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Box-office bomb

January 18, 2023

For the album, see Box Office Bomb (album).

A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed and expensive to produce that ultimately failed commercially.[1][2]

Causes

Negative word of mouth

With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at the box office, especially on the opening weekend.[3]

External circumstances

Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film, such as the timing of the film's release. This was one of the reasons given for the commercial failure of Intolerance, D. W. Griffith's follow-up to The Birth of a Nation. Owing to production delays, the film was not released until late 1916, when the widespread antiwar sentiment it reflected had started to shift in favor of American entry into World War I.[4] Another example is the 2015 critically panned docudrama about FIFA entitled United Passions, which may have been adversely affected by bad publicity relating to a corruption scandal. It was released in theaters in the United States at the same time FIFA's leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption, combined with general indifference to Association football, and the film grossed only $918 at the US box office in its opening weekend.[5]

Sometimes, a film's performance may be adversely affected by national crisis or a disaster, such as the September 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic.[6][7][8]

High production costs

In evaluating box-office gross numbers, it is important to keep in mind that not all that money is returned to the film studio. Some of the gross is kept by the film exhibitors and the film distributor. The scratch formula for making a rough estimate of a studio's portion of the gross is that the studio usually gets half.[9]

A large budget can cause a film to fail financially, even when it performs reasonably well at the box office; 1980's Heaven's Gate, for example, exceeded its planned production schedule by three months,[10] causing its budget to inflate from $12 million to $44 million.[11] The film only earned $3.5 million at the box office.[12]

For the 2005 film Sahara, its budget ballooned to $281.2 million for production, distribution, and other expenses.[13] The film earned $119 million in theaters and $202.9 million overall with television and other subsidies included, resulting in a net loss of $78.3 million.[13][14] In 2012, Disney reported losses of $200 million on John Carter. The film had made a considerable $234 million worldwide, but this was short of its $250 million budget plus worldwide advertising.[15]

The 2007 film The Golden Compass had a production budget of $200 million. To be able to fund the film, New Line Cinema had to sell all of the film's international distribution rights to various film distributors around the world. The film underperformed domestically, but was an international success; however, New Line did not have a cut of the international box office. These events were major factors in New Line becoming a division of Warner Bros. Pictures.[16]

Recovery

Films that are initially viewed as "flops" may recover income elsewhere. Several films have underperformed in their countries of origin, but have been sufficiently successful internationally to recoup losses or even become financial successes.[17] Films may also recover money through international distribution, sales to television syndication, distribution outside of cinemas, and releases on home media.[18] The 1995 post-apocalyptic action film Waterworld was the most expensive film ever made at the time undergoing significant production difficulties. While it performed relatively well in the US box office, it did not initially turn a profit and became known as a box office flop. However, international box office takings and video sales led it to turn a profit.[19]

Other films have succeeded long after cinema release by becoming cult films or being re-evaluated over time. High-profile films fitting this description include Vertigo,[20] Blade Runner, The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life, Citizen Kane, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory[21] and The Shawshank Redemption,[22] each of which initially lost money at the box office, but have since become popular.

Studio failure

It is common for a single film's lackluster performance to push its studio in financial losses. However, in extreme cases, a bomb may push its studio into bankruptcy or closure. Examples of this include United Artists (Heaven's Gate)[23] and Carolco Pictures (Cutthroat Island).[24][25] The Golden Compass was a success at the international box office and grossed $372 million worldwide; however, its underperformance at the box office in North America was seen as a significant factor in influencing Warner Bros.' decision to take direct control of New Line Cinema.[26]

In 2001, Square Pictures, a division of Square, released its only film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. It received mixed reviews from critics and failed to recover its $145 million cost. Following the film's struggles, Square Pictures did not make any more films.[27] They are now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix as Visual Works.[28] In 2011, Mars Needs Moms was the last film released by ImageMovers Digital before Disney's stake got absorbed by ImageMovers to a loss of nearly $140 million – the largest box-office bomb of all time in nominal dollar terms. Despite this loss, the decision to close the production company had been made a year prior to the film's release.[29]

Independent films

The 2006 independent movie Zyzzyx Road made just $30 at the US box office. With a budget of $1.2 million and starring Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl, its tiny revenue is due to its limited box-office release – just six days in a single theater in Dallas for the purpose of meeting Screen Actors Guild requirements – rather than its ability to attract viewers.[30][31] According to co-star Leo Grillo, it sold six tickets, two of which were to cast members.[32]

Previously, the 2000 British film Offending Angels had become notorious for taking in less than £100 (~$150[33]) at the box office.[34] It had a £70,000 (~$105,000[33]) budget but was panned by critics including the BBC, who called it a "truly awful pile of garbage",[35] and Total Film, who called it "irredeemable".[36]

In 2011, the film The Worst Movie Ever! opened to just $11 at the US box office. It played in only one theater.[37]

Box-office flop

While terms like box-office flop (also box-office failure) and box-office bomb are sometimes used interchangeably, they are not same. A box-office bomb is technically worse than box-office flop.[38]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Greatest Box-Office Bombs, Disasters and Flops". Filmsite.org. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  2. ^ "The 15 Biggest Box Office Bombs". CNBC.com. 2010-08-23. Retrieved 2013-03-06.
  3. ^ "A Century in Exhibition-The 2010s: The Great Disruption". boxofficepro.com. August 27, 2021. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  4. ^ "Intolerance (1916)". www.filmsite.org. Retrieved 2017-11-07.
  5. ^ . ESPN. June 18, 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
  6. ^ Kelley, Seth (2017-08-27). "Box Office Disaster: Lackluster Releases, Mayweather-McGregor, Hurricane Harvey Create Slowest Weekend in Over 15 Years". Variety. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
  7. ^ "Weekend Box Office". Boxofficeguru.com. 2001-09-17. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  8. ^ Erlichman, Jon (March 13, 2020). "Box office bomb: COVID-19's impact on the movie theatre business". BNN Bloomberg. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  9. ^ Hornaday, Ann (April 5, 2018). "We're awash in box-office statistics. But what do the numbers really mean?". The Washington Post.
  10. ^ Miller, Alexander (27 April 2015). "Unmaking of an Epic – The Production of Heaven's Gate". filminquiry.com. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  11. ^ Burr, Ty (24 November 2012). . The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 8 December 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  12. ^ "Heaven's Gate (1980)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b Bunting, Glenn F. (15 April 2007). "$78 million of red ink?". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 7 May 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
  14. ^ Bunting, Glenn F. (5 March 2007). "Jurors hear tales of studio maneuvering". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  15. ^ "John Carter flop to cost Walt Disney $200m". bbc.co.uk. BBC News. 20 March 2012.
  16. ^ . University Fox. December 12, 2019. Archived from the original on May 9, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  17. ^ Mendelson, Scott. "'Pacific Rim' And More Domestic "Flops" That Became Global Hits". Forbes. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  18. ^ "11 Beloved Movies That Were Box Office Flops". Mental Floss. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  19. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (August 7, 2013). "Isn't It Time To Take 'Waterworld' Off The All-Time Flop List?". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  20. ^ Vertigo: From box-office flop to 'greatest film of all time'|The Irish Times
  21. ^ 11 Beloved Movies That Were Box Office Flops|Mental Floss
  22. ^ "Why Shawshank Redemption Was A Box Office Failure (Despite Its Popular Legacy)". ScreenRant. 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  23. ^ Welkos, Robert W. "'Heaven's Gate': The film flop that reshaped Hollywood". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  24. ^ Sterngold, James (31 March 1996). "Debacle on the High Seas". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  25. ^ "Largest box office loss". Guinness World Records. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  26. ^ Davis, Erik (2008-02-28). . Cinematical.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-28. Retrieved 2011-12-08.
  27. ^ Briscoe, David (1 February 2002). "'Final Fantasy' studio to fold". The Independent. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  28. ^ "Square-Enix Co, LTD. Annual Report 2007" (PDF). pp. 29, 30, 53. (PDF) from the original on March 25, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.
  29. ^ Finke, Nikki (2010-03-12). "Disney Closing Zemeckis' Digital Studio". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
  30. ^ Faraci, Devin (2006-12-31). . CHUD.com. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  31. ^ Brunner, Rob (2007-02-09). "The Strange and Twisted Tale of ... The Movie That Grossed $30.00". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
  32. ^ Mueller, Andrew (2007-01-16). "This Film Is Absolute Dross – People Are Going to Love It!". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  33. ^ a b Officer, Lawrence H. "Dollar-Pound Exchange Rate From 1791: 2000–2002". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  34. ^ logboy (2006-02-03). . Twitch.net. Archived from the original on 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  35. ^ Russell, Jamie (2002-04-10). "Offending Angels (2002)". BBC. Retrieved 2007-01-16.
  36. ^ Harley, Kevin (May 2002). "Offending Angels review". Total Film. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  37. ^ "The Worst Movie Ever! (2011)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
  38. ^ "17 Movies That Were A Massive Flop At The Box Office, But Now We Can't Imagine Life Without Them". BuzzFeed. 2020-05-05. Retrieved 2022-08-25. Well, a bomb is technically worse than a flop for starters, but they're kinda used interchangeably.

External links

 
Look up box-office bomb or flop in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • GetBack.com: Biggest Film Flops and Fiascoes

January 18, 2023
office, bomb, album, office, bomb, album, office, bomb, office, disaster, film, that, unprofitable, considered, highly, unsuccessful, during, theatrical, although, film, which, production, marketing, distribution, costs, combined, exceed, revenue, after, relea. For the album see Box Office Bomb album A box office bomb or box office disaster is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run Although any film for which the production marketing and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after release has technically bombed the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated extensively marketed and expensive to produce that ultimately failed commercially 1 2 Contents 1 Causes 1 1 Negative word of mouth 1 2 External circumstances 1 3 High production costs 2 Recovery 3 Studio failure 4 Independent films 5 Box office flop 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksCauses EditNegative word of mouth Edit With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance A film s ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at the box office especially on the opening weekend 3 External circumstances Edit Occasionally films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film such as the timing of the film s release This was one of the reasons given for the commercial failure of Intolerance D W Griffith s follow up to The Birth of a Nation Owing to production delays the film was not released until late 1916 when the widespread antiwar sentiment it reflected had started to shift in favor of American entry into World War I 4 Another example is the 2015 critically panned docudrama about FIFA entitled United Passions which may have been adversely affected by bad publicity relating to a corruption scandal It was released in theaters in the United States at the same time FIFA s leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption combined with general indifference to Association football and the film grossed only 918 at the US box office in its opening weekend 5 Sometimes a film s performance may be adversely affected by national crisis or a disaster such as the September 11 attacks in 2001 Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and the COVID 19 pandemic 6 7 8 High production costs Edit In evaluating box office gross numbers it is important to keep in mind that not all that money is returned to the film studio Some of the gross is kept by the film exhibitors and the film distributor The scratch formula for making a rough estimate of a studio s portion of the gross is that the studio usually gets half 9 A large budget can cause a film to fail financially even when it performs reasonably well at the box office 1980 s Heaven s Gate for example exceeded its planned production schedule by three months 10 causing its budget to inflate from 12 million to 44 million 11 The film only earned 3 5 million at the box office 12 For the 2005 film Sahara its budget ballooned to 281 2 million for production distribution and other expenses 13 The film earned 119 million in theaters and 202 9 million overall with television and other subsidies included resulting in a net loss of 78 3 million 13 14 In 2012 Disney reported losses of 200 million on John Carter The film had made a considerable 234 million worldwide but this was short of its 250 million budget plus worldwide advertising 15 The 2007 film The Golden Compass had a production budget of 200 million To be able to fund the film New Line Cinema had to sell all of the film s international distribution rights to various film distributors around the world The film underperformed domestically but was an international success however New Line did not have a cut of the international box office These events were major factors in New Line becoming a division of Warner Bros Pictures 16 Recovery EditFilms that are initially viewed as flops may recover income elsewhere Several films have underperformed in their countries of origin but have been sufficiently successful internationally to recoup losses or even become financial successes 17 Films may also recover money through international distribution sales to television syndication distribution outside of cinemas and releases on home media 18 The 1995 post apocalyptic action film Waterworld was the most expensive film ever made at the time undergoing significant production difficulties While it performed relatively well in the US box office it did not initially turn a profit and became known as a box office flop However international box office takings and video sales led it to turn a profit 19 Other films have succeeded long after cinema release by becoming cult films or being re evaluated over time High profile films fitting this description include Vertigo 20 Blade Runner The Wizard of Oz It s a Wonderful Life Citizen Kane Willy Wonka amp the Chocolate Factory 21 and The Shawshank Redemption 22 each of which initially lost money at the box office but have since become popular Studio failure EditIt is common for a single film s lackluster performance to push its studio in financial losses However in extreme cases a bomb may push its studio into bankruptcy or closure Examples of this include United Artists Heaven s Gate 23 and Carolco Pictures Cutthroat Island 24 25 The Golden Compass was a success at the international box office and grossed 372 million worldwide however its underperformance at the box office in North America was seen as a significant factor in influencing Warner Bros decision to take direct control of New Line Cinema 26 In 2001 Square Pictures a division of Square released its only film Final Fantasy The Spirits Within It received mixed reviews from critics and failed to recover its 145 million cost Following the film s struggles Square Pictures did not make any more films 27 They are now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix as Visual Works 28 In 2011 Mars Needs Moms was the last film released by ImageMovers Digital before Disney s stake got absorbed by ImageMovers to a loss of nearly 140 million the largest box office bomb of all time in nominal dollar terms Despite this loss the decision to close the production company had been made a year prior to the film s release 29 Independent films EditThe 2006 independent movie Zyzzyx Road made just 30 at the US box office With a budget of 1 2 million and starring Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl its tiny revenue is due to its limited box office release just six days in a single theater in Dallas for the purpose of meeting Screen Actors Guild requirements rather than its ability to attract viewers 30 31 According to co star Leo Grillo it sold six tickets two of which were to cast members 32 Previously the 2000 British film Offending Angels had become notorious for taking in less than 100 150 33 at the box office 34 It had a 70 000 105 000 33 budget but was panned by critics including the BBC who called it a truly awful pile of garbage 35 and Total Film who called it irredeemable 36 In 2011 the film The Worst Movie Ever opened to just 11 at the US box office It played in only one theater 37 Box office flop EditWhile terms like box office flop also box office failure and box office bomb are sometimes used interchangeably they are not same A box office bomb is technically worse than box office flop 38 See also Edit Film portalList of biggest box office bombs List of films considered the worst List of films considered the bestReferences Edit Greatest Box Office Bombs Disasters and Flops Filmsite org Retrieved 2013 03 06 The 15 Biggest Box Office Bombs CNBC com 2010 08 23 Retrieved 2013 03 06 A Century in Exhibition The 2010s The Great Disruption boxofficepro com August 27 2021 Retrieved January 17 2022 Intolerance 1916 www filmsite org Retrieved 2017 11 07 FIFA film United Passions one of worst in U S box office history ESPN June 18 2015 Archived from the original on June 18 2015 Retrieved June 18 2015 Kelley Seth 2017 08 27 Box Office Disaster Lackluster Releases Mayweather McGregor Hurricane Harvey Create Slowest Weekend in Over 15 Years Variety Retrieved 2017 11 09 Weekend Box Office Boxofficeguru com 2001 09 17 Retrieved 2011 12 08 Erlichman Jon March 13 2020 Box office bomb COVID 19 s impact on the movie theatre business BNN Bloomberg Retrieved March 17 2020 Hornaday Ann April 5 2018 We re awash in box office statistics But what do the numbers really mean The Washington Post Miller Alexander 27 April 2015 Unmaking of an Epic The Production of Heaven s Gate filminquiry com Retrieved 7 November 2017 Burr Ty 24 November 2012 Ty Burr revisits Heaven s Gate The Boston Globe Archived from the original on 8 December 2018 Retrieved 13 January 2020 Heaven s Gate 1980 Box Office Mojo Retrieved 13 January 2020 a b Bunting Glenn F 15 April 2007 78 million of red ink Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on 7 May 2014 Retrieved 13 January 2020 Bunting Glenn F 5 March 2007 Jurors hear tales of studio maneuvering Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on 27 March 2009 Retrieved 4 August 2021 John Carter flop to cost Walt Disney 200m bbc co uk BBC News 20 March 2012 Failed Movies That Singlehandedly Put Their Studios Out of Business University Fox December 12 2019 Archived from the original on May 9 2019 Retrieved February 2 2022 Mendelson Scott Pacific Rim And More Domestic Flops That Became Global Hits Forbes Retrieved 19 August 2015 11 Beloved Movies That Were Box Office Flops Mental Floss Retrieved 19 August 2015 Fleming Mike Jr August 7 2013 Isn t It Time To Take Waterworld Off The All Time Flop List Deadline Hollywood Retrieved August 13 2013 Vertigo From box office flop to greatest film of all time The Irish Times 11 Beloved Movies That Were Box Office Flops Mental Floss Why Shawshank Redemption Was A Box Office Failure Despite Its Popular Legacy ScreenRant 2021 05 05 Retrieved 2021 11 29 Welkos Robert W Heaven s Gate The film flop that reshaped Hollywood Los Angeles Times Retrieved 25 December 2018 Sterngold James 31 March 1996 Debacle on the High Seas The New York Times Retrieved 25 December 2018 Largest box office loss Guinness World Records 30 April 2012 Retrieved 17 July 2019 Davis Erik 2008 02 28 Breaking New Line Cinema Says Goodbye Cinematical com Archived from the original on 2012 10 28 Retrieved 2011 12 08 Briscoe David 1 February 2002 Final Fantasy studio to fold The Independent Retrieved 2 June 2019 Square Enix Co LTD Annual Report 2007 PDF pp 29 30 53 Archived PDF from the original on March 25 2009 Retrieved March 5 2009 Finke Nikki 2010 03 12 Disney Closing Zemeckis Digital Studio Deadline Hollywood Retrieved 2010 11 21 Faraci Devin 2006 12 31 What if they released a movie and nobody came CHUD com Archived from the original on 2011 06 07 Retrieved 2007 01 02 Brunner Rob 2007 02 09 The Strange and Twisted Tale of The Movie That Grossed 30 00 Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 2008 01 24 Mueller Andrew 2007 01 16 This Film Is Absolute Dross People Are Going to Love It The Guardian London Retrieved 2007 01 15 a b Officer Lawrence H Dollar Pound Exchange Rate From 1791 2000 2002 MeasuringWorth Retrieved November 9 2017 logboy 2006 02 03 Offending Angels 70k Budget 89 Box Office 8 DVD Sales to Double its Taking Twitch net Archived from the original on 2011 05 24 Retrieved 2007 01 16 Russell Jamie 2002 04 10 Offending Angels 2002 BBC Retrieved 2007 01 16 Harley Kevin May 2002 Offending Angels review Total Film Retrieved 2021 06 15 The Worst Movie Ever 2011 Box Office Mojo Retrieved 25 August 2011 17 Movies That Were A Massive Flop At The Box Office But Now We Can t Imagine Life Without Them BuzzFeed 2020 05 05 Retrieved 2022 08 25 Well a bomb is technically worse than a flop for starters but they re kinda used interchangeably External links Edit Look up box office bomb or flop in Wiktionary the free dictionary GetBack com Biggest Film Flops and Fiascoes Biggest Box Office Bombs of All Time Inside Movies Blog Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Box office bomb amp oldid 1134267672, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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