Top 10 Box Office Flops Worth Watching on HBO Max

Box office earnings often influence our perception of a film’s success, yet they don’t always reflect its quality. Sometimes, a film fails to reach a wide audience or exceeds its production budget, leading to financial disappointment. Consequently, the label “box office flop” can be misleading.

Typically, a movie needs to generate 2.5 times its production budget to break even. Falling short of this benchmark often results in a film being labeled a flop. However, the financial landscape is more complex when accounting for marketing expenses, licensing deals, and tax considerations. While it’s challenging to pinpoint a studio’s criteria for a flop, some films that don’t meet the “2.5” rule are still celebrated for their artistic merit.

Take, for instance, “One Battle After Another,” which, despite earning 13 Oscar nominations, is regarded as a box office disappointment. The film’s substantial budget, reportedly between $130 million and $175 million, contributed to this perception. With a worldwide gross of $208 million, it falls short of breaking even by industry standards.

It may have racked up 13 Oscar nominations, but “One Battle After Another” is still widely considered a box office flop. That’s largely due to its gargantuan budget, which has been reported as $130 million, although other estimates have it as high as $175 million. Ultimately, the film only brought in $208 million in theaters, so no matter which budget you go with, it is still firmly in flop territory.

However, this is an instance where Warner Bros. is probably fine taking a wash on a film’s profitability. With so many awards, even outside of the Oscars, “One Battle After Another” is destined to be one of those films that defines 2025. It’s an incredibly timely story of how revolutionaries are needed during trying times. A young girl, Willa (Chase Infiniti), is targeted by Colonel Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who’s trying to join a white supremacist organization and needs to eliminate her on the off chance that she’s his daughter. It’s a race against time as Willa’s father, Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), tries to find her.

It’s one of the best films of Paul Thomas Anderson’s career, and with works like “There Will Be Blood” and “The Master” in his filmography, that’s really saying something. Anderson has consistently proven he delivers outstanding stories, so he’s earned the right to burn through over $100 million to deliver something that’ll stand the test of time.

The untold truth of “MacGruber” is that it was originally supposed to be a single sketch featured on “Saturday Night Live.” There weren’t really plans to make the titular character, played by Will Forte, a recurring presence. But audiences loved the “MacGyver” parody, which sees MacGruber always trying to dismantle a bomb, but he gets distracted by some unimportant matter, and the bomb detonates.

It doesn’t exactly sound like the kind of gimmick that would lend itself to a feature-length film, but you probably could’ve said the same thing about “Wayne’s World.” The “MacGruber” movie is absolutely hilarious, parodying typical action flick clichés with the lead role initially retiring from a life of violence only to be pulled back into it when his wife’s killer, Dieter Von Cunth (Val Kilmer), acquires a nuclear warhead and threatens the world.

Sadly, audiences just weren’t ready to laugh this hard in 2010. “MacGruber” had a budget of $10 million yet grossed just over $9 million. Director Jorma Taccone honestly deserves a lot better, as his follow-up film, the equally hilarious “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping,” similarly crated with only a $9.6 million haul against a budget of around $20 million. Both films have since gone on to develop cult followings, so we just need to figure out a way to get people to realize how funny Taccone’s films are while they’re still in theaters.

There’s no single “right” way to get a movie made. Inspiration can come from anywhere, and in the case of “Zola,” it came in the form of a raucous Twitter thread from an exotic dancer, Zola. She detailed a wild time she once had with a fellow dancer named Jessica as the two traveled to Florida, complete with sex and murder. It’s the kind of story that would make for a perfect film, and that’s precisely what what happened.

It’s a wild dark comedy. You might hear the phrase “movie based on a Twitter thread” and shudder at the thought of what entertainment has come to. But “Zola” won over critics, garnering an 88% rating from them on Rotten Tomatoes. It got strong buzz out of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, which took place in late January to early February. Sadly. COVID-19 would shut down theaters for much of the rest of the year, preventing the film from capitalizing on the strong word of mouth.

“Zola” finally dropped in theaters in June 2021. It was only made for $5 million and wound up grossing just about the same figure – $4.9 million. There was still limited seating in theaters around that time, so perhaps under better circumstances, it could’ve made a lot more. But luckily, you can still enjoy it now from the comfort and safety of your home.

As mentioned previously, 2021 was a rough year for movies. COVID-19 was still ravaging the world, and many theaters remained closed, especially toward the beginning of the year. Toward the end of 2020, Warner Bros. announced its release strategy for the forthcoming year. The studio would still release its slate of films in theaters where possible, but they would also be available on HBO Max on the same day as the theatrical release so that people could watch them at home if they were unable to head to a cinema. The plan was necessary at the time, but it really took a dent out of many movies’ box office hauls, including “The Suicide Squad.”

Up until that point, the DC Extended Universe was struggling in terms of critical reception. But “The Suicide Squad” was a major exception, with many critics praising the film. The film is only tangentially related to 2016’s “Suicide Squad” with a few returning characters, but it’s largely its own story. This time, a squad travels to Corto Maltese to cover up American ties to a horrific project, complete with bloody mayhem courtesy of characters like Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie) and King Shark (Sylvester Stallone).

“The Suicide Squad” had a typical superhero budget of $185 million. But due to the dual release, it only made $168 million in theaters. Still, it’s a great film and changed the course of DC movies as a whole. James Gunn would soon become co-president of DC Studios alongside Peter Safran, and he’d go on to make a more family-friendly superhero flick with 2025’s “Superman.”

Following the massive success of “Parasite,” which took home Best Picture at the Academy Awards, it’s safe to say filmmaker Bong Joon Ho had a blank check to do whatever he wanted. For his follow-up, he chose to adapt the novel “Mickey7” into a hilarious yet thought-provoking satire on the state of capitalism. Set in the far off future, “Mickey 17” sees Mickey (Robert Pattinson) sign up for a program to travel to another planet as an “expendable” employee. He does the most dangerous jobs, and if a version of him dies, a clone gets produced. But things go haywire when two of these clones meet.

“Mickey 17” boasted a budget of $118 million. All that money is on the screen, as the film created alien worlds, bizarre creatures, and multiple Robert Pattinsons all at once. But the film only brought in $133 million globally. It’s a far cry from what Bong’s previous film did; “Parasite” only cost $11 million to make yet made over $250 million, likely bolstered by its award season prospects.

The great thing about making a Best Picture winner (and winning Best Director to boot) is that a single box office flop doesn’t do much to tarnish one’s prospects. Bong’s next project is an animated feature film, and it’s great to see that it’s not always about box office returns when it comes to ensuring great filmmakers get a chance to make new art.

Luca Guadagnino had a stellar 2024 with his erotic tennis film “Challengers,” a dynamic tale all the way up to its stunning ending. Made on a budget of $55 million, “Challengers” would go on to gross $96 million. It doesn’t quite reach the 2.5 threshold that films typically need to make to be considered successes, but it’s far more than what the other 2024 Guadagnino film, “Queer,” made.

You’d be forgiven for having “Queer” fly completely under the radar for you. It didn’t receive nearly the amount of hype “Challengers” did, even though it’s an equally impressive feat. It follows American expatriate William Lee (Daniel Craig), who resides in Mexico City, who falls in love with a younger man. Critics praised the film, and the National Board of Review even listed it among its 10 best films of 2024.

“Queer” was made on a similar budget to “Challengers.” It cost €48 million to make, which translates to about $56 million USD. But even Guadagnino riding the high of “Challengers” couldn’t get butts in seats, as it only grossed $7 million at the box office.

“Twin Peaks” changed television, and no one noticed. The surrealist psychological mystery show captured the attention of the nation, as viewers were gripped by the death of Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee) and how there always seemed to be something sinister lurking in the otherwise idyllic town of Twin Peaks. The show ended after two seasons, and in 1992, director David Lynch put out the prequel movie “Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.”

Newcomers to the franchise’s aesthetic may have been thrown for a loop, but for fans of the show, it’s all they could’ve wanted from a feature-length film that focuses on Laura’s final days alive. A movie based on a hit TV show sounds like it should’ve been a slam dunk, but that didn’t exactly happen. Made on a budget of $10 million, “Fire Walk With Me” would only make $4 million during its theatrical run.

Despite “Twin Peaks” garnering over 34 million viewers for its first episode, viewership declined. Only the most loyal of Lynch fans made the trek to theaters, and “Fire Walk With Me” was fairly divisive at the time. Fortunately, critics have gained a greater appreciation for the film in the years since it came out, and “Twin Peaks” was also briefly revived by Showtime.

“A Most Violent Year” might stand in the shadows of crime thrillers like “Scarface,” but taken on its own merits, it’s a truly engrossing film that has gone largely ignored by the zeitgeist. The movie sees Oscar Isaac as Abel Morales, an immigrant who owns an oil company and tries to do everything by the books in a city (New York City, to be exact) that feels increasingly corrupt. The year is 1981, and Abel’s sensibilities no longer work in a world where every person and institution seems designed to swindle him.

Despite great turns from the aforementioned Isaac, as well as Jessica Chastain, Albert Brooks, and David Oyelowo, people didn’t pay too much mind to the film. It cost $20 million to make but only brought in $12 million in theaters when it came out in 2014. The bulk of that came from international audiences, as the United States only contributed about $5.7 million to its haul.

“A Most Violent Year” had to contend with major blockbusters, like “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” and “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” for audiences’ attention. But the film deserves more than being left in the proverbial bargain bin of HBO Max.

“Mad Max: Fury Road” maintains its status as one of the best action movies of all time. It’s a high-octane thrill ride that’s basically just one long car chase; but with George Miller’s expert direction, there’s never a dull moment. It was even nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, which is an impressive feat for an action movie. It took nearly a decade for another “Mad Max” installment, “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga,” to come out in theaters. But for some reason, it received a more muted response.

The film shows how Furiosa (Anya Taylor-Joy) wound up in the service of Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme) while getting revenge on the maniacal Dementus (Chris Hemsworth). It has all the epic action one would expect from Miller, yet “Furiosa” bombed at the box office. It barely made back its budget of $168 million with a global haul of $174 million. It’s a far cry from the $379 million that “Fury Road” took in.

Many films, even those based on pre-existing intellectual property, struggled in 2024. “Joker: Folie à Deux” was another noteworthy bomb after the $1 billion take of 2019’s “Joker.” But unlike that film, “Furiosa” actually had good reviews, so you can never tell how audiences will feel at a given time.

Guillermo del Toro is a legendary filmmaker these days. He won the Oscar for Best Director for “The Shape of Water,” and many of his movies earn widespread acclaim, from “Hellboy” to “Frankenstein.” But if you want to go back to where it all began, you owe it to yourself to check out his feature-length directorial debut, “Cronos,” which can be streamed on HBO Max.

It’s a quintessential del Toro horror film, as an elderly antique dealer, Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi), becomes victim to a strange device that latches onto his hand. He suddenly regains his youth and vigor, but it comes at the cost of a need to consume blood to retain its effects. It’s a different kind of vampire story and fits perfectly within del Toro’s wheelhouse of exploring a different side of monsters than what general audiences are used to.

The film cost $2 million to make, which is quite a lot for a debut feature. With not much in the way of a theatrical run, “Cronos” has only made over $600,000 at the box office. But it served as a calling card for del Toro, who would go on to do even greater things. “Cronos” even joined the Criterion Collection as a testament to its artistry. It goes to show that box office isn’t everything, and that sometimes, it just takes a few decades for people to realize what an incredible piece of art something is. And the best part is that you can watch “Cronos” and the rest of these films directly on HBO Max.