Box Office Bombs
By Somebody posted this list on Google+ the other day. Some thoughts…
Of the 105 films, I’ve seen ten (Battlefield Earth, Raise the Titanic, The Postman, K-19, Red Planet, Soldier, Beloved, The Scarlet Letter, Death to Smoochy, and Event Horizon). I’d say that K-19 is actually a pretty good movie, although I can’t imagine why anyone thought that it would make any money. Death to Smoochy is sorta watchable. Beloved seemed a fair enough entry in the literary cinema genre. Soldier was neither good nor particularly terrible. The rest are just plain awful, the The Scarlet Letter notable for being the worst movie I can recall ever seeing in a theater.
As for the rest, being terrible is only one reason to end up on the list. Some of them I’ve never heard of, including, strangely enough, Alamo. Some of them I’m genuinely flummoxed about the price tag; Town and Country cost $105 million? Windtalkers $145 million? Lolita $62 million? Some of the films seem based on obviously unmarketable premises. I’ve heard that Cutthroat Island is somewhat better than its reputation, but can’t understand why anyone thought that Geena Davis could headline a $115 million action film.
Finally, I’m just a little bit curious about Burnt by the Sun 2: Exodus. I’ve never seen the first, but I’ve heard good things. I hadn’t been aware that a) a sequel had been made, and b) it was the biggest bust in Russian box office history. Anybody see it?