This film was one of the biggest critical and commercial failures of its time and contributed to Katharine Hepburn being considered "box office poison" for a few years, but time has been kinder to it.
• Synecdoche, New York (2008) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $4,393,681. This was writer Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, but its dense and depressing structure ensured it divided critics and shut out general audiences. It became more appreciated over the seven years it took before he was involved with another theatrical film, fellow Acclaimed Flop Anomalisa.

T - Tn

• Tai Pan (1986) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $4,007,250. MGM sought to make a film version of James Clavell's novel as early as 1966, but the studio's financial troubles cast it into Development Hell until Dino De Laurentiis saved it in the '80s. It was filmed in China under extensive Executive Meddling from the government, and De Laurentiis later came to regret filming the movie there. The end result was one of several busts that ultimately piled up and broke De Laurentiis's company, DEG. It also ended director Daryl Duke's film career and he spent the next six years in television before retiring.
• Take Me Home Tonight (2011) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $6.9 million. This retro '80s teen comedy sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for four years due to Universal getting cold feet from the film's cocaine use. Rogue Pictures bought the distribution rights and while it died a quiet death at the box office, it has since become a Cult Classic.
• The Taking of Beverly Hills (1991) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $939,277. Columbia Pictures took the film off its Spring 1991 slate and released it that Fall with Invisible Advertising and a limited release. This film and The Favor were the last two feature films Ken Wahl starred in before permanently breaking his back in a 1992 accident, which forced him to retire from acting.
• The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (2009) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $65,452,312 (domestic), $150,166,126 (worldwide). This remake of the 1974 film was the penultimate film directed by Tony Scott. Its mixed reviews and tough competition that summer derailed its chances for success.
• Taking Lives (2004) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $32,682,342 (domestic), $65,470,529 (worldwide). This was part of a bad year for Village Roadshow Pictures, with Torque and Catwoman (2004) coming later to bomb. Ethan Hawke didn't like his time on the movie but he did like working with Angelina Jolie.
• Taking Woodstock (2009) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $9,975,737. Ang Lee's film about the Woodstock Music Festival, released on the 40th anniversary of the event, was released to mixed reviews and a wide release topping out at 1,395 theaters. It was subsequently pulled after five weeks. The screenplay was written by James Schamus, the head of distributor Focus Features, who was consequently forced out of the company after this bombed. It would be five years before his next credit, the short film That Film about Money. Lee's next film did far better with critics and audiences.
• The Tale of Despereaux (2008) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $50,877,145 (domestic), $86,947,965 (worldwide). The first and only film by Framestore Feature Animation, the film division of visual effects house Framestore.
• The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013, 2014) — Budget, 5 billion yen/$49.3 million. Box office, 2.313,602,733 yen/$22,613,153 (Japanese box office), 2.5 billion yen/$24,186,232 (worldwide). Still one of the most critically acclaimed films that year; this was the first anime not done by Hayao Miyazaki to be an Oscar nominee. It's also the final film for director Isao Takahata, as he retired in 2014 and died of lung cancer four years later.
• Tall Tale (1995) — Budget, $32 million. Box office, $11,047,627. The first of three career-zapping bombs for director Jeremiah Chechik.
• Tank Girl (1995) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $4,064,495. In addition to being a Star-Derailing Role for Lori Petty, who played the titular character, this movie immediately became a Disowned Adaptation for the creators of the Tank Girl comic, Alan Martin and Jamie Hewlett, who were brought in to animate a handful of scenes when incompetent producers and Executive Meddling left those scenes unfilmed, an experience they despised. When the movie tanked, Martin & Hewlett responded by discontinuing the main comic for 10 years, and said incompetent producers saw their careers get shelled. Rachel Talalay did not direct another 'cinema' film until A Babysitter's Guide to Monster Hunting for Netflix in 2020, which got mixed reviews. However, she did manage to make a major success in television, including some acclaimed episodes of Doctor Who.
• Target (1985) — Budget, $12.9 million. Box office, $9,023,199. This spy thriller was the last film produced by CBS Theatrical Films before it was shut down the month it opened.
• Teacher's Pet (2004) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $6,491,969. Although it was well-received by critics, this film's underperformance seems to have euthanized any plans for future theatrical films based on a Disney animated series, as not a single one has been released since; any films based off Disney animated series since then have been either direct-to-video or straight-to-television. Alongside Disney continually screwing over its parent series, the underperformance of this film is also a likely reason why the series didn't see a full DVD or digital release until it was added to Disney+.
• Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $8,951,935. This is the only film directed by Scream vet Kevin Williamson. The fact that the movie was released shortly after the Columbine High School massacre and had to change its title (from Killing Mrs. Tingle) did not help it at all.
• Team America: World Police (2004) — Budget, $32 million. Box office, $32,786,074 (domestic), $50,907,422 (worldwide). The film's Troubled Production turned Trey Parker and Matt Stone off from making further feature films forevermore; they stuck exclusively to their signature series South Park on television after this, only (successfully) branching off into theatre with The Book of Mormon several years later.
• Tears of the Sun (2003) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $43,734,876 (domestic), $86,468,162 (worldwide). The start of a lousy year for Revolution Studios, with Hollywood Homicide and Gigli following this Bruce Willis action vehicle. Critics denounced it as propagandic and exploitative in its one-sided treatment of conflicts in Africa, particularly with the 2003 US invasion of Iraq looming just two weeks ahead. Audiences were more favourable, but The Hunted (2003) opened the next weekend and ate into its audience.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) — Budget, $135 million (not counting marketing costs). Box office, $82,051,601 (domestic), $245,623,848 (worldwide). This was seen as a Surprisingly Improved Sequel to the 2014 film for its Lighter and Softer tone and bringing more fan-favorite characters on board. Unfortunately, it was released in a packed summer full of blockbusters and was lost in the shuffle. It was also released during a brutal management feud at copyright holder Viacom that saw its CEO Phillipe Dauman and a few other board members lose their jobs, with Paramount CEO Brad Gray following the next year. The underperformance of this second installment deshelled the movie series after only two outings, and another reboot is in the works. This is also the second bust in a row for producer Michael Bay, coming months after 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.
• Tekken (2010) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $1,696,665. One of the examples of Video Game Movies Suck; this one was disemboweled by the creator of the Tekken franchise, Katsuhiro Harada (the film plays up a bit of honor in the Mishima fighting family, which does not exist in the games; the games make them one of the all-time classic examples of Big, Screwed-Up Family). It got mediocre reviews from other gaming factions and only ran in theaters in Japan and the Philippines, coming Direct to Video in the States when the bad reception got it kicked out of American theaters before it could run. Tekken K.Oed the career of director Dwight Little, who stuck to television for years, and the career of screenwriter Alan McElroy, who does not have a screenwriting credit after this, moving on to smaller stuff. The film had a prequel concerning Kazuya Mishima that also went Direct To DVD 5 years later (Kazuya's actor Ian Anthony Dale did not reprise the role), and there are plans to reboot the film franchise.
• The Telephone (1988) — Budget, $2.2 million. Box office, $99,978. Whoopi Goldberg sued Rip Torn, who directed the film, in a failed attempt to stop its release, and it was greeted at its New York screening by cries of "I want my money back!" and "I hope the film breaks!" from the audience. Torn never directed another movie, and the film's producers saw their careers derailed, plus Harry Nilsson and Terry Southern never wrote another screenplay.
• The Temp (1993) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $6.4 million. This was hit by Executive Meddling over the tone of the movie. It was consequently panned by critics and didn't have a good stay in theaters.
• Tempest (1982) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $5 million. This Setting Update of The Tempest was one of several flops for Paul Mazursky in the early '80s, who officially recovered with Down and Out in Beverly Hills. It's best remembered for being Molly Ringwald's film debut.
• The Tempest (2010) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $346,594. This movie and the highly-publicized Troubled Production of Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and eventual 8-figure loss on the Broadway play threw Julie Taymor, who directed both productions (and was forced to quit/was fired from Spider-Man), into the C-list of Broadway/Hollywood directors. It was also one of the last, if not the last, Miramax films released by Disney as they sold the division to Filmyard Holdings around the same time, though this film was released through the Touchstone Pictures label so Disney could retain the rights.
• The Ten Commandments (2007) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $1,051,907. Despite having big names such as Christian Slater and Ben Kingsley attached, this animated adaptation of the classic movie and bible story performed horribly at the box office, with 90% of its gross coming from domestic theaters. The film also got terrible reviews, scoring a 14% on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $13,908,762. While it didn't do so well, it still remains a Cult Classic to Tenacious D fans everywhere.
• Tender Mercies (1983) — Budget, $4.5 million. Box office, $8.44 million. Although this country music drama was a critical smash, ultimately getting Oscars for star Robert Duvall and screenwriter Horton Foote, Universal gave it a limited release with Invisible Advertising after poor test screenings.
• Tenet (2020) — Budget, over $200 million. Box office, $57,898,000 (domestic), $362,198,000 (worldwide). Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller received mostly positive reviews from critics (though some knocked the plot as convoluted and others took issue with the sound mixing), but its box office had little chance as it was valiantly released amidst the worst timeframes of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which kept many theaters in the USA shut down and discouraged many usual moviegoing audiences in the USA and Europe in general. Some strongly criticised Nolan's insistance on a theatrical release, arguing it was a needless risk to public health and that its financial underperformance was a Foregone Conclusion given the world situation. The film fared much better in China (on par with Inception), a market that had mostly recovered from the pandemic. The film's financial struggles are believed to have inspired Warner Bros. to drop its 2020/2021 slate on HBO Max as well as in theaters, which drew much ire from theater chains and numerous Hollywood figures, including Nolan, who ended his partnership with the studio in response and jumped ship to Universal for his next film.
• Terminal Velocity (1994) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $47 million. Went up against Drop Zone, another skydiving-themed thriller. Critics found this one the weaker of the two, though neither made much of an impression in the end. This was the first major film for Nastassja Kinski since Revolution (1985), and director Deran Sarafian went straight to TV work after this film crashed to Earth.
• Terminator
  • Terminator Salvation (2009) — Budget, $200 million. Box office, $125,322,469 (domestic), $371,353,001 (worldwide). The film received lackluster reviews and became the first entry in the series not to debut at #1 in the weekend box office. Its failure led to production company Halcyon Company declaring bankruptcy in the same year and selling the film rights to avoid being completely shuttered. The rights were picked up by Annapurna Pictures in 2011, but they later dropped out of producing in 2014, and the film moved over to Skydance Productions (the two companies are owned by siblings Megan and David Ellison, respectively), which produced Terminator Genisys (which was critically trashed and only marginally broke even due to Germans Love David Hasselhoff) with their distribution partner Paramount.
  • Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) — Budget, $185 million (not including marketing), $335 million (with marketing). Box office, $62,253,077 (domestic), $261,119,292 (worldwide). Despite Linda Hamilton reprising her role as Sarah Connor, James Cameron returning as co-writer and co-producer, aggressive marketing (including promotional crossovers with Gears 5 and Mortal Kombat 11), and much better critical reception than Genisys, it also suffered a crippling opening weekend of a mere $29 million stateside and $94 million internationally. Any hopes of a leggy run were blunted with the film dropping 60% in its third week, and then another 70% in its 4th. Not helping matters was how the leggy run of the R-rated Joker sucked away adult audiences whom the film tried to target. It was also the second domestic flop in a row for Skydance and Paramount after Gemini Man, lost Disney money after they distributed it overseas through their recently acquired co-producer 20th Century Fox, and was the second biggest box office bomb of 2019 between Dark Phoenix and Cats according to Deadline, with a confirmed $122.6 million loss.
• Texas Rangers (2001) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $763,740. Sat on a shelf for two years before being shoved out to theaters. Director Steve Miner wouldn't direct another theatrical film for nine years.
• Texasville (1990) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $2,268,181. The sequel to The Last Picture Show brought back most of the cast and director Peter Bogdanovich, but the first film wasn't as familiar to filmgoers 19 years later, and Columbia Pictures didn't really put in an effort to try to attract an audience and ultimately gave it a small release.
• Thank You For Your Service (2017) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $9,479,390 (domestic). This adaptation of the non-fiction book continued the long streak of films centered on The War on Terror floundering at the box office. This was the last in a six film streak of bombs for Teller, the last of which came out just a week prior. He wouldn't appear in another film for five years (though said film was much more pro-U.S. military and did so well that it may have wiped the bad taste off his career).
• That Lady in Ermine (1948) — Budget, $3 million. Box office, $1.5 million (rentals). This was the final film for director Ernst Lubistch, who died only eight days into production. Replacement director Otto Preminger declined credit out of respect for Lubistch. This floundered at the box-office and stars Betty Grable and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. had nothing postive to say about it.
• That Old Feeling (1997) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $16,574,176. This is the final film Carl Reiner has directed before his retirement and eventual passing in 2020.
• That's Life (1986) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $4,079,895. Blake Edwards shot this independently and he dealt with Union Protests which forced the original cinematographer to resign.
• That's My Boy (2012) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $57,719,093. This Adam Sandler comedy alienated critics and audiences alike for making light of such topics as statutory rape, pedophilia, and parental neglect. It proved to be another financial bust for Sandler, and it didn't do any favors for co-star Andy Samberg, though both had Hotel Transylvania to fall back on later that year. This is the only film written by David Caspe, who stuck to TV ever since.
• There Be Dragons (2011) — Budget, $36 million. Box office, $4,372,642. This movie confirmed the utter incineration of Roland Joffe's career. His next film, The Lovers/Time Traveler, spent years struggling to be properly released.
• They (2002) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $16,130,385. Despite the ads prominently featuring his name, the only thing Wes Craven had to do with this horror film was being a "presenter" — so basically, nothing at all. Critics didn't find it scary enough and it promptly faded away at the box office.
• They All Laughed (1981) — Budget, $8.6 million. Box office, Unknown, but it didn't crack the $1 million mark. The murder of one of the film's stars, Dorothy Stratten, and the controversy surrounding it, caused 20th Century Fox to drop the film, leading to director (and Stratten's lover) Peter Bogdanovich to buy the film and distribute it himself, which ultimately forced him into bankruptcy. Although an Acclaimed Flop, it is one of the films that ended the New Hollywood era and Bogdanovich was relegated to being a director-for-hire for the next two decades.
• The Thief and the Cobbler (1993) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $669,276. What Could Have Been perhaps a milestone in animation turned into one of the biggest flops of all time. The film started production in 1964, and was in production for nearly three decades because Richard Williams tried to completely finance it independently (a technique he was noted for in many of his projects) and failed to complete it on the deadline the studio set for him. It was then taken from him and then turned into a saccharine musical that borrowed elements from Aladdin^note which was already out on video by the time Thief came out in theaters, after it had borrowed elements from The Thief And The Cobbler. The film managed to secure distribution in South Africa and Australia in 1993 and bombed in both countries, and was released in the United States by Miramax in 1995 with even more modifications under the title Arabian Knight. Richard Williams regretted having completion insurance for the film, and his filmography would be nonexistent until 2010 and low-key after. Williams initially refused to discuss the film; he ultimately made peace with it nearly 20 years later. His workprint would be screened at film festivals starting in 2013 and is stored in the archive of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences as of June 2020.
• The Thing (1982) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $19 million. It received mixed to negative reviews for its graphic effects and bleak tone and it didn't stand a chance in the summer of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. It also didn't help that 1982 was the year of a recession, putting audiences off the idea of nihilistic films, and that Blade Runner, another dark sci-fi film, was released the same day and ultimately eclipsed it. The film found an audience on home video and has since been Vindicated by History as a Sci-Fi Horror classic.
  • The Thing (2011) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $27,428,670. A prequel/remake that was one of numerous bombs produced by co-distributor Morgan Creek Productions. The failure of this film (spurred in part by critical and fan backlash to Executive Meddling replacing most of the film's practical effects with CGI) led to the company going on hiatus. Their next film, All Eyez on Me, wouldn't be released until six years later.
• The Thing Called Love (1993) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $1,029,721. The last feature film by Peter Bogdanovich before he took the rest of the 20th century off. It was also River Phoenix's last completed film before his death later that year.
• Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $8,547,733. This got generally good reviews but its box-office fire burned out after three weeks. Director Susanne Bier's next film, In a Better World, won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
• Third Person (2014) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $2,619,194. Its US release topped out at 227 theaters, which it slowly expanded to over four weeks, and it bottomed out soon after. It lasted in theaters for a total of 14 weeks but director Paul Haggis has yet to take on another project after this failure.
• Thirteen Days (2000) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $66,579,890. This was a highly Acclaimed Flop that opened in limited release late in the year and expanded a few weeks later to wide-release.
• The Thirteenth Floor (1999) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $11,916,661 (domestic), $18,564,088 (worldwide). Director Josef Rusnak's next two films went Direct to Video, then returned to the big screen in 2008 with his It's Alive remake.
• This is My Life (1992) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $2,922,024. Julie Kavner has not had a leading role in a film since, outside of her playing Marge Simpson in The Simpsons Movie.
• Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $15,933,506 (domestic), $19.7 million (worldwide). This was the last time child actress Mara Wilson would step in front of a movie camera (she retired in order to focus on school), and the only major theatrical adaptation of the Thomas & Friends children's series thus far. Its own box office failure may have caused the demise of Gullane Entertainment and its takeover by HiT Entertainment in 2002 and also may have played a part behind Alec Baldwin leaving the USA narrations of Thomas & Friends after Series 6.
• A Thousand Acres (1997) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $7,936,780. This movie version of the Jane Smiley novel (in turn inspired by Shakespeare's King Lear) was heavily panned by critics, though Jessica Lange got a Golden Globe nomination out of it. Director Jocelyn Moorhouse wouldn't helm another feature until 2015's The Dressmaker.
• A Thousand Words (2012) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $22,044,277. Filmed in 2008 but was shelved for four years due to Dreamworks SKG breaking away from Paramount. This notably got a 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and essentially ended the career of Eddie Murphy for years; he didn't appear in another film until 2016's Mr. Church and wouldn't make a successful comeback until 2019's Dolemite Is My Name.
• The Three Musketeers (2011) — Budget, $75 million. Box office, $20,374,484 (domestic), $132,274,484 (worldwide). Milla Jovovich ripped into Summit Entertainment on Twitter over their marketing of the film after its lackluster opening weekend. Audiences and critics found the film So Okay, It's Average.
• Three of Hearts (1993) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $5,495,507. Yurek Bogayevicz's follow-up to his Oscar nominated debut film Anna was not a critical success; it opened at number 11 in a weekend led by holdover Indecent Proposal.
• Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $20.2 million. Analysts pinned the poor results on the movie being given an immediate wide release instead of a more gradual limited one, coupled with minimal advertising that didn't accurately reflect the movie's tone (the lone trailer had an energetic, gonzo-style tone while the movie is a more subdued and reflective romance). The budget being inflated by costs related to shooting during the COVID-19 pandemic didn't help matters, though it was an Acclaimed Flop.
• Three to Tango (1999) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $10,570,375. This romantic comedy helped wreck Matthew Perry's film career, which was decimated period three years later after Serving Sara.
• Thumbelina (1994) — Budget, $28,000,000. Box office, $11,373,501. A doomed attempt to rescue Don Bluth's studio and take some of Disney's musical share (including casting The Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson, as the title character). This didn't help music composer Barry Manilow's career in cinema out much; one of the songs he wrote for the movie, "Marry the Mole", made Thumbelina the only animated film to win a Razzie until the middle of The New '10s.
• Thunderbirds (2004) — Budget, $57 million. Box office, $28,283,637. This movie's failure resulted in director and Star Trek: The Next Generation cast member Jonathan Frakes being relegated to TV directing jobs only. That is still better than what writer William Osborne got (he also wrote Fat Slags the same year).
• Thunderpants (2002) — Budget, £3.5 million. Box office, £1.86 million. Despite the film's very off-kilter premise, about a boy whose problem with flatulence helps him become an astronaut, critics generally loved it and it became a Cult Classic down the line due to starring a young Rupert Grint. Director Peter Hewitt's career was kept alive by Garfield The Movie (but not for long).
• Tideland (2006) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $566,611. This Terry Gilliam movie was filmed when production stalled on The Brothers Grimm and was picked up by Think Film after a disastrous reception at the Toronto International Film Festival. The end result was given a mixed reception from critics, a release topping out at nine theaters and was forced out after four weeks.
• The Tie That Binds (1995) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $5,772,529.
• Tigerland (2000) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $139,692. An Acclaimed Flop that never got out of a limited release.
• Til There Was You (1997) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $3,525,125. The first and only theatrical film directed by Scott Winant, who went back to TV ever since. It was also the final film scored by Miles Goodman, who died a year before its release.
• Till (2022) - Budget, $20 million. Box office, $11.3 million. An Acclaimed Flop whose extremely dark and depressing premise likely warded off audiences. Lack of viewership likely cost lead Danielle Deadwyler an Oscar nom despite being a frontrunner for months.
• The Time Machine (2002) — Budget, $85 million. Box office, $56,832,494 (domestic), $123,729,176 (worldwide). This is the sole live-action film DreamWorks Animation vet Simon Wells^note The actual great-grandson of H. G. Wells directed and one of two films with extended live-action to involve him (the other is Who Framed Roger Rabbit). The Time Machine warped Wells' directing career into limbo until Disney/ImageMovers's Mars Needs Moms in 2011, which set his directing career back a second time, and the exhausting production of The Time Machine, which led to Wells bowing out and Gore Verbinski doing uncredited directing, led to Wells never dealing with live-action again. The Time Machine, Star Trek: Nemesis, and Sinbad were also blows to writer John Logan's career. This version of H.G. Wells' novel is the last time the novel has been adapted for the big screen.
• A Time of Destiny (1988) — Budget, $9.5 million. Box office, $1.2 million. One of several Columbia Pictures films greenlit by outgoing president David Puttnam that the studio left out to dry. Filmmakers Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas waited seven years before their next feature film, My Family.
• Timeline (2003) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $43,935,763. This was the final blow to the career of executive producer Michael Ovitz. The author of the book this film was based on, Michael Crichton, was so enraged by the film's negative reception and failure that he barred Hollywood from doing any cinematic adaptations of works of his that had not yet been adapted such as Jurassic Park until his death in 2008, and it put a crippling dent in the careers of director Richard Donner and co-writer Jeff Maguire; the other writer, George Nolfi, and Richard's wife, producer Lauren Shuler Donner, were able to escape this film's black hole. This would have been the final film score from Jerry Goldsmith before his death, but it was replaced when he couldn't continue.^note Varèse Sarabande released an album of this unused score.
• Times Square (1980) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $1.4 million. The movie was chopped to pieces by the studios during production, including reducing the major lesbian themes between two characters, as well as forcing disco songs and themes onto the movie without the directors consent, all of which the crew claims killed the message of the movie. It also killed the career of actress Robin Johnson, who was so upset at how she and the movie were mistreated that she spent the rest of her studio contract working as a bank teller in spite. Director Allan Moyle would temporarily quit directing for the decade, though he did return in the Nineties and rebound his career a bit.
• Titan A.E. (2000) — Budget, $75 million. Box office, $36,754,634. The film's failure, caused by lack of promotion due to Twentieth Century Fox's lack of confidence, led to both the closure of Fox Animation Studios (the company Fox formed with the film's directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman) and Fox chairman Bill Mechanic resigning from his position. Fox later returned to the animation industry by appointing Blue Sky Studios as their animation division beginning with Ice Age (which was initially going to be a 2D animated feature, until Titan A.E. bombed). It is both Bluth and Goldman's last major film project to date. Adjusted for inflation, this is one of two finalists for the biggest animated box office bomb of all time (the other finalist is Mars Needs Moms a decade later), and it's the biggest 2D animated bomb period in term of cash lost. This all led to Titan A.E. being a major factor to ending The Renaissance Age of Animation (with the failures of the aforementioned Treasure Planet and Home on the Range serving as the final blows), as the film's failure convinced the major American animation studios that the traditional animation was no longer relevant thanks to the ever-growing popularity of computer animation.
• Titus (1999) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $2,259,680. Julie Taymor made her directorial debut with the first ever film version of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus. Its bountiful Mind Screw drew a mixed response from critics and audiences and it was confined to a limited release. This is the last major film that was non-political or a large project to involve former Breitbart News empresario and future Donald Trump Cabinet member Steve Bannon, who was a co-executive producer on this film. While Taymor's next directorial effort, Frida, was a hit, she didn't co-write a film until 2007's Across the Universe (2007).

To - Tz

• To Be or Not to Be (1942) — Budget, $1.2 million, Box office, $1.5 million (domestic rentals). Critics and Audiences generally found this Nazi satire offensive in the face of World War II. It was also Carole Lombard's final film, released a month after her death in a plane crash. It was soon Vindicated by History as a comedy classic.
• To Be or Not to Be (1983) — Budget, $9 million, Box office, $13 million (domestic). Mel Brooks produced and starred in this remake of the 1942 film, but he did not direct or write it. Said director, Alan Johnson, directed only one more film, Solarbabies.
• To Die For (1995) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $21,284,514. One of the final movies from the Rank Organisation, who died off and were absorbed by The Rank Group, who took what's left of the production house out of media. Buck Henry's writing career was also put in a coma for 6 years, and the next film to be written by him, Town & Country (listed below), would turn that career's lifeline off.
• Tolkien (2019) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $4,535,154 (domestic), $7,776,413 (worldwide). This biopic of The Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien, starring Nicholas Hoult, was dismissed by critics for being an unimaginative biopic of an imaginative man. It also didn't help that the film was released in just under 1,500 theaters, having to face off against Pokémon Detective Pikachu and Avengers: Endgame.
• Tomorrowland (2015) — Budget, $190 million (not counting marketing costs), Approx. $250-$330 million (counting them). Box office, $92,842,526 (domestic), $204,742,526 (worldwide). One of a handful of failed theme-park attractions-to-movie adaptations from The Walt Disney Company. A Star-Derailing Role for George Clooney (who shifted his focus more towards directing bombs) as well as major co-stars Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy (this film was intended as a Star-Making Role for them; instead, it stalled their cinematic careers). This is also a major misstep for acclaimed director Brad Bird, who later rebounded with Incredibles 2 but has yet to have another live-action project greenlighted. Disney CFO Jay Rasulo ironically stepped down from the company around this time after being passed over for promotion in favor of Disney Parks boss Thomas Staggs (who resigned the next year instead). In addition, plans for a third TRON movie were "deleted" after this film's disappointing opening weekend, along with any sci-fi material that is not Star Wars or Marvel Cinematic Universe related.
• Top Dog (1995) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $5 million. This was the last theatrical release to feature Chuck Norris until The Expendables 2 came out in 2012. It doesn't help that it was released shortly after the Oklahoma City Bombing, which is ironic because the trailer never showed the villains.
• Topaz (1969) — Budget and Box office, $6 million. Alfred Hitchcock's version of the Leon Uris novel received mixed reviews from critics, who felt the film lacked tension. It also suffered from poor test screenings, which prompted Hitchcock to change the ending twice. Fortunately, he bounced back with his next film, Frenzy.
• Topsy-Turvy (1999) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $6,208,548. Mike Leigh's biopic of Gilbert and Sullivan and their creation of The Mikado was an Acclaimed Flop which had a limited release.
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) — Budget, $25.5 million. Box office, $29,548,291. This film began the disintegration in the relationship between Fox chairman Darryl F. Zanuck and his son Richard.^note  Shortly after this film, Richard fired his father's girlfriend, producer Genevieve Gilles, which led Darryl to convince the Fox board to fire Richard, which led his ex-wife and Richard's mother Virginia to convince shareholders to fire Darryl. Richard won the feud and became a long-running producer that helped the careers of Steven Spielberg, Tim Burton, and other Hollywood heavyweights, while Darryl never worked in Hollywood again. Tora! Tora! Tora was also part of a series of Fox flops that put the studio in dire straits until Star Wars. As for the crew of the film, it's the final co-American film co-director Kinji Fukasaku ever took part in and put dents in the careers of the writers and co-director Richard Fleischer. All this said, it would eventually be Vindicated by Cable and gain fame for its groundbreaking visual effects and scrupulous historical accuracy.
• Torque (2004) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $21,215,059 (domestic), $46,546,197 (worldwide). Nearly everybody involved with this film saw their careers destroyed; the exception is Ice Cube.
• Total Recall (2012) — Budget, $125 million. Box office, $58,877,969 (domestic), $198,467,168 (worldwide). This remake made about half of what the original made domestically... a quarter of what it made if adjusted for inflation. Despite being largely greeted by critical and audience indifference domestically, it made decent sums in China, Russia, and Japan, just not enough to save it. Part of a pretty rough streak for Colin Farrell.
• Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $858,250. This is one of the movies that eventually did in The Cannon Group. Ryan O'Neal's infamous acting in this film ("OH GOD, OH MAN!") ended up being the final nail in the coffin of his A-list movie career.
• The Tournament (2009) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $490,000. A Troubled Production (the original budget was $4 million and ended up drying out the budget twice) and a release to theaters delayed by two years didn't do many favors.
• Town & Country (2001) — Budget, $90 million (not counting marketing costs), $105-110 million (counting them). Box office, $10,372,291. This Romantic Comedy was one of the biggest bombs of its decade, suffering a Troubled Production that drove it overbudget and two years past its initial release date, to which it landed in theaters to scathing reviews and indifferent audiences. Warren Beatty had no further film credits until 2016's Rules Don't Apply, and Buck Henry would not write another screenplay until 2014. Also halted the writing career of the other screenwriter, Michael Laughlin. Director Peter Chelsom narrowly avoided having his career ruined thanks to Serendipity, but has since kept to smaller productions.
• Toys (1992) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $23.3 million. The film's critical and commercial failure was a big blow for director Barry Levinson, who saw this as his passion project. Ironically, it was dwarfed by another Robin Williams film, Disney's Aladdin, not to mention being released in the week between A Few Good Men and Scent of a Woman. Writer Valerie Curtin never wrote another screenplay.
• Toys in the Attic (1963) — Budget, $2.1 million. Box office is unknown, but United Artists recorded a loss of $1.2 million. This film adaptation of Lillian Hellman's play received mixed reviews, with many critics feeling that Dean Martin was miscast as its tormented protagonist. Martin never tried his hand at heavy drama again.
• Track 29 (1988) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $429,028. It's an understandable gross considering the film only played at 13 theaters. It got a generally positive reception, though critics like Roger Ebert admitted it was a tough sit.
• Trail of the Pink Panther (1982) — Budget, less than $15 million (actual budget unknown). Box office, $9,056,073. Its failure along with that of Curse of the Pink Panther killed the original series. Blake Edwards' reputation suffered due to his decision to cobble together outtakes of the late Peter Sellers from the earlier Panther films to create a brand-new plot, which was derided as being in poor taste. Edwards never had a box-office success again (with the exception of Micki + Maude) and would retire from directing films after 1993's Son of the Pink Panther.
• Transcendence (2014) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $23,022,309 (domestic), $103,039,258 (worldwide). This is the first and only feature film directed by Wally Pfister, who had retired from an Oscar-winning cinematographer career, and his next directorial credits were episodes of Flaked and The Tick. It also furthered the decline of Johnny Depp's career and dealt a huge blow to production company Alcon Entertainment.
• The Transformers: The Movie (1986) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $5,849,647. This, along with the failure of My Little Pony: The Movie, cost Hasbro a combined $10 million. Both films also led to the cancellation of a movie based on Jem then in development and would see them releasing G.I. Joe: The Movie straight to video. Though originally met with horrible reviews, the film is now considered a cornerstone of Transformers fiction across the franchise's myriad canons and a classic piece of '80s nostalgia. It's also best known as being the final film for Orson Welles and Scatman Crothers; the former died five days after he recorded his part as Big Bad Unicron, and the latter died three months after its release.
• Trapped (2002) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $13,414,416. This was the final English-language film for director Luis Mandoki, who primarily works in his native Mexico now. It didn't help that its release date was shuffled a few times and it was Not Screened for Critics.
• Trapped In Paradise (1994) — Budget, Unknown. Box office, $6,017,509.
• Treasure Planet (2002) — Budget, $140–180 million. Box office, $109,578,115. One of the biggest money losers in the Disney Animated Canon thus far, and one of the biggest animated bombs in history as far as net loss is concerned. This and the failure of Home on the Range led Disney to nearly abandon the traditional animation format. Directors John Musker and Ron Clements nearly defected to DreamWorks Animation until John Lasseter invited them back to direct their next traditionally animated film, 2009's The Princess and the Frog. They have not directed another non-musical after Treasure Planet.
• The Tree of Life (2011) — Budget, $32 million. Box office, $13,303,319 (domestic), $54,303,319 (worldwide). Critics praised this Terrence Malick film for its stunning imagery and existential themes, while audiences were left baffled by what they saw. There were reports of walk-outs and refunds at a few movie theaters over this movie.
• Trespass (1992) - Budget, $14 million. Box office, $13,747,138. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale wrote this neo-noir thriller, then called Looters, years before they conceived Back to the Future, but it wasn't until 1991 that production began with director Walter Hill. It was supposed to be released on July 3, but was delayed to Christmas and changed to its new title following the LA Riots, where it was greeted with a mixed critical reception and an apathetic box office.
• Trespass (2011) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $24,094 (domestic), $9,612,469 (worldwide). This was Joel Schumacher's final film before his death in 2020. It played in 10 theaters for one week in the U.S. before it got taken out. Part of a bad streak for Nicolas Cage.
• Trial And Error (1997) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $14,598,571. This was a Star-Derailing Role for Michael Richards' film career as his only film credits since are a voiceover in Bee Movie and a role in the short, Walk the Light. It was also compared unfavorably to director Jonathan Lynn's earlier courtroom comedy, My Cousin Vinny.
• The Trigger Effect (1996) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $3,622,979. David Koepp's directorial debut was inspired by an episode of Connections. It was an Acclaimed Flop that never left a limited release.
• Triple 9 (2016) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $12,639,297 (domestic), $23,119,442 (worldwide). This got pushed back from September 2015 to February 2016 where it dealt with runaway smash Deadpool and eventual busts Gods of Egypt and Eddie the Eagle. Invisible Advertising and mixed reviews ensured this crime thriller was lost in the shuffle as well.
• Tristan and Isolde (2006) - Budget, $28 million. Box office, $14,734,633 (domestic), $28,047,963 (worldwide). This adaptation of Tristan and Iseult was the final film from the infamous Franchise Pictures (who went uncredited on this) after being done in by their fraud lawsuit. It was also the last thing Kevin Reynolds directed until the TV miniseries Hatfields & McCoys six years later, and the last movie he would direct until Risen a decade later.
• A Troll in Central Park (1994) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $71,368. You read that right, the film grossed less than one third of 1% of its budget, making it, percentage-wise, one of the biggest (maybe the biggest) box office flops in the history of animated films. Warner Bros. deliberately gave the film no promotion because they expected it to fail (this came after the movie was accused of inducing Sweetness Aversion). This was the second-to-last film from Don Bluth's homegrown animation studio, and the last from said studio to credit him (he likened the film to a child born prematurely), and any ideas of the studio recovering died a quiet death after its failure.
• Troop Beverly Hills (1989) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $8.5 million. One of a handful of 1988/1989 films that caused the Weintraub Entertainment Group to implode right out of the gates, and one of the movies that ended Coca-Cola's control over Columbia and caused their merger with Tristar and Sony. It was also one of the many box-office bombs that drove star Shelley Long back to television after leaving Cheers. It did become a bit of a Cult Classic thanks to cable reruns.
• True Colors (1991) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $418,807. This political drama was only released in nine theaters; it also marked Richard Widmark's final film before his death in 2008.
• True Crime (1999) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $16,649,768. This crime thriller received mixed reviews and dropped sharply at the box office after opening at number three. Clint Eastwood recovered the next year with Space Cowboys but co-writer Paul Brickman saw his career stall with his only credits since being a TV miniseries and short.
• True Identity (1991) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $4.6 million. British comedian Lenny Henry's foray into the American public, the film's bombing put a halt to his plans, and since then his only movie roles have been voiceovers.
• True Legend (2010) - Budget, $20 million USD. Box office, $6.82 million. Vincent Zhao's first theatrical release in over a decade is seen as a return to form for this former budding Jet Li replacement, but it didn't make a splash in the box office, even resulting in the production studio being closed down. Nevertheless, Zhao's performance allows him to venture even further in cinema, including later films like Wu Dang and the Alliance of Heroes trilogy.
• True Romance (1993) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $12,309,980. An early script from Quentin Tarantino that was directed by Tony Scott. It was an Acclaimed Flop, as despite great reviews, The Fugitive drew much of its potential audience away, and it only received a token international release in Austraila. Tarantino would move on to directing his own scripts to great success, while Scott quickly recovered with Crimson Tide.
• Trust (2010) — Budget, $9.5 million. Box office, $595,439(!). The second and final film (to date) directed by David Schwimmer.
• Truth (2015) - Budget, $9.6 million. Box office, $5.6 million. James Vanderbilt's directorial debut was this drama about the Killian documents scandal that led to Dan Rather and Mary Mapes being fired from CBS. Critics generally liked it, even if they found it a bit preachy, but it failed to find an audience in a packed holiday season after it expanded to wide release.
• The Truth About Charlie (2002) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $7.1 million. This remake of Charade was greeted with critical and audience apathy and made its exit after five weeks. Its widest release was just 755 theaters.
• Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $19 million. This biopic of automaker Preston Tucker was conceived by Francis Ford Coppola as an experimental musical in 1976 but it wasn't until 1986 that production finally began on a much more straightforward film. The end result was given glowing reviews by critics but fell by the wayside with audiences. Ironically, despite its financial failure, it did revive interest in Tucker's cars.
• Tulip Fever (2017) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $7,884,436. Part of an incredibly gloomy year for distributor The Weinstein Company (even before they were blown apart by Harvey Weinstein’s sexual scandals), this novel adaptation earned a pathetic 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and had its release date punted all over the place. This was the final film from the company under their main label before they were brought down by the scandal.
• Tune In Tomorrow (1990) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $1,794,001. This comedy based on Mario Varga Llosa's novel Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter was the final film released by Cinecom Pictures before it declared bankruptcy the following year.
• Tunnel Rats (2008) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $35,402. The low gross is because it was only screened in Germany. Unlike other Uwe Boll projects, this was an Acclaimed Flop.
• Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $9,615,840. Compared to Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, which grossed over $60 million on a $15 million budget, its rather poor showing coupled with the decline of the Power Rangers franchise would lead this movie to be the last big-screen showing for the franchise for many years. The reboot film ended up absolutely crushing this movie despite being a bomb in its own right, making over 4-and-a-half times as much on its first weekend alone than this movie did its entire run.
• Turbulence (1997) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $11,538,235. The film's failure didn't stop them from making two sequels, but it sent them direct to video. Director Robert Butler hasn't made another major theatrically released movie after this one.
• Turistas (2006) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $7 million (domestic), $14.7 million (worldwide). A call to boycott the film by Brazilian tourism officials gave it a negative light at the start, not helped by lead actor Josh Duhamel apologizing for the film in interviews. Director John Stockwell didn't do another American theatrical film until Cat Run five years later.
• Turk 182 (1985) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $3.5 million. It brought Robert Urich's theatrical career to a screeching halt and continued the spiral for director Bob Clark.
• Turn It Up (2000) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $1,247,949. It didn't last long in theaters, and was the last film played at the Indian Hills Theater before the bankruptcy of Carmike Cinemas and the acquisition of the property by the Nebraska Methodist Hospital led to the building's demolition in spite of protests.
• The Turning (2020) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $15,472,775 (domestic), $18,714,343 (worldwide). This modernized remake of The Turn of the Screw opened to a rancid reception from critics and fell flat in a weekend led by Bad Boys for Life and Universal's own 1917 and Dolittle.
• The Tuxedo (2002) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $50,547,998 (domestic), $104,391,623 (worldwide). This is considered one of the dopiest films that Jackie Chan took part in. He survived since Shanghai Knights came out a few months later, but other crew members were not so fortunate, and their careers were sent to the Netherworld for varying periods of time. Writers Matt Manfredi and Phil Hey were there for 3 years before being released with Æon Flux, while co-writer Michael J. Leeson never worked on a theatrical film again. Co-producer Adam Schroeder saw his producing career put in time out for 8 years, while his partner, John H. Williams, has only done animated material such as Shrek 2 since. It also didn't help co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt's career out that much, and added on to financial difficulties that resulted in DreamWorks SKG breaking up, with David Geffen cashing out and Jeffrey Katzenberg spinning off the animation arm.
• Twice Upon a Time (1983) — Budget, no more than $4 million. Box office, unknown. What is known is that this, The Right Stuff and Once Upon a Time in America were the flops that piled up and broke The Ladd Company. The company was already in financial trouble at the time and put it into limited release. It proved too mature for family audiences ^note It was supposed to be family friendly until it was hastily re-dubbed with more mature lines. and too bizarre for general audiences and died a quick death. It aired on HBO a few times in 1984, and wasn't released on video until 1991, but only with the internet did it become a Cult Classic, finally getting a DVD release in 2015.
• Twilight (1998) — Budget, $37 million. Box office, $15,055,091 (domestic). This was the first film written by novelist Richard Russo, who collaborated with the director, Robert Benton. It was also his only theatrical film until he collaborated with Benton again for The Ice Harvest. ^note His careers as a novelist and TV writer survived.Benton occupied the director's chair again for 2003's The Human Stain. This was given a mixed response from critics and left theaters after eight weeks.
• Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $4.2 million. This movie completely finished off the original run of the Twin Peaks TV franchise after its television series got hit with problems that led to its first cancellation and an entry in David Hofstede's book What Were They Thinking? The 100 Dumbest Events in Television History. The director of the film and one of the creators of the show, David Lynch, didn't direct another full-length feature film for 5 years, while the series would return for a third season only in 2017, two-and-a-half decades later.
• Twin Town (1997) — Budget, 1.7 million British Pounds Sterling/$3.3 million. Box office, $127,923. Kevin Allen's directorial debut was also Rhys Ifans's film debut. It became a Cult Classic which inspired talk of a sequel around 2016.
• Twisted (2004) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $40,954,603. This is the last film Philip Kaufman has directed to date and marked the beginning of the end of Ashley Judd's career as a leading lady.
• Two Brothers (2004) — Budget, $42 million. Box office, $62,172,050. This family drama fared well in its native France, but was flattened in the States when it was released in a competitive summer.
• Two-Faced Woman (1941) — Budget, $1,247,000. Box office, $875,000 (domestic), $1,800,000 (worldwide). Recorded loss, $62,000. Greta Garbo was cast in this Romantic Comedy after the smash success of Ninotchka. The film's plot, which had Garbo's character pose as her (fictitious) twin sister to win back her cheating husband, earned it the wrath of the Moral Guardians, which required it to be re-edited before it could be approved. The end result was utterly eviscerated by critics, who felt that Garbo was miscast, with Time Magazine infamously calling it "almost as shocking as seeing your mother drunk." Garbo ended her MGM contract, and her film career, with this film, and she generally faded from public view for the rest of her life.
• Two for the Money (2005) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $30,526,509. This was Morgan Creek Productions's first film released by Universal after it broke from Warner Bros.. Its critical and financial takedown resulted in a theatrical run of six weeks.
• The Two Jakes (1990) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $10,005,969. This sequel to Chinatown would be the last film directed by Jack Nicholson and its underperformance shot down plans for a third movie.
• Two Much (1996) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $1,141,556. This adaptation of Donald Westlake's novel, which previously inspired the French film Le Jumeau, was heavily panned by critics and it didn't last long in theaters. It's best known for Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith's Romance on the Set and eventual marriage.

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