box office flops 2022

All the biggest box office film flops of 2022 that Hollywood may never recover from

It’s not looking good for Margot Robbie


Unsurprisingly, 2022 was the year of Top Gun: Maverick. The most traditionally pleasing, fun and sexy  Hollywood film made in ages, the sequel secured over a billion pounds at the global box office in 14 weeks, more than 30 years after the original film was released.

But, enough about the success of Miles Teller taking his top off. Because there’s nothing quite as entertaining as the big budget films that flopped. From Disney to Warner, both production companies have misjudged audience’s appetites for cartoon, prequels and sequels this year. So, in no particular order, these are the top ten films that flopped the hardest in 2022:

Babylon

This could be a bit harsh and pre-emptive because Babylon isn’t technically released in the UK until January 6. But in the US, Damien Chazelle’s new film about Hollywood itself (we’ve really had enough of those) took only £2.9million over Christmas weekend in the US but cost a massive £91 million to make.

Although the film also stars Brad Pitt and Tobey Maguire, Babylon is the latest film in what’s now being dubbed Margot Robbie’s flop era after her last five films have had questionable viewership figures. Thoughts and prayers for a more successful 2023.

Amsterdam

Back in October, David O Russell released Margot’s second biggest flop of the year alongside a huge cast including Christian Bale, Chris Rock, and John David Washington. Set in ’30s Netherlands, Amsterdam follows three friends who witness an history-altering murder. But the true crime is that the film barely earned back £25million of its £75million budget.

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

Between Johnny Depp’s libel trial with Amber Heard, J.K Rowling’s increasingly controversial Tweets and Ezra Miller’s numerous arrests, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore really didn’t stand a chance. The prequel is the lowest earning Harry Potter of all time. Yet, Warner are reportedly putting out two more films from the Fantastic Beasts franchise. When. Will. It. End?

Death on the Nile

2022 was the year we all collectively turned round and said enough is enough with the Agatha Christie-esque murder mysteries— unless Benoit Blanc is involved. While films like Glass Onion: Knives Out have proven to be Netflix hits, the sequel to Orient Express, Death on the Nile, seriously flopped and achieved less than half of the original films box office figures. But, obv, Disney is still making another one, A Haunting in Venice, slated for September 2023.

Lightyear

How a cartoon can cost £165million to make goes straight over my head. But the Toy Story spin off Lightyear definitely flopped this summer after taking only £42million on its opening weekend compared to the massive £100 million made by Toy Story 4 back in 2019. Clearly Buzz doesn’t have the main character energy Barbie does. Soz.

DC’s League of Super-Pets

The Guardian, aptly, called DC’s League of Super-Pets “a dog’s dinner”. Despite having super-heroes, puppies, Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, and John Krasinski, the film was a mess. Its villain was a seriously odd hairless guinea pig for christ’s sake.

Internationally, it took £15million on opening weekend and £19 million in the US after costing £74million to make. Not even the school summer holidays could save the box office numbers.

Black Adam

After the disaster that was DC’s League of Super-Pets, Dwayne Johnson really could have done with a win this Autumn. Instead, he stuck with a project within the DC Universe and took another L with Black Adam, which is yet to break even at the box office after costing £200million to make.

Warner, predictably, still green-lighted a sequel but, unfortunately for them, Dwayne was done with his flop era and unfollowed the studio and the official Black Adam account on Instagram. He later released a statement confirming his involvement with the franchise was over. Savage.

Bros

“Straight people, especially in certain parts of the country, just didn’t show up for Bros,” was director Billy Eichner’s comment after his gay romcom Bros flopped by taking £3.5million at the US box office on opening weekend in August. “That’s disappointing but it is what it is,” he claimed on Twitter.

She Said

The story of MeToo and Harvey Weinstein’s downfall at the hands of New York Times journalists Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor ate itself when it became part of the Hollywood system through the Brad Pitt-produced film adaptation She Said. Starring Carey Mulligan and Soe Kazan, She Said was a fundamentally resonant and stirring film. But, at the box office, it brought in only £8.5million after spending a £26 million.

Weinstein, who days later was found guilty of rape in LA, allowed his PR team to release a gloating statement about the failure: “The film She Said not performing at the box office isn’t a surprise,” they said. “Moviegoers want to be entertained, especially now…Harvey, the film producer, and distributor, would have known that.”

Strange World

Another cartoon that flopped into oblivion in 2022 was Disney’s Strange World, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Lucy Liu and Dennis Quaid. This was, notably, Disney’s second cartoon tank of the year after Lightyear, with the film taking only £40million after securing a £150million budget. Oops.

Featured image credit via Paramount, Warner Bros and 20th Century Studios 

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