38 Great Movies That Flopped at the Box Office by VARIETY

The movie only grossed $17 million at the domestic box office and $34 million worldwide, a flop for a movie costing in the $30 million range just to produce.

the movie couldn’t match its $25 million production budget worldwide and only grossed $13 million in the U.S.

Even with Scarlett Johansson front and center, it was always going to be a challenge for “Under the Skin” to make back its $13 million production budget given what an ambitious and experimental alien invasion movie it is.

Despite an onslaught of WTF buzz and the star power of Jennifer Lawrence front and center, “Mother!” couldn’t even crack the $20 million mark in the U.S. on a $30 million production budget.

“The Iron Giant” stands as one of the greatest animated movies of all time, but the Brad Bird-directed buddy adventure got its start as a box office flop with just $23 million in the U.S. on a hefty $70 million production budget.

Another great Paul Thomas Anderson directorial effort that floundered at the box office was his Thomas Pynchon adaptation “Inherent Vice,” which only mustered up $8 million at the U.S. box office and $14 million worldwide on a $20 million production budget

Despite launching to $242,127 in five theaters (a then-record at the indie box office), “The Master” failed to gain momentum nationwide and ended its run with only $16 million at the U.S. box office.

Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” was hardly a box office misfire with $73 million in the U.S. and $185 million worldwide, but those numbers still made the film a financial disappointment considering the production budget ran as high as $170 million.

Clearly audiences just weren’t interested in a three hour double feature homage to the exploitation era from Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez, as “Grindhouse” flopped at the box office with just $25 million in the U.S.

It might be one of Fincher’s most popular films now, but “Fight Club” flopped back in 1999 with $37 million at the U.S. box office on a production budget north of $60 million

Alfonso Cuaron’s “Children of Men” is often considered one of the greatest science-fiction movies of the 21st century, but it started as a box office bomb with just $35 million in the U.S. on a $75 million production budget.

Andrew Dominik’s “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” is widely considered to have the best cinematography of the 21st century, but moviegoers barely noticed when the movie opened in 2007 and grossed $3.9 million in the U.S. and just over $11 million worldwide.

The movie didn’t even cross the $100 million in the U.S., a death knell for a studio-backed franchise tentpole.

Karyn Kusama’s bleak detective thriller “Destroyer” boasted an Oscar buzzy performance from Nicole Kidman, but only grossed $1.5 million at the U.S. box office.

Despite star power from Natalie Portman and rave reviews, “Annihilation” failed at the box office with just $32 million in the U.S. despite a $40 million production budget.

Expectations for Mike Flanagan’s “Doctor Sleep” were high considering it’s a sequel to “The Shining” and that horror remains one of the most profitable genres at the box office. Alas, the film tanked domestically with just $31 million.