Our List of Box Office Bombs For 2021
In 2021, a slew of amazing films were released, yet some of the most anticipated turned out to be disappointments. Despite having star performers, outstanding directors, and powerful studio promotions, many top-tier films grossed significantly less than their budgets this year. These films demonstrate that no matter how good a film is, it can still fail if audiences don’t show up to see it, a feat that is much more difficult in today’s media environment.
A box office bomb is caused by a number of factors, including how well a film is promoted, its attraction to moviegoers, and the budget of the film. While advertising efforts appear to be fairly consistent, and audience interest in a film is always subjective, a new issue has emerged to further complicate box office success: accessibility. With the rise in popularity of streaming services, the traditional strategy of relying on cinemas for the majority of a film’s revenue is becoming obsolete. Though films like Dune suggest that theaters may still be feasible, audiences’ motivation to visit them is exceedingly low, especially in large-scale situations like public health crises. Because the audience is smaller, profits are limited, which encourages box office flops.
West Side Story
Steven Spielberg directed and co-produced West Side Story, a 2021 American musical romantic drama film based on a screenplay by Tony Kushner. It’s the second feature-length version of the same-named 1957 theatrical musical. It stars Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno, with Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, and Rita Moreno in supporting parts.
Along with Kushner, Moreno, who appeared in the 1961 film adaptation, served as an executive producer. The film combines Leonard Bernstein’s music and Stephen Sondheim’s lyrics.
Despite the fact that Steven Spielberg directed the second film adaption of the 1957 musical West Side Story, it still lost 63.2 million of its $100 million budget. Unfortunately, the film’s opening weekend fell on the same weekend as the rise of the Omicron variety of Covid-19, severely restricting cinema attendance. However, the film’s proximity to Spider-Man: No Way Home may have deterred potential audiences. West Side Story was praised by critics for building on many of the previous adaptation’s already excellent standards, however not much was done to improve the film’s Puerto Rican representation; viewers were likewise enthusiastic about the picture. Overall, West Side Story’s commercial triumph was destroyed by terrible timing.
The Last Duel
The Last Duel is a 2021 epic historical drama film directed by Ridley Scott, based on the 2004 book The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France by Eric Jager and written by Nicole Holofcener, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon. The film stars Damon as Jean de Carrouges, a knight who challenges his erstwhile friend, squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver), to a legal duel after his wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer), accuses Jacques of raping her. The events leading up to the duel are separated into three chapters, reflecting the three main characters’ opposing viewpoints. Affleck also plays Count Pierre d’Alençon, a supporting character.
In the fall of 2021, Ridley Scott’s star-studded historical epic The Last Duel infamously underperformed, losing 69.5 million dollars. The film’s challenging subject matter made it difficult to sell, particularly to its older demographic, who was not flocking to theaters in droves owing to the ongoing pandemic. Scott, on the other hand, pointed the finger at the millennial generation for the failure of The Last Duel, criticizing streaming media over mobile technologies. Nonetheless, the picture was somewhat acceptable to both spectators and critics, owing to its great performance and thought-provoking subject. The Last Duel’s biggest problem was its lack of relevance; it failed since it wasn’t produced for any audience eager to watch it.
Chaos Walking
Chaos Walking is a dystopian action film directed by Doug Liman and based on a script by Patrick Ness and Christopher Ford. It was released in 2021. It is based on Ness’s science fiction trilogy Chaos Walking, with the first novel, The Knife of Never Letting Go, from 2008 being adapted. Daisy Ridley, Tom Holland, Mads Mikkelsen, Demián Bichir, Cynthia Erivo, Nick Jonas, and David Oyelowo are among the cast members. It follows a young man (Holland) who lives in a dystopian society without women, in which all living animals can hear each other’s thoughts through “Noise,” which is a stream of images, phrases, and noises. When a lady (Ridley) crashes on the planet, he is forced to assist her in escaping danger.
Chaos Walking, starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland, had the potential to be a hit, but a slew of issues led to a 73.6 million dollar loss. Although moviegoers had mixed opinions about the film, critics panned it for its sluggish pace, oversimplified plot, and mishandling of characters, while praising the visual effects. Chaos Walking may have done better in a regular year with a larger theater audience, but it is improbable that the film would have earned a profit; it appears to be a disappointing film, made even more unprofitable by the poor circumstances in which it was released. Chaos Walking was the biggest movie box office flop of 2021, thanks to a lack of audience engagement, critical scorn, and bad theater conditions. No Chemistry and two seemingly burned out actors makes it hard to film a blockbuster.
Snake Eyes
G.I. Joe Origins (aka Snake Eyes) is a 2021 American superhero film directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Evan Spiliotopoulos, Joe Shrapnel, and Anna Waterhouse. The film serves as an origin tale for the main character, developed by Larry Hama, as well as a relaunch of the G.I. Joe film series, based on Hasbro’s G.I. Joe property and inspiration from the comic book series. Andrew Koji, rsula Corberó, Samara Weaving, Haruka Abe, Takehiro Hira, and Iko Uwais star as Snake Eyes, with Andrew Koji, rsula Corberó, Samara Weaving, Haruka Abe, Takehiro Hira, and Iko Uwais in supporting roles.
Snake Eyes, which served as a sort of revival of the G.I. Joe film series, failed to gross between 47.9 and 69.9 million dollars at the box office. Snake Eyes, the titular ninja, struggles to control his bloodlust in order to redeem himself and save a martial arts clan in this origin narrative. To drive earnings down, high production and promotional costs collided with audiences’ increasing selectivity brought on by pandemic fears. Furthermore, while lead actor Henry Golding was praised, critics did not favor Snake Eyes, and spectators seemed to be uninterested in the film. Snake Eyes might have generated a profit if it had been done on a reduced budget, but the mediocre story prevents it from being a true success.
Reminiscence
Lisa Joy’s feature directorial debut, Reminiscence, is a 2021 American neo-noir science fiction thriller film written and directed by her. Hugh Jackman, Rebecca Ferguson, Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Marina de Tavira, and Daniel Wu star in the film, which follows a man who tries to find his missing love using a gadget that can see people’s memories. Jonathan Nolan, Joy’s husband and creative partner, also produces.
Reminiscence failed to excite both audiences and critics; while its science-fiction premise was ambitious, the picture was heavily reminiscent of previous works. Reminiscence’s failure can be traced in part to its release date, which was moved several times to avoid competing with other films. Reminiscence, on the other hand, does not appear to have the requisite appeal to be a box office triumph. The box office loss was between 38.5 and 52.5 million dollars.
The Many Saints Of Newark
The Many Saints of Newark (also known as A Sopranos Story) is a crime drama film directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner that was released in 2021.
It’s a prequel to Chase’s HBO criminal drama series The Sopranos, and it takes place in Newark, New Jersey, in the 1960s and 1970s. In the middle of the city’s 1967 riots, the film follows gangster Dickie Moltisanti and his teenage nephew, Tony Soprano, as they witness a horrific gang conflict. With Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Michela De Rossi, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga in supporting parts, it stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie and Michael Gandolfini as Tony, the character created by his father in the series. The movie netted a loss of 37.3 million dollars.
The Sopranos prequel failed to elicit strong reactions from audiences and critics; the story of a criminal underbelly was intriguing, but ultimately uninteresting. Because The Many Saints of Newark appears to have reignited interest in the original series, it’s likely that the film was planned just for streaming.
King Richard
King Richard is a 2021 American biographical drama film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green and written by Zach Baylin about Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, who also act as executive producers. Will Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal feature in the film.
While the film’s simultaneous distribution as a streaming film has been blamed for its commercial failure, King Richard’s almost two-and-a-half-hour runtime may also be a factor. The picture was well-received by audiences, and it was nominated for numerous Best Picture honors. This was a great film and deserved a better showing than it received. If you get a chance definitely stream this. King Richard had a total loss of 23.8 million dollars.
The Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad is a superhero film released in 2021 based on the DC Comics team of the same name. It is a standalone sequel to Suicide Squad (2016) and the eighth film in the DC Extended Universe, produced by DC Films, Atlas Entertainment, and The Safran Company, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (DCEU). Margot Robbie, Idris Elba, John Cena, Joel Kinnaman, Sylvester Stallone, Viola Davis, David Dastmalchian, Daniela Melchior, Michael Rooker, Jai Courtney, Peter Capaldi, Alice Braga, and Pete Davidson star in the film, which was written and directed by James Gunn. In the film, the Suicide Squad is dispatched to the island nation of Corto Maltese in order to eradicate all remains of the huge alien starfish Starro the Conqueror.
Though the picture did well in theaters compared to other R-rated films released during the epidemic, it’s probable that its availability on streaming and home media hampered its success. The box office ended up with a loss of 17.6 million dollars.
In The Heights
In the Heights is a 2021 American musical drama film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Quiara Alegra Hudes, based on Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stage musical of the same name.
Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Melissa Barrera, Olga Merediz, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Gregory Diaz IV, and Jimmy Smits star in the film. The film follows a premise similar to that of the musical, depicting the story of a corner in New York City’s largely Dominican Washington Heights neighborhood, where everyone pursues their sueitos (small dreams) for a better life.
Unfortunately, the picture was released in cinemas and on HBO Max on the same day, and the cast and title had minimal name recognition, resulting in a box office flop. In the Heights, on the other hand, was praised by reviewers and spectators alike for its upbeat music and superb direction. Though the film’s ethnic celebration is questioned, In the Heights should have been a bigger hit than it was. In The Heights ended up losing 11.1 million.
Dear Evan Hansen
Dear Evan Hansen is a musical coming-of-age film directed by Stephen Chbosky and based on a script by Steven Levenson that was released in 2021. It is based on Levenson, Benj Pasek, and Justin Paul’s Broadway musical of the same name. Ben Platt reprises his role as the title character, which he first played on stage. Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Nik Dodani, Colton Ryan, Danny Pino, Julianne Moore, and Amy Adams round out the ensemble group.
Dear Evan Hansen premiered as the opening night presentation at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, and was distributed theatrically in the United States on September 24, 2021, by Universal Pictures. Critics were harsh in their assessments of the film, comparing it negatively to the stage musical.
The film’s performance was most likely hampered by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, as well as negative reviews from critics who cited a frustrating plot and miscasting of its titular lead.
Despite the fact that viewers seemed to like the film more, Dear Evan Hansen was still unable to make a profit at the box office. Dear Evan Hansen lost between 8.1 and 9.1 million dollars.