Summary Superhero fatigue and ill-planned sequels contributed to the box office failures of major franchises like the MCU and DCEU in 2023.
Blockbuster action movies that have high production costs are the ones that lose the most money at the box office.
Despite significant losses, major studios continue to release sequels to unsuccessful movies, showing a potential disregard for financial success.
2023 saw several major box office bombs, losing major studios millions of dollars. Superhero fatigue contributed to movies like The Marvels and The Flash flopping. Several other major box office failures were sequels to franchises that have been dragged out for too long. Furthermore, cast members were not available to promote their movies because of the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The movies that lose the most money are usually action blockbusters because they are the ones that cost the most to make. While small-budget independent movies might flop at the box office, it would not be as big of a loss if the studio had not spent hundreds of millions of dollars producing the movie. Yet several major franchises with the biggest box office failures of 2023 will continue to release sequels, despite their losses.
10 The Haunted Mansion
Domestic Gross: $67 Million | Worldwide Total: $117.5 Million
With a budget of $150 million, Disney’s The Haunted Mansion did not gross nearly enough to make a profit. The Haunted Mansion cast, featuring Rosario Dawson, Owen Wilson, and Danny DeVito, were all unavailable to promote the movie because of the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. The movie itself was overwhelmed with CGI ghosts and had an unremarkable story. The Haunted Mansion is a reboot of Eddie Murphy’s 2003 movie, which did manage to break even (via Collider). Despite losing hundreds of millions on The Haunted Mansion in 2023, Disney is developing another theme park ride-inspired movie: Scarlett Johansson’s Tower of Terror.
All domestic and worldwide gross totals in this list are according to boxofficemojo.com.
9 Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
Domestic Gross: $16 Million | Worldwide Total: $45 Million
Dreamworks’ movies are often a hit or miss. Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken turned out to be a miss. The story follows a timid teenage girl who learns that she is a descendant of an undersea royal family and faces off with a mermaid. While the movie received a generally positive reception, with a 66% Rotten Tomatoes score and an 81% audience score, Ruby Gillman bombed at the box office. The movie failed for many reasons, including a bad marketing plan and Dreamworks’ overall poor performance in the last decade.
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8 The Machine
Domestic Gross: $10.5 Million | Worldwide Total $10.5 Million
Mark Hamill co-starred in comedian Bert “The Machine” Kreischer’s movie The Machine in 2023, which received shockingly poor reviews. The movie holds a 32% Rotten Tomatoes score, although its 87% audience score suggests that its outrageous humor was enjoyable to some people. The Machine only had a budget of $20 million and grossed about half that amount. While it suffered losses at the box office, those losses are not comparable to the hundreds of millions lost by some major franchises thanks to their ill-planned sequels.
7 Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny
Domestic Gross: $174.5 Million | Worldwide Total: $384 Million
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Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones in the (allegedly) final movie of the Indiana Jones franchise in 2023. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny includes a solid subplot about Indy’s fraught relationship with Marion and their late son with Ford’s original Raiders of the Lost Ark co-star Karen Allen making a brief appearance. Yet Variety estimates that the fifth Indiana Jones installment lost Disney around $100 million. Despite a high gross worldwide, the profits did not make up for the movie’s $300 million budget, plus additional marketing costs.
6 Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One
Domestic Gross: $172 Million | Worldwide Total: $567.5 Million
Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is also estimated to have lost $100 million (via Variety). With seven movies and counting, Tom Cruise’s action espionage franchise no longer inspires the same awe it did in its early days. Dead Reckoning ends on a cliffhanger and Mission Impossible 8 is coming soon. However, it was recently announced that the movie will no longer be called Dead Reckoning Part Two and its release has been pushed back from 2024 to 2025, suggesting that changes are being made following Dead Reckoning Part One’s failure. It is unclear if the Mission Impossible franchise will continue after the next movie.
A blockbuster movie generally needs to make 2.5 times its budget to break even.
5 Shazam! Fury Of The Gods
Domestic Gross: $57.5 Million | Worldwide Total: $134 Million
Zachary Levi returned as Shazam in 2023 with up-and-coming star Rachel Zegler appearing as Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ villain Anthea. The Shazam! movies follow an average teenager who is given the power to turn into an adult superhero upon command by the Wizard Shazam. 2019’s Shazam! was generally liked, but the sequel saw a drop in critical reception. Against a $125 million budget, Shazam! Fury of the Gods lost Warner Bros and an estimated $150 million. Shazam 3 is currently unconfirmed.
4 Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania
Domestic Gross: $214.5 Million | Worldwide Total: $476 Million
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Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne return for another adventure into the Quantum Realm, this time accompanied by Scott’s teenage daughter Cassie. Despite featuring Jonathan Majors as the intriguing villain Kang the Conqueror, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania lost Disney and Marvel more than $125 million (via Variety). Superhero fatigue and an unsettling depiction of Marvel Comics’ villain Modok likely contributed to this. CBR also points out that the third Ant-Man movie is the first MCU movie since the pandemic to lose money.
3 Fast X
Domestic Gross: $146 Million | Worldwide Gross: $705 Million
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The popular long-running franchise Fast & Furious franchise released another movie in 2023 that grossed high worldwide—but not enough to turn a significant profit. Fast X struggled because of its whopping budget of $340 million, setting a high goal for ticket sales. According to the 2.5 rule, this would mean that Fast X lost Universal $146 million. However, Variety reports that Fast X did make a profit, “according to sources familiar with its financing.” It is unclear if Fast X was a success or failure. Regardless, Fast 11 is expected in 2025 and the franchise will likely continue after this.
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2 The Flash
Domestic Gross: $108 Million | Worldwide Total: $270.5 Million
The latest in the DCEU’s struggle to match the success of the MCU is 2023’s The Flash. The Flash leaked on Twitter and also failed to combat superhero fatigue. Additionally, Ezra Miller’s controversies and criminal charges caused audiences boycotting the movie. The Flash reportedly lost Warner Bros. $200 million and an analysis by Luiz Fernando (via Twitter) reveals that it would have been a smaller financial loss to cancel the movie altogether.
1 The Marvels
Domestic Gross: $81 Million | Worldwide Total: $198 Million
The Marvels is reportedly the MCU’s lowest-grossing movie to date, breaking the record previously held by 2008’s The Incredible Hulk (via Variety). The Marvels also struggled with marketing ahead of release. Yet the box office failures of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania and The Marvels will not deter the MCU, which has many more movies coming out in upcoming years. Other blockbuster franchises that suffered major losses in 2023 seem to have the same mentality: What is a hundred million dollars to a billion-dollar company?
Source: boxofficemojo.com, Collider, Variety (Indiana Jones, Mission Impossible, & Fast X), Variety (Ant-Man), CBR, Twitter, Variety (The Marvels)