The Biggest Box Office Bombs of the Last Decade

The Biggest Box Office Bombs of the Last Decade:
By Darrin Jones / December 18

Catwoman (2004)

Patience Phillips -- seriously, what is up with these names -- is a timid woman afraid to take risks. Her life takes a turn for the extraordinary when she stumbles upon a corporate conspiracy to sell a tainted product and is killed for it. But she springs back from death with the powers of a cat...for some reason, and decides to take on the mantle of the anti-hero Catwoman...for some reason. With her new found powers, she sets out to fix all the troubles that have arisen in her life and cause a little trouble herself.

Why did it bomb? It was just so silly.
There was nothing to take serious in this moive. The Catwoman in the film had very little in common with the original comic book character the movie was supposedly named after. (Yes we’re back to comic books.) The effects were laughable, the acting was camp central and the forced romantic subplot was handled clumsier then in Daredevil. Daredevil people! It has since risen to the ranks of “so bad it’s funny” but at the time the general moviegoing public was throwing a hissy fit. Well into opening week, it was clear that ticket sales would amount to little more then kitty litter. But what can you expect when you only scratch the surface of such a complex character. There, I’m all out of cat puns.



How bad did it bomb? It lost $65,087,559
It needed more Batman.
 
Gigli (2003)

Larry Gigli -- now they are purposely screwing with us -- is a mob enforcer with an out-of-control boss. When he's hired to kidnap the mentally handicapped younger brother of a federal prosecutor, things take a turn for the romantic and comedic. Now Larry has to keep his eye on the hostage while falling in love with an unavailable woman who's been hired to keep an eye on him. To make matters worse, tension is growing in the ranks and the mob might turn on the two at any moment.

Why did it bomb? It’s a romantic comedy without any romance or comedy.
It’s strange, this is actually the flick that supposedly started the relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Too bad it didn’t translate to the big screen. As with most romantic comedies, this movie suffers from an obvious message of “woman good and smart, men bad and stupid” which turned several people off right from the get-go. Factor in that these...uh, “attractive,” people don’t really have any chemistry to draw the audience and that the jokes range from weak to none existent and you come up with a movie that no one can enjoy. But on the plus side, it did give us some hilarious lines when taken out of context.



How bad did it bomb? It lost $84,310,564
Maybe it would’ve worked better on Thanksgiving?


The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002)

In the future, the human race has taken up residence on the moon. Pluto Nash -- this one doesn't count, he's from the future they all have whacky names -- is an ex-criminal turn nightclub owner trying to stay legit. But when a local gangster tries to buy Nash's club and doesn''t take "no" for an answer, Nash will be forced to fallback into his old bad habits if he wants to stay alive. Nash will have to outsmart the gangsters and discover the nefarious plans that the moon's mysterious crime boss has in store for him.

Why did it bomb? Wow...it’s just bad. It’s just really bad.
I don’t quite know what category this movie even falls into. Is it an unfunny comedy? Is it a boring action movie? Is it a completely phony sci-fi flick? It’s truly a bizarre mystery. The film features several veterans of comedy including Eddie Murphy as the title character but there just isn’t any energy there. Not to mention sets and effects that look like they might’ve been impressive in the 80’s but couldn’t even be called “quaint” in the year it was produced. That, and the complete lack of sense is only compounded by a ridiculously complex story with a baffling twist ending that seems like it’s right out of M Night Shyamalan’s playbook. The Adventures of Pluto Nash is a complete lunar loser that everyone associated with it is more then happy to forget.



How bad did it bomb? It lost $145,877,124
That was the worst idea for a sequel to Beverly Hills Cop ever!

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)

A mysterious invading alien force crash lands on Earth wiping out everything in their path. Now only a small population of humanity is left to fight back the intangible foes. But will the ultimate defeat of these creatures be through man’s technological prowess or through harnessing something far more spiritual?

Why did it bomb? It’s dull. Pretty, but dull.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was a technological marvel that pushed computer generated storytelling even further. But what it didn’t bother innovating was telling an entertaining story with interesting characters. The movie is bogged down with too many characters lacking any form of personality and hardly speaking in more then a monotone voice. With an all CG cast engaging in a plot far removed from our present taking place in barren locations while philosophizing on matters of the metaphysical, the movie suffers from a complete lack of humanity. And what little this fantasy has to say is quickly missed by a drowsy audience.



How bad did it bomb? It lost $107,454,858
Next time add more Cloud and Sephiroth battles.

Battlefield Earth (2000)

Earth has been taken over by an alien race -- wow, Earth seems to be on every alien’s to-do list. Humans have regressed back into a primitive state while their otherworldly overlords force them into never ending manual labor. When a few of the alien conquerors let their personal greed get the best of them, they educate one of the primitive humans teaching him how to use their machines in hopes of secretly mining a large deposit of gold behind their superiors’ backs. This will prove to be the invaders undoing as the reeducated human conspires to rid Earth of their alien foes once and for all.

Why did it bomb? Out of this world goofy acting.
This movie is an interstellar hodgepodge of bad decisions. From the constant use of Dutch Angles, to the laughable makeup effects, to the just plain hammy acting, this movie is in the top percentile several lists naming it among the worst films ever made. The plot is clumsy and laughable on the face of it. It’s ripe with so-called satire and plot-holes all climaxing in a slow-motion fueled special effects disaster. Although, seeing John Travolta crank his campiness dial all the way to 11 as the dreadlocks wearing 7 foot tall alien, Terl, is just priceless. Earth will miss you Mr. Travolta.



How bad did it bomb? It lost $98,888,497
How can you have a movie with John Travolta and not let him do the hustle?

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