What does it take to consider a movie a financial flop? Well, according to Wise Geek , there are a few things you need to consider. A film that only makes back its budget is simply not enough. A film has to make at least 2.5 times its budget to be considered successful. Remember, just because there is a specific budget for a movie, that does not factor in advertising, marketing, and distribution, all of which have to be paid from the film’s box office sales. Stating that a film will “make money overseas” means very little. Overseas markets return as little as 20 percent in some places; when you see claims stating a film has “made $100 million overseas,” go ahead and cut that number in half.
In 2016, the number of flops seems to outweigh the number profitable film releases. There are several explanations for this. One is that the general audience have seemingly given up on sequels, the other is that word of mouth (including fan reactions and critic reviews) have more power than studios may like to realize. There are films that have bordered on failure, and other films that have downright underperformed at the box office and lost millions for their respective studios. Let’s look at some films that have underperformed this year, according to Box Office Mojo .
Alice Through The Looking Glass
The sequel to the mega-successful Alice in Wonderlandmay have seemed like a good idea at the time, but Disney studios overestimated the public and their need for another film. In addition to being critically panned, the film had an underwhelming runat the box office, earning a domestic total of $66 million and an international total of $152 million (remember to subtract 20 percent) on a $170 million budget. Not good.
Neighbors 2 The Wrap gives a few good reasons for the box office slump of Neighbors 2 . First, Seth Rogan, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Zack Efron are not box office draws, and going up against the Ryan Gosling and Russell Crow film Nice Guys may have hurt ticket sales. While the film barely made back its budget, it made 100 million dollars less domestically, and less than 100 million globally.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows
Many fans have hailed this film as supremely better than the first. If that is the case, how come those fans couldn’t keep this film from flopping? Caught in the sequel rut, this counts as a huge loss for Paramount Pictures. With a budget of $135 million, the film has earned $68 million domestically and $57 million internationally. Probably not a good idea to make another film in this franchise.
Popstar: Never Stop Stopping Unfortunately, original films aren’t doing too well this year, either. The Adam Samberg, Lonely Island parody comedy didn’t seem to have an international release and it raked in a measly $9 million dollars domestically on a $20 million dollar budget. I guess the Lonely Island isn’t as popular as initially thought. Looks like Adam Samberg and friends should stick to the small screen.
Warcraft
The critically panned, but internationally successful, video game-inspired epic may not have been enough to revitalize the genre, and it certainly didn’t make enough to please the studios. Don’t be fooled by the international numbers ($280 million). If you follow the equation above and subtract 20 percent from the international box office, that is $56 million. Add that to the $33 million Warcraftmade domestically, and that, my friends,is a flop.
God of Egypt The first flop of 2016, God of Egypt , performed poorly on many levels. With domestic and international box office numbers combined, the film was able to make back its budget ($140 million) and that’s about it. Plagued by bad reviews and a whitewash casting controversy, it seems the film was doomed before it released.
[Image via Paramount Pictures]
