As 2024 draws to a close, it's the annual time for all film lovers to look back at the films released this year. It has certainly been an exciting year for cinema, with many big box office hits like Dune Part Two and Evil managing to enchant critics and the public. However, not all films from the last 12 months have had the same level of success. When looking back at the most recent year in cinema, it's important to also remember the films that didn't do so well and why.
As is typically the case in any year, several 2024 films severely disappointed audiences, becoming undeniable box office failures. Whether because of bad films, bad publicity, or something else, these films were not received as well as their creators had imagined. Regardless of their expected performance or even their true quality, these films have proven to be the biggest flops of 2024.
10
Joker: Folie À Deux
Budget: US$190-200 million | Box office: US$206.4 million
The 2019 film Clown It proved to be a huge success from virtually every point of view, winning several Oscars and earning over a billion dollars on a budget of only around $55-70 million. Unfortunately, its 2024 sequel wasn't as successful in any aspect. Set two years after the events of its predecessor, Joker: Folie à Deux offers a continuation of Arthur Fleck's story, following the madness that ensues when he is introduced to Harleen Quinzel just before his trial begins.
To the chagrin of many Clown fans, Joker: Folie à Deux made several unusual deviations from the first film, most notably presenting the sequel as a musical. The budget for Joker: Folie à Deux it was also much higher than the original, growing much closer to the $200 million mark. Despite this, the sequel's box office numbers were drastically lower than the first film, grossing just US$206.4 million.
9
Lady Teia
Budget: US$80-100 million | Box office: US$100.5 million
Sony's Spider-Man universe didn't start out exactly how the studio had imagined. Its launch in early 2024, Lady Teiadid little to right the course. This superhero film stars Dakota Johnson as Cassie Webb, delivering an action-packed origin story for the character, following her as she desperately tries to protect three young women from an evil force that seeks to destroy them all.
Lady Teia managed to gross US$100.5 million at the box office, but that number becomes much less impressive when you realize that the film's budget was practically the same. To make matters worse, Lady Teia received overwhelmingly negative reviews, with many declaring it not only among the worst films of the year, but also one of the worst superhero films of all time. Needless to say, the project was a failure on all counts.
8
Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1
Budget: US$50 million | Box office: US$38.2 million
Kevin Costner is no stranger to Westerns, but his latest addition to the genre has decidedly not been the most well-received. In mid-2024, he released the first film in an entire series that he plans to co-write, direct, and star in. Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1This introductory film aims to set the stage for the franchise by following the lives of a variety of characters who struggled to survive in the Midwest during the Civil War.
For the franchise to be a success, the latest installments will have to do much better than the first. Although it was made with a budget of US$50 million, Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 it only managed to gross US$38.2 at the box office, a statistic that could be a dangerous warning sign for the future of the series. Part of the disappointing results can perhaps be attributed to the film's imposing runtime, which lasts more than three hours, a very intimidating length considering that there will be three more episodes.
7
The Crow
Budget: US$50 million | Box office: US$24 million
Remaking popular films often seems like a surefire way for studios to easily make a tidy profit. However, the 2024 remake of The Croworiginally inspired by a series of comics by James O'Barr, it proved that the strategy is not a guaranteed absolute success. Starring horror icon Bill Skarsgård and FKA Twigs, The Crow tells the chilling story of a vengeful man who is brought back to life after he and his girlfriend are killed.
At the box office, The Crow has vastly underperformed, especially when compared to other modern reboots of classic stories, even others in the horror genre specifically. The film grossed just $24 million at the box office, just under half of its original $50 million budget. To make matters worse, the film also received consistently negative reviews, establishing the project as a failure on all fronts.
6
The Ungentlemanly Ministry of War
Budget: US$60 million | Box office: US$27.3 million
Guy Ritchie has had a wide range of successes with his films over the years, but his most recent film doesn't fall on the positive side of the spectrum. Launched in April, The Ungentlemanly Ministry of War offers an 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 at doing so.
The Ungentlemanly Ministry of War It was not completely panned by critics, managing to earn at least some praise where it was due. However, this was far from enough to consider the film a success, as it only accumulated US$27.3 million at the box office. With a budget of $60 million, that wasn't enough to satisfy the team behind the film. Ritchie definitely hopes his next film is significantly better.
5
Here
Budget: US$45-50 million | Box office: US$13.4 million
With films like Back to the future and Forest Gump In his repertoire, director Robert Zemeckis has definitely had some big hits over the years. Unfortunately, his most recent film, HereIt turned out not to be one of them. Here takes on a unique premise, showing how a single piece of land has evolved over time, highlighting all the major events that have occurred in that specific location over thousands of years.
Here It was by no means the most expensive film to make in 2024, but it still failed to meet its budget. The film cost around $50 million to make, but only grossed $13.4 million at the box office. In percentage terms, Here was one of the least financially successful films of 2024, barely recouping a third of its initial budget. Considering the mixed reviews from critics, it seems safe to say that Here it was far from being one of the most successful films in Zemeckis' career.
4
Fly me to the moon
Budget: US$100 million | Box office: US$42.2 million
2024 film by Greg Berlanti, Fly me to the moonoffered 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 doesn't work out. With a clever concept and a cast led by Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, Fly me to the moon it seemed to have all the necessary elements to be a box office success.
However, this did not end up being the case. Despite having a nine-figure budget, Fly me to the moon recovered less than half of what it cost to produce. The underwhelming performance can be at least partially attributed to the film's poor release. Fly me to the moon was originally intended to be a direct-to-streaming film, so its theatrical release was quite underdeveloped, with many potential viewers unaware of what the film would actually be about.
3
Borders
Budget: US$110-120 million | Box office: US$33 million
After the huge success of the HBO series, The last of usIt was no big surprise that other video game adaptations began to emerge. Unfortunately, not all of these adaptations were so well received. A particularly disheartening example was the action-packed sci-fi film Bordersdirected by Eli Roth. Supported by an all-star cast, Borders offers a new take on the beloved video game series, following an unlikely team in search of a very important missing person.
However, the popular source material and star-studded cast weren't enough to bring viewers to the theater. And with a hefty budget, Borders just grossing $33 million at the box office spelled disaster. Additionally, the film received consistently negative reviews, failing to offer anything that critics might consider redeeming. By becoming one of the biggest flops of the entire year, Borders proves that filmmakers can't expect to achieve success just by adapting something popular.
2
Argyle
Budget: US$200 million | Box office: US$96.2 million
Argyle It may have had a pretty interesting concept and a stunning cast, but those elements weren't enough to attract the audience the filmmakers were hoping for. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, this thrilling action comedy highlights the crazy circumstances that ensue when an author inadvertently writes a novel that perfectly mimics a series of real events. Many found the plot too confusing and the humor too cheesy, causing the film to underperform in theaters.
When looking at the huge cast of A-list stars, it's not really a surprise that Argyle It had one of the biggest budgets of any 2024 film. It is estimated that the film cost around $200 million dollars to make. This lofty goal proved insurmountable for Argyleas the box office numbers did not even reach half of its budget. Earning just US$96.2 million, Argyle proved to be a significant financial mistake for Universal Pictures and Apple Original Films.
1
Megalopolis
Budget: US$120-136 million | Box office: US$13.9 million
Regardless of how anyone may feel about it, it is impossible to deny that Megalopolis it certainly inspired a lot of conversation surrounding its release. Many decades after the enormous success of films like The godfather and Apocalypse nowwriter/director Francis Ford Coppola returned to the big screen with Megalopolisan epic science fiction story that was a long time in the making.
Although the film has inspired a wide range of opinions (from "disaster" to "masterpiece"), one aspect Megalopolis It's clear as day: it was a colossal box office flop. The budget, which would have been provided entirely by Coppola himself, was estimated at approximately US$120-136 million. We can only imagine Coppola's dismay when the film only managed to recover about 10% of that. These discouraging numbers easily make Megalopolis one of the biggest failures in recent memory.
Source: Mojo Box Office