Lindsay Lohan has starred in some of the most successful and well-known films in the last two decades or so. Apparently, she has some flops under her belt too. Starring Lindsay Lohan — this was after her career peak in the 90s and early 2000s — the film focuses on a student who is abducted and brutally tortured. After her ordeal, she assumes another identity.
The film won Worst Picture, with Lohan herself picking up a few Razzies; among them Worst Actress and Worst Screen Couple. Not to mention, it lost a little over $2 million of the $12 million originally invested in it. Sometimes with child/teen stars, it’s better they make their money young, invest, and enjoy the funds.
Estimated loss: $2.3 million
47 Ronin (2013)
According to the Daily News in NYC, Keanu Reeves’ performance as Kai, a ronin (half-breed Samurai), could not have been less inspired. "47 Ronin" stars Hiroyuki Sanada, Jin Akanishi, Keanu Reeves, Kô Shibasaki, Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano. This film had everything going against it. Too much holiday box office competition opening on Christmas day, a suffocating budget as high as $225 million, and very little interest, apparently. Opening in Japan, box office totals were a disappointing $3 million dollars.
"47 Ronin" was directed by Carl Rinsch as his directorial debut. Universal distributed the film and several production companies contributed resources, time, and money. What we know is: critics didn’t like it, audiences didn’t show up to see it, and it lost a bundle. Worldwide, all told, it grossed $151.8 million, but it lost even more.
Estimated loss: $97-$150
Supernova (2000)
"Supernova" started out as a sci-fi B-movie way back in 1990. Ten years later, MGM’s financial albatross was produced by United Artists and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, Jack Sholder, and Walter Hill. Hill was officially credited as Director, although, at one point, he became so frustrated with MGM and the film’s progress that he quit and demanded his name be removed from the project.
"Supernova" takes place way off in the 22nd century. When the crew of the Nightingale 229 find their hurling ship getting sucked into an enormous dying star (a supernova event) and must save themselves from certain annihilation. In the meantime, poor acting, gratuitous sex scenes, and humor heavily weighted “down there” dominate. Don’t take the kids. All told, Supernova lost $118 million, adjusted for inflation. The ten-year project cost $90 million to make, and it only brought in $14.8 million during its box office showing.
Estimated loss: $83 million
Precious Cargo (2016)
When unknown Canadian director, Max Adams, approached Bruce Willis to perform in his 2016 action film, "Precious Cargo," Willis thought little about the matter and joined the production. The film was released on April 22, 2016, and was centered around Willis' character convincing a crime group to steal $30 million in diamonds from another crime group, in exchange for a woman.
The film was heavily berated on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving a 0% rating. Critics called it a rip-off, a lazy and sloppy film, and even a contender for the blandest heist film of all time. One reviewer went as far as to call the movie “An absolute waste of time and an insult to action cinema.” That definitely explains how it only made about half a million dollars at the box office despite its budget of $10.5 million.
Estimated loss: $10 million
The Promise (2016)
Taking place during the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and the Armenian Genocide, "The Promise" is a sweeping historical epic with a dramatic love story. Incidentally, the U.S., also, has not formally acknowledged the genocide. So, here’s another reason the film flopped, but also the reason it was made. In fact, getting the story out was a personal quest for the late Kirk Kerkorian. After his death in 2015, the production company he owned became Survival Pictures. "The Promise" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016, and negative political feedback fed by Turkish/American ‘anti’ propaganda negatively affected the critical reception.
Celebrated director Terry George was joined by a talented lineup of actors. The production budget was $90 million. It brought in a paltry $10.5 at the box office. And it lost, a lot. Adjusted for inflation, it squandered about $96-$104 million dollars.