Thursday, November 27, 2014

11 Box Office Turkeys From 2014

Box office figures have been down this year to such an extent that even the hits are considered a disappointment. "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1," which scored the year's biggest opening at $121.8 million, made 23 percent less during its debut weekend than last year's "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." It's a figure that has caused some to question the franchise's future viability -- "Can the franchise rebound?" wrote Steven Zeitchik in a sky-is-falling piece for the Los Angeles Times -- but at least Lionsgate shareholders and Katniss Everdeen supporters can take solace in the fact that they aren't on this list. Ahead, 11 of the year's most notable box office misses. It's turkey time (gobble gobble).



"Men, Women & Children"



box office bombs



Total theaters: 608

Total gross: $705,908



Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" was considered a huge flop, and that film grossed 19 times more than "Men, Women & Children." Released on Oct. 1, the much maligned drama will arrive on Blu-ray in December.



"Wish I Was Here"



wish i was here movie



Total theaters: 753

Total gross: $3,591,299



Zach Braff raised $3.1 million on Kickstarter to make "Wish I Was Here," partially on the expectation that he would deliver another "Garden State." Financially, at least, he did not: "Garden State" earned seven times what "Wish I Was Here" did in North American theaters.



"Bad Words"



bad words bateman



Total theaters: 1,074

Total gross: $7,779,614



Not that anyone expected "Bad Words" to make "Horrible Bosses" money, but at $7.7 million it earned even less than the forgotten "Extract," which starred Bateman and a then-hirsute Ben Affleck.



"Vampire Academy"



vampire academy



Total theaters: 2,676

Total gross: $7,791,979



Neither the new "Mean Girls" nor next "Twilight," "Vampire Academy" grossed under $8 million in total at the box office. A crowdfunded sequel was initially planned, but the gambit only raised 17 percent of its goal. Whether a second film happens is now unclear.



"Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return"



legends of oz



Total theaters: 2,658

Total gross: $8,462,027



"Legends of Oz" was legendary, but not in the way its investors likely hoped. The film scored the worst-ever opening for an animated feature debuting on more than 2,500 screens.



"Sabotage"



sabotage



Total theaters: 2,486

Total gross: $10,508,518



He'll be back? "Sabotage" was Arnold Schwarzenegger's lowest grossing movie in 29 years. It even made less money than "The Last Stand."



"Winter's Tale"



winters tale colin farrell



Total theaters: 2,965

Total gross: $12,600,231



Will Smith is in this movie! (He plays Lucifer.)



"Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For"



sin city 2



Total theaters: 2,894

Total gross: $13,757,804



The original "Sin City" film grossed $11.8 million on its opening day in 2005. The sequel made $13.7 million ... in 49 days.



"I, Frankenstein"



i frankenstein



Total theaters: 2,753

Total gross: $19,075,290



Audiences, not interested.



"Transcendence"



transcendence



Total theaters: 3,455

Total gross: $23,022,309



At $10.8 million, "Transcendence" had the 48th-worst saturated opening ever (more than 3,000 theaters). That puts the $100-million budgeted Johnny Depp film in league with Taylor Lautner's "Abduction" (49th) and Stephenie Meyer's "The Host" (47th). Lo for the days of even "The Lone Ranger."



"Pompeii"



pompeii



Total theaters: 2,658

Total gross: $23,219,748



Ashes to ashes.

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