It’s always tragic when a movie loses money. The event can lead to industry workers losing jobs, projects being shelved, and studios tightening their creative purse strings for years afterward. And 2025 had quite a few of these disasters, with multiple nine-figure productions struggling to earn back even half of their reported budgets. Studios gambled and lost huge sums of cash on numerous ill-fated films. You can’t feel too sorry for them, though, as their pain was often self-inflicted.
Many of these box office bombs were entirely predictable. They contained controversial marketing, behind-the-scenes drama, franchise fatigue, or bloated budgets that required unrealistic returns just to break even. All the while, filmmakers leaned on tired reboots and cinematic universes that audiences had already begun to abandon. Then again, perhaps these movies were simply undermined by the lesser products that came before. A jaded audience is unwilling to take a chance, even if the latest entry is of higher quality. When production costs soar past $150 million (before marketing), even mild disinterest can sink a film. At that point, financial failure becomes less a surprise and more a foregone conclusion.
Related: 10 Times Actors Actually Lost Money Filming Hit Movies
10 Captain America: Brave New World
Marvel positioned this film as a symbolic passing of the shield. Sam Wilson, formerly Falcon, steps fully into the role of Captain America while navigating a geopolitical crisis tied to President Thaddeus Ross—now portrayed by Harrison Ford following William Hurt’s passing. The plot involves super-soldier experimentation, international conspiracy, and the discovery of adamantium in the MCU, a detail clearly meant to set up future X-Men crossovers.
Unfortunately, the movie carried enormous baggage before release. Multiple rounds of reshoots were widely reported, and its release date shifted several times. With a production budget reportedly north of $180 million, the film needed a massive global turnout to justify its scale. Instead, it opened soft and faced steep second-weekend drops, reflecting the broader post-Avengers: Endgame downturn in Marvel enthusiasm.
Sam Wilson’s ascension had been established in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but many casual viewers never saw that show. Requiring streaming homework for a theatrical blockbuster proved risky. Combined with superhero fatigue and declining audience trust in the Marvel brand, the underperformance felt less shocking and more inevitable.[1]
9 Snow White
Disney’s live-action Snow White remake aimed to modernize its 1937 animated classic, casting Rachel Zegler in the title role opposite Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen. The project endured numerous production delays, pandemic setbacks, and industry strikes, pushing its budget well beyond initial projections—reportedly into the $200 million range before marketing.
The film also became a lightning rod for online controversy. Debates over casting choices, comments from the lead actress about updating the original’s themes, and Disney’s shifting stance on how to portray the Seven Dwarfs fueled months of discourse. Early marketing struggled to find a cohesive tone, oscillating between nostalgic homage and revisionist reinvention.
Even setting aside the cultural noise, audience fatigue with Disney’s live-action remake strategy had grown evident. Earlier hits like The Lion King (2019) had grossed over $1 billion worldwide, but more recent entries showed diminishing returns. When Snow White finally reached theaters, the combination of bloated budget, divided online chatter, and remake exhaustion made its financial stumble far less surprising than Disney likely hoped.[2]
8 Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts attempted to rally Marvel’s B-team into a cinematic event. Drawing from a 1997 comic concept by Kurt Busiek and Mark Bagley, the film assembled antiheroes like Yelena Belova, John Walker, Red Guardian, and Ghost into a morally ambiguous strike team manipulated by government handlers. The premise positioned them as flawed replacements for the Avengers—a risky narrative move when audiences had barely connected with them individually.
Unlike household names such as Spider-Man or Iron Man, the Thunderbolts lacked mainstream recognition. Many of the featured characters originated in Disney+ series or supporting roles in films that had already underperformed. Asking viewers to invest in a crossover of secondary figures during an era of superhero fatigue proved ambitious at best.
With a reported production budget exceeding $150 million, the film required breakout buzz to justify its scale. Instead, it faced modest opening numbers and struggled to build momentum. The concept may have intrigued comic purists, but for general audiences already overwhelmed by interconnected lore, Thunderbolts felt like homework rather than an event.[3]
7 Fantastic Four: First Steps
After years of development and the Disney–Fox merger finally bringing Marvel’s “First Family” into the MCU, Fantastic Four: First Steps was marketed as a fresh beginning. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm return in a reboot that introduces Galactus and cosmic stakes meant to launch the next phase of Marvel storytelling.
Yet the franchise’s cinematic track record loomed large. Previous Fantastic Four films in 2005, 2007, and 2015 ranged from lukewarm to critically panned. Even with new casting and an MCU badge of approval, audiences remained wary. A reported budget pushing toward $200 million made profitability a tall order in a cooling superhero market.
The release also arrived amid intensified genre competition, including other high-profile superhero entries in close proximity. Rather than reigniting excitement, First Steps felt like another attempt to rehabilitate a brand that had already burned through multiple reboots. Nostalgia alone proved insufficient to overcome franchise fatigue and skepticism.[4]
6 One Battle After Another
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and reportedly produced on a budget exceeding $130 million, One Battle After Another represented a rare case of arthouse sensibilities colliding with blockbuster economics. The film follows a radical activist father and his estranged daughter navigating political extremism and law enforcement hostility in a contemporary American setting.
Anderson’s previous films—such as There Will Be Blood and Licorice Pizza—earned critical acclaim but modest box office returns. Betting nine figures on a politically charged drama with limited four-quadrant appeal was always a gamble. The marketing leaned heavily into controversial themes, further narrowing its potential audience.
While critics debated its artistic merits, mainstream moviegoers hesitated. Adult dramas have struggled theatrically in the streaming era, and pairing that reality with a blockbuster-sized budget made the math unforgiving. Even strong reviews could not bridge the gap between cost and likely revenue, turning what might have been a respected niche success into a widely discussed financial misfire.[5]
5 Mickey 17
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, the Oscar-winning filmmaker behind Parasite, Mickey 17 was positioned as an ambitious sci-fi event. Based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, the story follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson), an “Expendable” crew member on a space colonization mission. Whenever he dies, he is cloned, and his memories are restored—until one iteration survives and collides with his successor, creating a dangerous anomaly.
On paper, it had prestige appeal and star power. Bong’s first English-language film since Snowpiercer carried enormous expectations, and Warner Bros. reportedly spent well over $100 million on production alone. However, cerebral sci-fi and existential cloning dilemmas rarely translate into mass-market blockbusters. The premise, while intriguing, felt niche rather than urgent.
Marketing struggled to communicate whether the film was a satire, thriller, or black comedy. That tonal ambiguity may have intrigued critics but confused general audiences. When a high-concept art-house project carries a nine-figure price tag, it must break out far beyond its natural audience. Mickey 17 failed to do so, turning what might have been a respectable mid-budget success into a conspicuous financial shortfall.[6]
4 Tron: Ares
Disney’s Tron: Ares marked the third theatrical entry in a franchise that has always been more cult favorite than commercial juggernaut. Following Tron (1982) and Tron: Legacy (2010), this installment stars Jared Leto as Ares, a program from the digital Grid who crosses into the real world amid corporate power struggles. The premise aimed to expand the mythology beyond neon cyberspace into tangible reality.
The problem is that Tron has never demonstrated consistent blockbuster power. The original film became a cult classic but earned modest box office returns. Legacy performed better but still fell short of franchise-dominating status despite a reported budget near $170 million. A decade-plus gap between sequels further diluted mainstream recognition.
With a sizable production cost and heavy visual effects demands, Ares required widespread enthusiasm that the brand simply did not command. Nostalgia alone could not compensate for limited generational attachment, and the attempt to reboot rather than directly continue earlier storylines left core fans uncertain. The film’s underperformance reflected a recurring Hollywood miscalculation: mistaking cult status for universal demand.[7]
3 Predator: Badlands
The Predator franchise has oscillated between cult respect and commercial inconsistency for decades. After the streaming success of Prey (2022), director Dan Trachtenberg returned with Predator: Badlands, this time opting for a theatrical release. The film introduces a young Predator seeking to prove himself on a hostile planet, alongside a surprising crossover element tied to the broader Alien universe.
While Prey thrived on Hulu, streaming enthusiasm does not always translate into theatrical turnout. Badlands also experimented with tone, blending survival thriller elements with an unlikely partnership dynamic that softened the Predator’s traditional mystique. That shift divided longtime fans who preferred the creature’s enigmatic menace.
Franchise fatigue further complicated matters. Since 1987’s original film, the series has endured uneven sequels and crossovers. Asking audiences to invest in yet another reinvention—particularly one with a reported blockbuster-scale budget—proved ambitious. Without breakout critical acclaim or overwhelming word-of-mouth, the theatrical gamble struggled to match expectations.[8]
2 Elio
Pixar’s Elio stood out as one of the few original animated properties amid a sea of sequels and remakes. The story centers on a lonely boy who is mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador by an alien coalition and swept into a cosmic diplomatic adventure. Directed initially by Adrian Molina, the project underwent significant creative shifts during development, including leadership changes and rewrites.
Despite its imaginative setting, Elio faced a steep uphill climb. Recent Pixar originals such as Onward and Lightyear had struggled to match the studio’s earlier box office dominance. Meanwhile, audiences increasingly associated Pixar with streaming-first releases after pandemic-era distribution shifts. That brand recalibration made theatrical turnout less predictable.
Visually, the film adhered to a familiar modern animation aesthetic, leading some viewers to perceive it as stylistically indistinct from recent competitors. Combined with reported production costs that rivaled major franchise entries, Elio required strong family word-of-mouth to thrive. Instead, it entered an overcrowded marketplace and failed to generate the breakout momentum necessary to offset its budget.[9]
1 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Marketed as the climactic chapter of a nearly three-decade saga, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning promised one last high-stakes adventure for Ethan Hunt. Once again portrayed by Tom Cruise, Hunt confronts a rogue artificial intelligence known as “the Entity,” building on plot threads introduced in Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.
The franchise has long been praised for escalating practical stunts and globe-trotting spectacle. However, each entry has also increased in scale and cost. Recent installments reportedly carried production budgets exceeding $250 million, meaning even strong box office numbers must clear extraordinary thresholds to generate profit after marketing expenses.
Coming directly on the heels of Dead Reckoning Part One—which itself underperformed relative to expectations—the finale inherited narrative baggage and audience hesitation. Eight films deep, the series faced diminishing returns and competition from other tentpole releases. Even Cruise’s reputation for daredevil authenticity could not fully overcome franchise fatigue and ballooning costs. The mission may have been accomplished creatively, but financially, the odds were stacked against it from the start.[10]