"Heaven's Gate," 1980
<strong>Cost</strong>: $44 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong> $3.4 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $40.6 million<br>
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Director Michael Cimino had all sorts of cachet following his Oscar-winning work on "The Deer Hunter." His next feature? This costly mess, which is still synonymous with Hollywood hubris gone mad, 32 years after its release. Like "Cutthroat Island" did with Carolco, this film eventually led studio United Artists to shutter its doors.
"Ishtar," 1987
<strong>Cost</strong>: $55 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $14.3 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $40.7 million<br>
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The road to ruin. The Warren Beatty and Dustin Hoffman comedy (from director Elaine May) was rife with post-production woes, which led to bad pre-release buzz. <a href="http://www.filmlinc.com/fcm/ja06/elainemay.htm" target="_hplink">As Mike Nichols</a>, May's former comedy partner, said: "['Ishtar'] is the prime example that I know of in Hollywood of studio suicide."
"Cutthroat Island," 1995
<strong>Cost</strong>: $115 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $18.5 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $96.5 million<br>
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The movie that sunk (sorry) both Renny Harlin's directing career and production company Carolco, though who could be surprised? Even Harlin and star Geena Davis knew "Cutthroat Island" -- about a female pirate -- was bad news from the start. "We begged to be let go. We begged that we didn't have to make this movie," <a href="http://www.kcrw.com/etc/programs/tb/tb110912action_director_renn" target="_hplink">he told KCRW last year</a>. "We felt that a pirate movie with a female lead was suicidal, but we were contractually obligated."
"The 13th Warrior," 1999
<strong>Cost</strong>: $160 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $61.9 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $98.1 million<br>
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Directed by John McTiernan ("Die Hard") and eventually re-cut by author Michael Crichton (who wrote "Eaters of the Dead," which the film was based on), "The 13th Warrior" was another career-altering bust. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/news/wenn/2003-11-20#celeb8" target="_hplink">The film left such a sour taste in the mouth of co-star Omar Sharif that he retired from acting for four years</a>.
"Battlefield Earth," 2000
<strong>Cost</strong>: $103 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $29.7 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $73.3 million<br>
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Based on the book by L. Ron Hubbard, "Battlefield Earth" was one of the worst-reviewed films ever. Perhaps star John Travolta would have had better luck bringing "Dianetics" to the big screen?
"Town & Country," 2001
<strong>Cost</strong>: $105 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $10.3 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $94.7<br>
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Thanks to director and star Warren Beatty's meticulous nature, this romantic comedy took three years and millions of dollars to produce. When it was finally released in 2001, audiences didn't care: "Town & Country" was an all-time bust and marks the last time Beatty appeared onscreen.
"Pluto Nash," 2002
<strong>Cost</strong>: $120 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $7.1 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $112.9 million<br>
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From "Holy Man" to "Showtime" to "Meet Dave" to the recent release "A Thousand Words," Eddie Murphy is dependable for one thing: box-office washouts. "Pluto Nash" was his most notorious, a $100 million space "comedy" that couldn't even gross $5 million <em>total</em> at the domestic box office.
"Gigli," 2003
<strong>Cost</strong>: $74 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $7.2 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $66.8 million<br>
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Jennifer Lopez was right: It <em>was</em> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZyZbn5baJk" target="_hplink">"turkey time."</a>
"The Alamo," 2004
<strong>Cost</strong>: $145 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $25.8 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $119.2 million<br>
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Forget "The Alamo."
"How Do You Know," 2010
<strong>Cost</strong>: $120 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $48.6 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $71.4 million<br>
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How do you know this James L. Brooks romcom was doomed for disaster from the start? Look at the budget, which spiraled out of control after reshoots.
"Mars Needs Moms," 2011
<strong>Cost</strong>: $175 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $38.9 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $136.1 million<br>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley" target="_hplink">Lost in the uncanny valley</a>. The Robert Zemeckis-produced motion-capture spectacle, "Mars Needs Moms," was such a costly mistake, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/disney-kills-robert-zemeckis-yellow-167415" target="_hplink">Disney canceled the director's plans to remake "Yellow Submarine" in a similar fashion</a>.
"Green Lantern," 2011
<strong>Cost</strong>: $325 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $219.9 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $105.1 million<br>
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Despite over $100 million in domestic grosses, "Green Lantern" wound up being a write-off for Warner Bros. Worse, any hope to turn this fringe comic character into a franchise like "Iron Man" -- one that could produce income for the studio for years to come -- was lost. Hal Jordan wasn't kidding about that whole "blackest night" thing.
"John Carter," 2012
<strong>Cost</strong>: $375 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $282.7 million<br>
<strong>Total losses</strong>: $92.3 million<br>
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John Carter of flops. The costly live-action debut from Pixar director Andrew Stanton <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/john-carter-cost-disney-millions-301704">reportedly lost Disney $120 million</a>, this despite grossing almost $300 million worldwide.
"Battleship," 2012
<strong>Cost</strong>: $200-210 million<br>
<strong>Worldwide gross</strong>: $300 million<br>
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"Battleship" earned $300 million worldwide, but because of high costs, <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/battleship-universal-box-office-taylor-kitsch-327972">the film reportedly lost Universal parent company NBC $150 million</a>.
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The Huffington Post | By Christopher Rosen Posted: 03/21/2012 3:31 pm Updated: 03/22/2012 12:38 pm