As2024draws to a close, the annual time has come for all movie lovers to think back on the films released this year.It has certainly been an exciting year formovies, with many major blockbusters likeDune Part TwoandWickedmanaging to delight both critics and audiences alike. However, not every film from the last 12 months has experienced the same level of success. When looking back at the most recent year in cinema, it is important to also remember the films that didn’t do quite as well and why.
As is typically the case with any year,several 2024 films severely underwhelmed their audiences, becoming undeniable flops at the box office. Whether it be because of lousy filmmaking, poor advertising, or something else altogether, these movies were not received nearly as well as their creators had envisioned. Regardless of how they were expected to perform or even their true quality, these films proved to be the biggest flops of 2024.
Joker: Folie a Deux
Cast
Joker: Folie à Deux is the sequel to Todd Phillips' critically acclaimed comic book thriller Joker. Reprising his Academy Award-winning performance as the failed comedian Arthur Fleck, Joaquin Phoenix revisits the iconic DC character alongside Lady Gaga, who makes her debut as Joker’s lover Harley Quinn in this standalone continuity of the DC Universe.
The 2019 filmJokerproved to be a major success from practically every standpoint, winning multiple Academy Awards and earning over a billion dollars on a budget of only around $55-70 million. Sadly, its 2024 sequel was not as successful in any regard. Set two years after the events of its predecessor,Joker: Folie à Deuxoffersa continuation of Arthur Fleck’s story, following the madness that ensues when he is introduced to Harleen Quinzel just before the start of his trial.
2024 Domestic Box Office Total Falls Just Short Of 2023, Yet Comes In Ahead Of Initial Expectations
After a fairly rocky start, the 2024 domestic box office has come in just behind 2023’s impressive $9 billion gross, but it still defied expectations.
Much to the chagrin of manyJokerfans,Joker: Folie à Deuxmade several unusual departures from the first film, most notably presenting the sequel as a musical. The budget forJoker: Folie à Deuxwas also much higher than that of the original, growingmuch closer to the $200 million mark. Despite this, box office numbers for the sequel proved to be drastically lower than those of the first film, earning only $206.4 million.
Madame Web
Madame Web is a superhero movie based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Taking place in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, the movie revolves around a clairvoyant woman who can look into different dimensions. Dakota Johnson stars in the lead role, with Sydney Sweeney, Adam Scott, Isabela Merced, and Celeste O’Connor comprising the rest of the cast.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has not exactly gotten off to the start that the studio had envisioned. Their early 2024 release,Madame Web, did little to straighten the course. This superhero film starsDakota Johnson as Cassie Webb, presenting an action-packed origin story for the character, following her as she desperately attempts to protect three young women from an evil force that seeks to destroy them all.
Madame Webreceived overwhelmingly negative reviews, with many declaring it to be not only among the worst films of the year but one of the worst superhero movies of all time.
Madame Webmanaged to earn $100.5 million at the box office, but this figure becomes much less impressive when you realize that the film’s budget was practically the same amount. To make matters worse,Madame Webreceived overwhelmingly negative reviews, with many declaring it to be not onlyamong the worst films of the yearbut one of the worst superhero movies of all time. Needless to say, the project was a flop on all accounts.
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is set in 1859, following families as they settle in territories from Wyoming to Kansas. The narrative centers around a cowboy on the run with a prostitute and a young boy after a deadly confrontation, exploring the challenges of life in the Old West.
Kevin Costner is no stranger to Westerns, but his latest addition to the genre has decidedly not been the most well-received. Halfway through 2024, he released the first film in an entire series he is planning to co-write, direct, and star in. TitledHorizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1, this introductory film is meant to set the stage for the franchise, following the lives of an assortment of characters struggling to get by in the Midwest during the Civil War.
In order for the franchise to be a success, the later installments will have to do much better than the first one. Although it was made on a budget of $50 million,Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1only managed to bring in $38.2 at the box office, a statistic that could prove to be a dangerous warning sign for the future of the series. Part of the underwhelming results can perhaps be attributed tothe film’s imposing runtime, coming in at over three hours long,a very intimidating lengthconsidering there are meant to be three more installments.
The Crow
The Crow (2024) is a dark and gritty reimagining of the original graphic novel. It follows Eric, who is resurrected from the dead to avenge his and his soulmate’s brutal murders. Armed with supernatural abilities, Eric seeks justice against the killers responsible, navigating through a corrupt city that is as much a character as he is. This adaptation introduces new elements to captivate the modern audience!
Oftentimes, remaking popular films feels like a surefire way for studios to easily make a sizable profit. However, the 2024 remake ofThe Crow, originally inspired by a James O’Barr comic series, proved that the strategy is not an absolute guaranteed success. Starring horror icon Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs,The Crowtells the haunting story of a vengeful man who is brought back to life after he and his girlfriend are both killed.
At the box office,The Crowmassively underperformed, especially when compared to other modern rebootsof classic stories, even others in the horror genre specifically. The film raked in a mere $24 million at the box office, just under half of its original $50 million budget. Adding insult to injury, the film also received consistently negative reviews, establishing the project as a failure on all fronts.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a World War II film depicting a British Army unit’s covert operations against Nazi forces. The movie focuses on the Special Operations Executive, a clandestine organization established by Winston Churchill, whose unconventional tactics helped shape modern black operations.
Guy Ritchie has had a very wide range of successes with his movies over the years, but his most recent feature did not fall on the positive side of the spectrum. Released in April,The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfareoffersan action-packed, highly fictionalized account of a daring mission during World War II. Ritchie has certainly explored the action-comedy genre before, but this latest effort was far from his most profitable attempt to do so.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfarehas a 68% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfarewas not completely panned by critics,managing to earn at least a little bit of praisewhere it was due. This was far from enough to dub the film a success, though, as it only accumulated a mere $27.3 million at the box office. Having a budget of $60 million, this was not nearly enough to satisfy the team behind the film. Ritchie will definitely be hoping his next film does significantly better.
Here
Here is an objective and formal description for the movie Here (2024): Directed by Robert Zemeckis, this film is an exploration of time and memory, unraveling the intertwined lives and stories of families across generations in a New England setting.
With films likeBack to the FutureandForrest Gumpin his repertoire, director Robert Zemeckis has definitely made some major hits over the years. Sadly, his most recent film,Here, did not end up being one of them.Heretakes on a unique premise, showing how a single patch of land has evolved over time, highlighting all the major events that have unfolded in that one particular spot over thousands of years.
Why The Forrest Gump Reunion Movie Couldn’t Match The Tom Hanks Classic At The Box Office, Making $667M Less Than It
The Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis reunion of Here is failing to live up to Forrest Gump’s landmark box office success, for multiple reasons.
Herewas not the most expensive film to make in 2024 by any means, but it stillfailed to live up to its budget. The film cost around $50 million to make, but only brought in $13.4 million at the box office. Percentage-wise,Herewas one of the least successful films of 2024 financially, barely making back a third of its initial budget. Factoring in the mixed reviews from critics, it feels safe to say thatHerewas far from being one of the more successful films in Zemeckis’s career.
Fly Me to the Moon
A musician and an astronaut form an unexpected romance as she prepares for a lunar mission. Their relationship faces challenges due to the distance and personal issues, leading to a journey of love and self-discovery.
Greg Berlanti’s 2024 film,Fly Me to the Moon, offered a classic romantic comedy story but with a unique twist. Set in the late 1960s, the film follows a talented marketing specialist who teams up with a NASA launch director to record a fake moon landing in case the real one proves to be unsuccessful.
With a clever concept and a stacked cast led by Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum,Fly Me to the Moonseemed to have all the necessary elements to be a success at the box office. This did not end up being the case, however. Despite having a nine-figure budget,Fly Me to the Moonrecuperated less than half of what it cost to make.
The underwhelming performance can be at least partially attributed to the poor release of the film.Fly Me to the Moonwas originally meant to be a straight-to-streaming movie, so its theatrical release was rather underdeveloped, with many potential viewers very unclear as to what the film would really be about.
Borderlands
Based on the video game franchise, Borderlands is a sci-fi action-comedy film that follows Cate Blanchett as Lilith, a treasure hunter who returns to her home planet, Pandora, to find a tycoon’s missing daughter. Together with a group of unlikely allies, such as a soldier, a teenaged demolitions expert, a wise-cracking robot, and an eccentric scientist, the group will work together to save the girl - all while learning to deal with each other’s unyielding quirks.
Following the massive success of the HBO series,The Last of Us, it was no major surprise that other video game adaptations began to follow. Unfortunately, not all of these adaptations were nearly as well-received. One particularly underwhelming example was the action-packed sci-fi film,Borderlands, directed by Eli Roth.
The popular source material and star-studded cast were not enough to bring viewers to the theater.
Backed by an all-star cast,Borderlandsoffers a new take on the beloved video game series, following an unlikely crew as they set out to find a very important missing person. The popular source material and star-studded cast were not enough to bring viewers to the theater, though.
And with a hefty budget,Borderlandsonly raking in $33 million at the box office spelled disaster. On top of that,the film received consistently negative reviews, failing to offer much of anything critics could find redeeming. In becoming one of the biggest flops of the entire year,Borderlandsproves that filmmakers can’t expect to achieve success solely by adapting something popular.
Argylle
Argylle is an action thriller by director Matthew Vaughn. The movie centers on an introverted novelist who is thrown into the real world of espionage after the plot of her most recent spy thriller parrels the crimes of an underground syndicate. Argylle has a star-studded cast, including Henry Cavill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Dua Lipa, and Samuel L. Jackson, among others.
Argyllemay have had a fairly interesting concept and a dazzling cast, but these elements were not nearly enough to attract the audiences the filmmakers were expecting. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, this exciting action-comedy highlights the crazy circumstances that follow when an author inadvertently writes a novel that perfectly mimics a series of true events.
Many found the plot to be too confusing and the humor to be too corny, prompting the film to underperform in theaters. When looking at the massive cast of A-list stars, it is not really a surprise thatArgyllehad one of the largest budgets of any 2024 movie. It is estimated that the film cost around $200 million dollars to make.
This lofty goal proved insurmountable forArgylle, as the box office numbers didn’t even amount to half of its budget. Only earning $96.2 million,Argylleproved to be a significant financial misstep for Universal Pictures and Apple Original Films.
Megalopolis
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
Regardless of how any given person may feel about it, it is impossible to deny thatMegalopoliscertainly inspired a great deal of conversation surrounding its release. Many decades after the massive success of films likeThe GodfatherandApocalypse Now, writer/directorFrancis Ford Coppola made his return to the big screen withMegalopolis, an epic science fiction story that had been in the making for quite a long time.
Francis Ford Coppola’s 10 Lowest Grossing Movies, Including Megalopolis
Megalopolis is one of Francis Ford Coppola’s lowest grossing movies, and his 10 worst box office performers include movies that flopped and succeeded.
While the film inspired a very wide range of opinions (ranging all the way from “disaster” to “masterpiece”), one aspect ofMegalopolisis clear as day: it was a colossal flop at the box office. The budget, which was reportedly supplied entirely by Coppola himself, was estimated to be approximately $120-136 million. One can only imagine Coppola’s dismay when the film only managed to recuperate around 10 percent of that. These disheartening numbers easily makeMegalopolisone of the biggest flops in recent memory.
