Since the popularization of superhero movies in Hollywood in the late 1970s, many studios have distributed various Marvel and DC films that have majorly bombed at the box office. Before the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which saw superhero cinema become a mainstay in franchise filmmaking, there were plenty of attempts at creating the next big superhero franchise based on Marvel and DC properties. Some of the more successful ones include Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films and 20th Century Fox's X-Men series.
Similarly, DC films saw success in the form of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy and Richard Donner's earlier Superman films, which catalyzed many failed superhero movie attempts. It's no surprise that not every movie in the genre can be a critical or financial hit, but only a few can truly be considered bombs. Many of these films not only ruined any chance at further sequels but, in some cases, hurt that character's odds of appearing again in live-action altogether.
10 Green Lantern - 2011
One of the biggest box office flops based on a DC property that all but kickstarted the rebooted DCEU is 2011's Green Lantern. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and starred Ryan Reynolds as the titular DC superhero. Released in June 2011, the film was not only critically panned but became one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. Due to the intention for Green Lantern to start an interconnected DC universe, Warner Bros. provided Campbell with a whopping budget of $200 million. This budget, combined with the incredibly poor critical reception of the film largely contributed to Green Lantern flopping at the box office.
This incredibly high budget arguably set the movie up to fail from the beginning, something evident in Green Lantern's worldwide box office total. As of the end of its theatrical run, Green Lantern earned a total of $220 million, outgrossing its budget by only $20 million. While this could be seen as profit, Green Lantern failed to break even due to the high marketing/distribution costs that accompany tentpole superhero films. As a result, Warner Bros. rebooted the DC universe again only two years later with Man of Steel, leading to Green Lantern's name being etched in history as a box office flop of massive proportions.
9 Superman IV: The Quest For Peace - 1987
Another box office failure based on a DC property similarly saw the end of the Superman film franchise begun by Richard Donner in 1978: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. This was the fourth film in the Superman film series, starring Christopher Reeve as the titular DC Comics hero and directed by Sidney J. Furie. The film received much more negative reviews than the first two installments in the series due to the cheaper production budget leading to poor effects, the campiness of the tone and script, and the seeming disinterest of the film's lead actors.
Produced on a budget of $17 million, the film only grossed around $15.5 million domestically. This again likely meant that the film did not break even, resulting in a loss for the film that saw Superman sidelined as a core cinematic character until 2006's Superman Returns. Outside of the excitement for Reeves' Superman films dwindling that began with Superman III, the very negative critical reaction of Superman IV was likely the sole reason for its less-than-stellar box office performance.
8 Howard The Duck - 1986
Marvel Comics' first appearance on this list of the biggest superhero box office flops comes in the form of 1986's Howard the Duck. The film was directed by Willard Huyck and based on the obscure Marvel Comics character of the same name. Due to contractual obligations, the film underwent multiple production issues, including a switch from animated to live-action. Since its release, Howard the Duck has been considered one of the worst films ever made, resulting in a cult following as a result. The film’s focus on an obscure character and the terrible reviews arguably were the main reasons behind Howard the Duck’s bad box office run.
Howard the Duck was produced on an estimated budget of $30-$37 million and grossed a worldwide total of $38 million. This means that the best-case scenario for the film was an $8 million "profit" which again was likely inconsequential based on the other costs besides the production of a Hollywood film. In the worst-case scenario, Howard the Duck faced a loss of $1 million, which was undoubtedly higher due to the aforementioned marketing costs. Regardless of which way the box office results swing, it is clear that Howard the Duck was an undisputed box office failure.
7 Elektra - 2005
Similar to Howard the Duck, Elektra has an unclear, estimated budget of $43-$65 million. The film, released in 2005, starred Jennifer Garner in the titular role and was a spin-off from 2003's Daredevil. Elektra was directed by Rob Bowman and was critically slated upon its release for its poor script and story. This negative reaction and the lesser-known nature of Elektra as a character likely caused the poor box office that the film received upon its release.
In of the box office results in question, the film earned a total worldwide haul of $57 million. This places Elektra's profit and loss anywhere between a $14 million "profit" to an $8 million loss. This classifies Elektra as a certified box office failure regardless of its budget, as a common rule of thumb is that a film needs to earn at least two times its production budget to for marketing and distribution.
6 Steel - 1997
Steel was released in 1997, written and directed by Kenneth Johnson. The film follows the titular DC superhero, played by Shaquille O'Neal. Due to the comic book character's nature as a ing character of Superman, original antagonists and protagonists needed to be created for the film. This led to a poor critical reaction, which panned the story, characters, performances, and the "cheesy" nature of the movie and led to a substandard box office performance.
Produced on a budget of $16 million, Steel became one of the most notorious box office bombs of all time based on a DC character. The film ended its theatrical run earning a measly $1.7 million, drastically underperforming in comparison to its production budget. After taking into the other costs of releasing a film, Steel's box office bomb reputation is more than justified.
5 Catwoman - 2004
Another failed early-2000s DC movie came in the form of Catwoman. Catwoman is very loosely based on the DC character of the same name, starring Halle Berry in the titular role. Similar to Howard the Duck, Catwoman is notoriously regarded as one of the worst films ever made. The film was panned for its performances, story, action, dialogue, pacing, and costume design. This was all compounded by the almost laughably poor comic book accuracy, with the film changing many aspects of Catwoman's character from DC Comics.
Amazing, Catwoman cost $100 million to produce. The film went on to earn around $82 million worldwide, resulting in a loss of $18 million, not ing for wider marketing and distribution costs. Not only does this mean Catwoman is part of the pantheon of the worst comic book movies of all time, but also one of the biggest box office flops of the genre. Both of these go hand in hand, with the film's poor reputation resulting in the below-par box office performance.
4 The New Mutants - 2020
The New Mutants is an interesting case study. The film is one of the few projects left over from 20th Century Fox's X-Men franchise, which was left for Disney to release after the latter company acquired the former. Due to the film's lack of connection to the MCU and inclusion in a franchise that no longer existed, The New Mutants was left in the dark and bombed at the box office as a result. Directed by Josh Boone, the film was released in 2020 as the final X-Men film and focuses on the younger mutant characters that make up the titular team.
The New Mutants was produced on an estimated budget of around $67-$80 million. Due to the aforementioned reasons, and the film's release during the COVID-19 pandemic, the film earned a worldwide total of around $49 million, resulting in an $18-$21 million loss. While other superhero movies bombed at the box office during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as The Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman 1984, both of those movies performed well on streaming services, something that cannot be said for The New Mutants.
3 Supergirl - 1984
A DC film project that stemmed from the success of Superman and Superman II, Supergirl was released in 1984. The film was directed by Jeannot Szwarc and starred Helen Slater as the main character. Similar to Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Supergirl bombed at the box office. This was likely due to the poor reviews the film received, with critics criticizing the film's bad visual effects and the overly campy performances from the film's core cast.
The film was produced on a budget of $35 million and earned a worldwide total of just over $14 million. This resulted in a loss of over $20 million when based purely on production costs. These losses were likely a result of the waning interest in the Superman franchise and the negative reaction from audiences and critics alike that Supergirl received.
2 Punisher: War Zone - 2008
Another Marvel entry on the list of biggest box office flops is Punisher: War Zone. The film was released in 2008 as a reboot of 2004's The Punisher, but it failed to capture the original movie's magic. Punisher: War Zone stars Ray Stevenson as the titular Marvel antihero and was directed by Lexi Alexander. Released in 2008 to negative reception, Punisher: War Zone failed at the box office.
Grossing just over $10 million on a $35 million budget, the film was a major box office bomb. This likely resulted from the poor critical reaction, but also the fact that it is a reboot of 2004's The Punisher. The original film did not perform well at the box office as is, meaning a reboot only four years later was always destined to fail. Similarly, 2008 was the year in which Iron Man was released to critical acclaim, which likely caused less interest in other Marvel properties like The Punisher.
1 Jonah Hex - 2010
The final DC film on this list and the biggest box office bomb of all time from the superhero genre is Jonah Hex. Jonah Hex was released in 2010, directed by Jimmy Hayward in his live-action directorial debut. Josh Brolin stars the Jonah Hex, the DC bounty hunter and antihero. Similar to the other entries on this list, Jonah Hex received negative reviews and focused on a largely unknown DC character, which resulted in a major failure at the box office.
Jonah Hex pulled in a worldwide total of around $10 million, which was dwarfed massively by its production budget of $47 million. This resulted in a $37 million loss for the film, again not ing for distribution and marketing costs that likely edged the film's total cost to around $100 million. This makes Jonah Hex the biggest superhero movie flop of all time, edging out the other Marvel and DC films that also capitulated at the box office.
