Movie fans love to know everything about their favorite films, like behind-the-scenes stories or deleted scenes. It can also be interesting to look back on which movies performed well at the box office (and which ones lost more money than expected).
Movie trailers can be misleading with actors viewers recognize or storylines that appear to be brilliant. These ten films could have been big hits when they came out, but they flopped when they hit theaters. Thankfully, a couple of them have been revisited and appreciated through the years.
Clue
With the longtime popularity of the board game, one would think that Clue would have done well. Upon its 1985 release, the movie only grossed $14.6 million, and critics did not appreciate the film's style of comedy, either.
Even so, it became a cult classic with time and television airings. The theatrical release was so unique in showing audiences one of three endings to the murder mystery.
Steve Jobs
After Steve Jobs' ing in 2011, plenty of people wanted to know more about his legacy in the tech industry. That is why it was surprising to see the biopic Steve Jobs make just $34 million worldwide, after a $30 million budget.
The 2015 movie was written by Aaron Sorkin and put a cinematic spin on the drama of Jobs' professional and personal events. Jobs is portrayed in the film by Michael Fassbender.
Hocus Pocus
As hard as it is to believe, this fan-favorite Disney movie was nowhere near as popular back in 1993 as it is now. Hocus Pocus had a budget of $28 million but only grossed $39 million in domestic earnings.
The tale of three witches coming to life again on Halloween has been aired on networks like Disney Channel and Freeform (formerly ABC Family) for years, and the movie is gaining an even stronger resurgence on Disney+. But nearly three decades ago, the would-be hit was not profitable.
The Iron Giant
This Brad Bird animated film was heavily d in the late 1990s as the next great "boy" movie, catering to a gender divide that often cropped up in children's media of the day.
The film was a huge box office bomb for Warner Brothers, costing about $70,000 and accruing a little over $20,000 in 1999. Many viewers who came of age in the new millennium this movie fondly, but its sales don't make that clear.
Treasure Planet
Treasure Planet was another kids' movie that looked like it would be successful. The 2002 Disney animated feature retold the Treasure Island story with space pirates and 2D animation, which was already on the decline at that point.
The expensive film was a huge box office bomb, supposedly costing $140 million and raking in $109 million. Perhaps everyone was too busy buying tickets for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets at the time.
The Black Cauldron
too scary for many children, featuring an Evil Horned King kidnapping a prophesying pig. The movie cost Disney over $21 million, but it grossed a pithy sum of $4 million in comparison on its opening weekend.
A fair number of fans are revisiting the PG-rated animated feature on Disney+, knowing that the movie is notorious for endangering Disney animation.
Hugo
Distributed by Paramount and directed by Martin Scorsese, Hugo (2011) told the story of Hugo Cabret, a boy living within a Paris train station's walls in the 1930s. The tale combines Hugo's interactions with an automaton and his fantasy sequences evoking the early film industry.
The movie was based on Brian Selznick's novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret and was inspired by French illusionist and film director Georges Méliès. Hugo grossed $73.8 million in the US and fared better internationally, but GK Films (which financed the film) still lost about $80 million on their over-budget film, which is estimated to have reached $180 million.
A Wrinkle In Time
Madeleine L'engle fans anxiously awaited Disney's take on A Wrinkle in Time, and some people were quite excited to see it. Unfortunately, the children's sci-fi work did not find overwhelming critical success, and it barely broke even at the box office.
The 2018 movie, directed by Ava DuVernay, was geared towards a younger audience and was criticized for removing the book's religious themes. It ended up costing $103 million and grossing about $132 million. While that is a net gain, the film's other expenses were exorbitant. On a positive note, Variety reports that "DuVernay became the first woman of color to direct a live-action film with a budget over $100 million."
How Do You Know
With its star-studded cast and rom-com appeal, some moviegoers had high hopes for How Do You Know (2010). Despite dropping Reese Witherspoon into a love triangle, the film was not a hit or a financial success.
Big-name actors led to a high price tag, so the movie cost about $120 million. Once it hit theaters, How Do You Know grossed less than $49 million internationally.
Gigli
It's Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in the midst of their Hollywood romance, but Gigli still flopped majorly. The 2003 film is a crime rom-com, a combination that does not always work (and didn't in this case).
Viewers gave it a 2.5 out of 10 rating on IMDb, and the box office was not too kind, either. Gigli had a $75.6 million budget and made just over $7 million in worldwide earnings.
