With Mars Needs Moms well on its way to becoming one of the biggest Hollywood debacles ever, what better time to remember some of Hollywood’s other biggest debacles Ahead, nine of the biggest bombs to ever detonate at a theater near you.
9. Heaven's Gate (1980)
Reported budget: $44 million
Total Gross: $3.4 million
Hollywood law dictates that any list of box office bombs includes Heaven's Gate, which has become a cautionary tale for director's high on their own genius. Michael Cimino took the goodwill he earned with The Deer Hunter and squandered it on an over-budget and over-long mess that probably still gives studio number-cruchers of a certain age nightmares.
8. Ishtar (1987)
Reported budget: $55 million
Total Gross: $14.3 million
Unfairly reviled for its overly large (at the time) budget, or prime example of silly Hollywood excess? How history views Ishtar is — somewhat amazingly — still being discussed, but two things are fairly certain: it has some very talented fans (Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino), and it was a total box office washout.
7. Cutthroat Island (1995)
Reported budget: $98 million
Total Gross: $10 million
True story: there was a time when Hollywood gave Renny Harlin and Geena Davis almost $100 million to make a pirate movie. If only MGM had waited ten more years and given that money to Johnny Depp. Pirates are so hot right now!
6. Battlefield Earth (2000)
Reported budget: $73 million
Total Gross: $21.4 million
"The Schindler's List of sci-fi"! If you'll recall, John Travolta was taken very seriously — OK, sort of seriously — before the dreadlocks and Scientology of Battlefield Earth. We were all so naive back in 2000.
5. Town & Country (2001)
Reported budget: $90 million
Total Gross: $6.7 million
Town & Country was in development for such a long time, that the high school version of me remembers reading about its production on Corona's Coming Attractions. By the time this Warren Beatty mess finally hit theaters in 2001, it was already well over-budget, well over-shot, and well over anyone having any interest in seeing the finished product. Congratulations to Beatty for being the only star with two films on this illustrious list.
4. The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)
Reported budget: $100 million
Total Gross: $4.4 million
I understand the circumstances were different, but think about how bad Norbit must be if that film is the punchline for Eddie Murphy's career, and not Pluto Nash. Made in 2000 and kept on the shelf for two years, Pluto Nash was stillbirth upon its release, and maintains status as one of the biggest bombs in film history. On the upside, it's the only film to ever star Murphy, Randy Quaid, Burt Young, Jay Mohr, Peter Boyle and Luis Guzman. So, win?
3. Gigli (2003)
Reported budget: $54 million
Total Gross: $6 million
No truth to the rumor that $20 million of the $54 million budget went to Ben Affleck's wig for the film. (Seriously, what is that thing on his head?) The honeymoon picture to end all honeymoon pictures, Gigli was a trainwreck before, during and after its release. To be fair, though, both stars were able to rebound eventually: Affleck has become a quality genre director (and will appear in Terrence Malick's next film), while Jennifer Lopez has acquitted herself quite nicely on American Idol. Gigli does have a happy ending! Turkey time notwithstanding.
2. Speed Racer (2008)
Reported budget: $120 million
Total Gross: $43.9 million
The only film on this list that actually made a good deal of money, Speed Racer pulled in just under $100 million worldwide — and topped that number once DVD revenues were taken into account. Of course that doesn't matter when the film itself cost $120 million to make, with untold millions set aside for marketing. Currently the last film directed by the Wachowskis... at least until Cobalt Neutral 9 comes out in 2012.
1. Delgo (2008)
Reported budget: $40 million
Total Gross: $694,782
Here's your biggest laugh of the day: Delgo opened in 2,160 theaters, meaning its per screen average was less than the cost of an iPad. Like Gigli, this one has a happy ending, too: Delgo would be remade one year later as Avatar and go on to become the biggest film in box office history. What? Avatar wasn't a remake of Delgo?
