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I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $9,569,470. Despite the talents of director Amy Heckerling and stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd, a last-minute backout from the film's intended theatrical distributor (mostly due to contractual disputes between Pfeiffer and MGM) prompted it to go Direct to Video in North America.
I Dreamed of Africa (2000) — Budget, $34 million. Box office, $14,400,327. It posted the third worst opening in over 2,000 theaters when it premiered and Sony dumped it straight to video in the UK. This along with Bless the Child, which was released several months later firmly put Kim Basinger^note where she was prior to her brief career-resurrecting Oscar win for L.A. Confidential three years prior. To further add insult to injury, Basinger and company were soon accused of hypocrisy after it emerged that circus elephants were used during the making of I Dreamed of Africa.
I Saw the Light (2015) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $1,620,978. Heavy panning from critics and having its release date pushed back helped make this Hank Williams biopic die a quick death at the box office. The failure of this film ended up cancelling a future project by director/producer Marc Abraham, and he's been laying low from the limelight since, only reappearing in a documentary recently.
I Spy (2002) - Budget, $70 million. Box office, $60.3 million. Eddie Murphy's third film in 2002 that failed to make its production budget back, contributing to a major slowdown to his career.
The Iceman (2012) — Budget, $13.5 million. Box office, $4.6 million.
The Ice Storm (1997): Budget: $18 million; box office: $8 million. Critical reception was extremely positive, however (though it wasn't nominated for any Oscars).
The Identical (2014) — Budget, $16 million (not counting marketing costs), $32 million (counting them). Box office, $2,747,075. This was universally lambasted for its wooden acting, poor production values, tacked on religious elements^note and playing its attempt at being a musical biopic parody completely straight. It didn't help that it was released in early September, in the midst of the smash success of Guardians of the Galaxy.
Idiocracy (2006) — Budget, $2.4 million. Box office, $495,303. It has been widely speculated that 20th Century Fox deliberately sabotaged the film's release and marketing (giving it a limited release and no advertising), partly because of all the Take Thats the film gives to its parent company's news division and partly to avoid angering all the companies that had Product Placement in this movie (which helped keep the budget very low). The film was Vindicated by Cable and has since become a Cult Classic.
Idle Hands (1999) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $4,152,230. Has been Rodman Flender's last directorial credit on a theatrical film to date. Vivica A Fox's career as a leading actress hindered a bit after this, though fortunately she rebounded the following decade. Critics hated this supernatural stoner comedy but it became a Cult Classic once it hit video.
If Looks Could Kill (1991) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $7.7 million. Meant to be a starring vehicle for Richard Grieco, the film failing ended up killing his chances, as since he's mainly done direct-to-video and TV movies since. The last film that Darren Star wrote the screenplay for.
If Lucy Fell (1996) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $2.4 million. Director Eric Schaeffer wouldn't helm another theatrical film for five years. This has also been the last theatrical film written by Tony Spiridakis.
I'll Be Home for Christmas (1998) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $12,214,338. This derailed Jonathan Taylor-Thomas's chances for a serious film career. This also sent director Arlene Sanford straight to television ^note since.
I'll Do Anything (1994) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $10,424,645. Part of a bad year for Nick Nolte, who also had Blue Chips and I Love Trouble flop in between. This was intended to be a musical before a bad test screening forced the songs out.
Illegally Yours (1988) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $259,019. Director Peter Bogdanovich was basically strong-armed into directing this by the studio, which he accepted as he was having money issues at the time. This was supposed to come out in July 1987, but a bad test screening (in which half the audience walked out), and the bankruptcy of distributor DEG pushed it back to May 1988, where it died against movies like Beetlejuice and Good Morning, Vietnam. Bogdanovich considers this one of his biggest failures.
I'm Not There (2007) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $11.7 million. This sort-of biopic of Bob Dylan was Heath Ledger's final film released in his lifetime.
Imagine That (2009) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $22,985,194. One of several busts for Eddie Murphy in his second Audience-Alienating Era. He held off his decline with Shrek Forever After and Tower Heist but not for long.
Immediate Family (1989) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $5,932,613. This drama about adoption, directed by Jonathan Kaplan, received mixed reviews, with some criticizing it for being a little too manipulative and saccharine.
Impostor (2001) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $8,145,541. Critics saw this adaptation of a Philip K. Dick story as a lower-quality version of Blade Runner and its January release date didn't do it any favor with audiences. This was also a Star-Derailing Role for Madeleine Stowe.
In Country (1989) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $3,531,791. It had a limited release, even though the reviews were good and Bruce Willis got a Golden Globe nomination for it.
The In Crowd (2000) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $5,280,035. This teen thriller was universally panned for being an unintentionally funny Cliché Storm. Director Mary Lambert stuck to TV/Direct-to-Video until the documentary 14 Women.
In Dreams (1999) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $12 million. Ripped by critics, the film's flopping led to director Neil Jordan not working on another American-based production until 2007's The Brave One.
The In-Laws (2003) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $26,891,849. This remake of the 1979 film was the second consecutive flop for Michael Douglas following It Runs In The Family and was one of several lifelong busts for production company Franchise Pictures. Italy was the only foreign market that surpassed $1 million and its UK release was cut short after two weeks.
In the Land of Blood and Honey (2011) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $1.1 million. Angelina Jolie's narrative directorial debut, following the documentary A Place In Time, never left a limited release. It didn't help that author Josip Knežević sued Jolie for plagiarism of his story, Slamanje duše (though the case was dismissed).
In the Mood (1987) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $999,382. This biopic of teenage Romeo Sonny Wisecarver marked Patrick Dempsey's first major film role, though it was released a month after Can't Buy Me Love, which was shot later. It was only given a limited release and its failure was one of several blows which killed Lorimar Productions. Director/writer Phil Alden Robinson rebounded two years later with Field of Dreams.
In the Name of the King (2007) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $13,097,915. This is the first and only time Uwe Boll tried to direct a movie with a budget that would make the movie a tentpole. Again, it did not stop a film series from entering production, though this first installment's massive failure ensured they would not see the inside of a cineplex, instead going Direct to Video.
Inchon (1982) — Budget, $46 million. Box office, $5,200,986. Controversial religious leader Sun Myung Moon personally financed this notorious Korean War epic, with an all-star cast led by Sir Laurence Olivier as General Douglas MacArthur. (Olivier's reason for his participation for this film is the Trope Namer for Money, Dear Boy.) In 1995, it made the Guinness Book of World Records as "the biggest money-loser in history", later to be surpassed by Cutthroat Island. The film has never been released on home video, though bootleg copies (derived from a telecast on GoodLife TV, a defunct Moon-owned cable channel) have surfaced. It also brought down director Terence Young's (the man who directed three of the first four James Bond films) career.
The Indian Runner (1991) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $191,125. Sean Penn did not try to write/produce another film for 4 years, and executive producer and future Breitbart News/Donald Trump staff member Steve Bannon did not get another film credit until the end of the '90s.
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023) — Budget, $295-300 million. Box office, $174,480,468 (domestic), $383 million (worldwide). Indiana Jones' last cinematic adventure ended up as one of the most expensive films ever, in no small part due its Troubled Production, which involved a one-year delay to filming due to the COVID-19 pandemic and another two-week delay after Harrison Ford suffering a shoulder injury during a fight rehearsal. The movie opened with a mediocre weekend of $60 million domestic and dropped off quickly in subsequent weekends, in part due to the unexpected success of Sound of Freedom among the older demographic the film targeted. The end resulted cost Disney 100 million dollars, making it one of the biggest box office bombs of 2023.
Infamous (2006) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $2,613,717. Douglas McGrath's Bio Pic of Truman Capote and his creation of In Cold Blood came out a year after Capote tackled the same subject matter. The critics liked it, though not to the same extent as the earlier film, and it lingered in limited release for ten weeks.
The Infiltrator (2016) — Budget, $47.5 million. Box office, $18 million. It got generally good reviews, particularly for Bryan Cranston's performance, but it was buried on opening weekend by holdover smash The Secret Life of Pets and the only other wide release that week, Ghostbusters. Its failure saw distributor Broad Green lay off 6% of its staff and replace its president of distribution.
Innocent Blood (1992) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $4,943,279. Critics and audiences at the time didn't know what to make of John Landis' hybrid of vampire horror and Mafia thriller; it still managed to get a cult following on cable.
Intersection (1994) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $61.3 million. Director Mark Rydell wouldn't direct another theatrical film for twelve years.
The Interview (2014) — Budget, $42-44 million. Box office, $6,105,175 (domestic), $11,305,175 (worldwide). This Black Comedy about assassinating Kim Jong Un only played on roughly 300 screens in the US due to almost all cinema chains refusing to show it following terrorist threats from North Korea and the massive Sony hack that forced leader Amy Pascal's resignation. The film allegedly earned close to $40 million in home release, though whether that was enough for it to break even is unclear.
Into the Sun (2005) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $175,563. It only saw a theatrical release in Japan and went Direct to Video in the U.S.
Intolerance (1916) — Budget, $2.5 million, Box office, under $100,000. Despite tremendous reviews, this now-classic film went down in history as the first big detonation to hit Hollywood, and was a shock to the nascent industry. It single-handedly sunk D.W. Griffith's production company, Triangle Films, and ruined both his career and his personal life. The film's failure was due in part to its length (over five hours in the original cut), its then innovative techniques (which confused the audiences), and poor timing — it was an anti-war film that came out just as the US population was growing in favor of entering World War I.
Intruder in the Dust (1949) - Budget, $988,000. Box office, $837,000.
The Invasion (2007) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $40,170,558. This fourth version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers suffered massive Executive Meddling which turned it from a psychological thriller into an incomprehensible action film light on scares. Critics unanimously declared this to be the worst version yet. This dealt a serious blow to director Oliver Hirschbiegel's career until he did 13 Minutes in 2015.
The Iron Giant (1999) - Budget, $50 million. Box office, $31.3 million. One of the most beloved and critically acclaimed animated films ever tanked at the box office, mostly due to Invisible Advertising by Warner Bros. The studio later did a 180 and gave it a marketing blitz on home video instead, and the movie's gathered a large cult following thanks in part to numerous reruns on Cartoon Network. Warner's bungling of the film's marketing contributed to first-time director Brad Bird hopping over to Pixar (where he'd experience much greater success) and continued a string of bombs for Warner Bros. Animation, which would shutter its theatrical division a few years later.
Ironweed (1987) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $7,393,346. The second of two pairings of Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson, who both added to their record Oscar nominations tallies with this Acclaimed Flop. William Kennedy, who wrote the original novel it was based on and wrote the screenplay for this film, hasn't gone back to screenwriting since.
Ishtar (1987) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $14,375,181. Critical Backlash over public stories of its infamously Troubled Production, combined with going wildly over-budget, ensured this comedy never stood a chance at the box office. Its failure, along with that of other films such as The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and Leonard Part 6, led to Coca-Cola leaving the film business, selling off Columbia Pictures to Sony, who also had Tristar Pictures. In addition, the troubled film ensured that director Elaine May hasn't had a directing job since. Once only referenced as a byword for expensive Hollywood boondoggles, it has since been reappraised as undeserving of the vitriol it received on its initial release.
The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $27,663,982 (domestic), $49,627,779 (worldwide). This legendarily Troubled Production dealt with two stars acting up in the midst of Creator Breakdown, original director Richard Stanley getting fired and replaced by the extremely difficult John Frankenheimer and horrid weather hitting the set. David Thewlis and Fairuza Balk have both disowned this film.
Isnt She Great (2000) — Budget, $44 million. Box office, $3,003,296. The killing blow to the career of director Andrew Bergman, who withdrew from Hollywood as a result. Also dealt damage to Bette Midler's acting career headlining films.
It Came from Hollywood (1982) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $2.6 million. A Clip Show / Affectionate Parody of various B Movies with various comedians providing commentary. It fell by the wayside in theaters but cable TV runs made it a Cult Classic.
It Runs in the Family (1994) (1994) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $70,396. Bob Clark and Jean Shepherd reunited to try to recreate the magic of A Christmas Story, with a mostly new cast. Originally called A Summer Story, the studio had no faith in it, retitled it, and dumped it in a handful of theaters with almost no hype at all.
It's Pat! (1994) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $60,822. The reason for the low gross was that the movie only saw release in three cities, and was ripped out of theaters after its opening weekend. It's Pat, along with Stuart Saves His Family, ended the Audience-Alienating Era of movies based off of Saturday Night Live sketches. Didn't do any favors to Julia Sweeney's career, director Adam Bernstein to this day almost exclusively stuck to directing TV (although with quite an accomplished career there), Lorne Michaels, while having no credits on this movie, still regrets approving the usage of the character (owned by NBC) as it has been counted on his record by press regardless. As an added final bonus, It's Pat was released two days after studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg's well publicized and acrimonious firing from Disney, who distributed this film through Touchstone.

Jack Frost (1998) — Budget, $85 million. Box office, $34.5 million (domestic). A Star-Derailing Role for lead Michael Keaton who played a dead father reincarnated as a snowman animated by Industrial Light & Magic and Jim Henson's Creature Shop. Keaton was frozen into the B list of movie stars until Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) in 2014. This movie was released a year after an icy horror movie with the same name and also used a live snowman. Director Troy Miller's film prospects began freezing overnight thanks to this movie. Co-writer Mark Steven Johnson didn't work another movie until Ben Affleck's version of Daredevil in 2003. It was also part of a bad spell for Jim Henson's Creature Shop whose animation was criticized by Roger Ebert.
Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) — Budget, $195 million (production alone), $295 million (marketing included). Box office, $65 million (domestic), $197.5 million (worldwide). This movie's horrible performance played a large role in Hollywood reconsidering its trend of Darker and Edgier Fairy Tale Remakes. Director Bryan Singer would return to the X-Men Film Series for his next two ventures.
The Jacket (2005) — Budget, $29 million. Box office, $21,126,225. Ended up being the only American film to be directed by John Maybury so far.
Jade (1995) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $9,851,610. This film and Kiss of Death from earlier that year marked a stillborn attempt to make David Caruso a movie star after suddenly leaving NYPD Blue, and he faded from public view before coming back with CSI: Miami. One of two films that year that thrashed Joe Eszterhas's career, the other being Showgirls, and Burn Hollywood Burn would give him his third and final strike 3 years later.
Jakob the Liar (1999) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $4.9 million. A remake of the 1975 Polish film of the same name starring Robin Williams. It was lambasted by critics for its contrivances and melodrama and was compared unfavorably to the similarly themed Life Is Beautiful.
James and the Giant Peach (1996) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $28,946,127. This did not succeed for Disney and Tim Burton despite critical acclaim and Approval of God from Roald Dahl's widow. As a result, Disney didn't make another stop motion film for 16 years until Burton's own Frankenweenie. This is not the first time a film based off of Dahl's work became an Acclaimed Flop, nor the last, since Disney would sail down this exact same river a second time with Burton's contemporary, Steven Spielberg, 20 years later.
Jane Got a Gun (2016) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $1,513,793. This suffered a very Troubled Production due to constant recasts, director Lynne Ramsey getting replaced on the first day of shooting by Gavin O'Connor, and its production company Relativity Media filing for bankruptcy. The end result was dumped in early January as distributor The Weinstein Company barely bothered with marketing. It was dismissed by critics and audiences, opening at number 17 for its weekend, making it the worst opening of Natalie Portman's career. Adding insult to injury, it also suffered a staggering 83.5% drop over its second weekend, the third largest on record.
Jarhead (2005) — Budget, $72 million. Box office, $62,658,220 (domestic), $96.9 million (worldwide). A film about The Gulf War released early into The War on Terror, critics were torn on whether its exploration of the banality of modern warfare was effective or tedious faux-criticism. Advertising which suggested the film was much more action oriented than it was may have been to blame for the mixed critical reception. Good home video sales prompted Universal to release several In Name Only action-driven sequels, all of which went Direct to Video.
Jefferson in Paris (1995) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $2,442,542. This Merchant-Ivory film about Thomas Jefferson had a limited release and lukewarm reviews.
Jem and the Holograms (2015) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $2,333,684 (worldwide). Performed so poorly in wide release that Universal pulled it after two weeks, and its $1.38 million North American opening weekend was the worst opening ever for a major studio film playing in 2,000+ theaters. Executive Meddling forced the film to appeal to "the YouTube generation" while locking series creator Christy Marx out of the creative process, which backfired when fans and non-fans alike rejected it for being a bland Cliché Storm. Director John M. Chu and Universal wasted no time in disowning the movie, which became one of the most notorious busts of 2015 and got reruns of the cartoon pulled from TV. This was also the first project of Hasbro Studios' self-financing Allspark Studios, though this film certainly didn't dent the studio. Chu would later bounce back with the success of Crazy Rich Asians.
Jennifer Eight (1992) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $11,390,479. It had a modest opening week, but Bram Stoker's Dracula and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York releasing shortly after this film killed any momentum it had; Going straight to video in the UK didn't help either. Bruce Robinson vowed to stay away from the director's chair after this mystery film flopped until The Rum Diary brought him back.
Jersey Girl (2004) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $25,268,157 (domestic), $36,098,382 (worldwide). The second film to star Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez flatlined in the wake of their disolved relationship and their disastrous first film from the previous summer. Fans of Kevin Smith were turned off by its mainstream approach.
Jetsons: The Movie (1990) - Budget, $8 million (plus $12 million for prints and advertising). Box office, $20,305,841. The Movie of The Jetsons received pretty poor reviews from critics and sent the franchise straight into limbo for a quarter of a century. Not helping was the controversy over Judy Jetson being recast as late-80's pop singer Tiffany, rather than her still-living original voice Janet Waldo. That said, it would be Vindicated by Video later.
Jexi (2019) — Budget, $5 million (without marketing costs), $12 million (with marketing costs). Box office, $7.2 million. This sci-fi comedy was the final film for CBS Films before it was folded into CBS Entertainment Group. The critics hated it and it couldn't stand a chance against the likes of Joker and The Addams Family.
Jimmy Hollywood (1994) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $3,783,003. This was heavily-panned by critics and immediately fell flat at the box office when it debuted at number 14. It also went straight-to-video overseas, which some say killed any chances of it making a decent profit. Barry Levinson had better luck that year with Disclosure.
Jinxed (1982) — Budget, $13.4 million. Box office, $2,869,638. A very Troubled Production, this served as the final film Don Siegel ever directed. A follow-up to her Oscar-nominated performance in The Rose, Bette Midler's acting career didn't recover until she bounced back with Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
Joan of Arc (1948) — Budget, $4,650,506. Box office, $5,768,142. Recorded a loss of $2,480,436. This is the final film directed by The Wizard of Oz/Gone with the Wind director Victor Fleming, who died two months after its release. Writer Maxwell Anderson never wrote another screenplay, and the contemporary reviews from critics such as historian Leonard Maltin have torched the movie for playing the Dawson Casting card with casting Ingrid Bergman as Joan (Bergman was 14 years older than Joan of Arc, who only lived to 19). It also didn't help matters that Bergman's affair with Roberto Rossellini caused such a scandal enough to dissuade people from seeing it.
Joe Somebody (2001) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $24,516,772. It was knocked-out in one of the busiest holiday seasons ever. The critics didn't like it to begin with.
Joe Versus the Volcano (1990) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $39.4 million. John Patrick Shanley's directorial debut spent its first two weeks at number two behind The Hunt for Red October but didn't make its budget back. Stars Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan reteamed twice to much better results. Shanley's next time directing was adapting his own play Doubt in 2008.
Joe's Apartment (1996) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $4,619,014. Billed as MTV's first feature film, Joe's Apartment failed to find an audience and disgusted critics with its attempt at featuring "cute" cockroaches (Roger Ebert called this a "really, really bad idea" in his end of the year special with Gene Siskel). The movie's failure led to Warner Bros selling MTV's film distribution rights back to Viacom, which promptly bit them in the ass as MTV's next movie was the financially successful Beavis And Butthead Do America.
John Carter (2012) — Budget, $250 million (not counting marketing costs), $350 million (counting them). Box office, $73,078,100 (domestic), $284,139,100 (worldwide). Once the movie's dismal American box office numbers came in, Disney anticipated that it would take a $200-million wash on the film; even after the international box office helped to at least partially salvage it, it still went down as one of the biggest flops in history — if the upper figure of a $206 million loss is correct, it is the biggest flop ever. Disney fired their studio chairman, Rich Ross, on the heels of this film, a decision that may very well have been justified come The Lone Ranger the following year. Marketing executive MT Carney, who helmed the film's notoriously mismanaged marketing campaign, was also sent packing. Director Andrew Stanton regretted that its failure led Disney to let the rights revert back to the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate and it dashed his plans for a trilogy, though he rebounded after returning to animation with Finding Dory.
Johnny Be Good (1988) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $17,550,399. This is the one and only film directed by Bud S. Smith, who returned to work as an editor and later became a producer.
Johnny Handsome (1989) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $7,237,794. This film version of the novel The Three Worlds of Johnny Handsome fell by the wayside upon its release but it later became Vindicated by History.
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) — Budget, $26 million. Box office, $19,075,720. William Gibson disowned this adaptation of his short story. While Gibson was credited as screenwriter on the film, both Gibson and director Robert Longo blamed Executive Meddling for changing the film's script and cutting a number of scenes in the editing room. Gibson and Longo swore off working in Hollywood after their experiences here with Longo going back to music videos, though he would make a Re-Cut of the film in 2021. Dolph Lundgren stayed off the big screen until The Expendables fifteen years later, while Keanu Reeves had much better success with the similarly-themed The Matrix four years later.
Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie (2002): Budget, $14 million. Box office, $25,615,231. The first theatrically-released VeggieTales film failed to recoup its prints and advertising costs and may have played a hand in production company Big Idea's bankruptcy.
Jonah Hex (2010) — Budget, $47 million. Box office, $10,547,117. Poor reviews centered around its plot and 81 minute run-time, declining interest in Megan Fox, the general struggle of the Western genre at the 21st century box office, and coming out the same weekend as Toy Story 3 all left the film DOA. This is the last film written by the duo of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor, and it would be a while before director Jimmy Hayward would do serious work again. This is one of two 2010 films to deliver a serious setback to the career of producer Andrew Lazar.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973) — Budget, $1.5 million. Box office, $1.6 million. This adaptation of the Richard Bach novel was one of a handful of films that Roger Ebert walked out of. Other critics who stayed for the whole show lambasted it for its droning philosphy and flat voice cast. It didn't help that the filmmakers were subject to three lawsuits: one from Ovady Julber for ripping off scenes from his film La Mer, another from composer Neil Diamond for cutting too much of his score (which won him a Golden Globe), and another from Bach for straying too much from his novel.
Josh and S.A.M. (1993) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $1,640,220. The only film directed by editor Billy Weber, who went back to that line of work after this film's critical and financial takedown. Producer Martin Brest waited five years before he got involved in another film, Meet Joe Black. It has never been released on a format outside of VHS.
Joshua (2002) — Budget, $9 million. Box office, $1,461,635. Its widest release was in 43 theaters.
Josie and the Pussycats (2001) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $14.8 million. Ended up being a huge blow to Rachael Leigh Cook's leading career. It also smacked the directing careers of duo Harry Elfont and Deborah Kaplan (who had previously directed the cult teen film Can't Hardly Wait) out of the park, as they've never directed another film, and both Josie and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas also led to Elfont and Kaplan not writing another film until 2004. Josie also killed the cinematic career of Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds. There wouldn't be any Archie Comics live-action production afterwards until the TV series Riverdale in 2017. In ensuing decades, the movie has been reevaluated as a Cult Classic with a satirical take on the music industry and its source material.
Joy (2015) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $56,451,232 (domestic), $101,134,059 (worldwide). This broke David O. Russell's string of critical and financial successes that started with The Fighter. Its indecisive tone and tough competition (with one in particular) may have contributed to that outcome. It still got Jennifer Lawrence an Oscar nomination.
Joy Ride (2001) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $21,974,919 (domestic), $36,642,838 (worldwide). Critics generally liked this film to begin with, but skidded off the box office road due to a poor marketing campaign. Strong video sales lead to two Direct to Video sequels.
Jude (1996) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $409,144. Was an Acclaimed Flop, however, and star Christopher Eccleston notably is still proud of it.
The Judge (2014) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $47,119,388 (domestic), $84,419,388 (worldwide). Although Robert Duvall received an Oscar nomination, this drama film earned a mixed reception from critics, many of whom accused it of being a Cliché Storm.
Judge Dredd (1995) — Budget, $90 million. Box office, $34,693,481 (domestic), $113,493,481 (worldwide). Effectively hamstrung any attempts to establish the Judge Dredd franchise in the U.S. It and In the Mouth of Madness swallowed the writing job of Michael De Luca, who stuck with being an executive at New Line and DreamWorks and Sony until 2010's The Social Network. Judge Dredd also was one of a series of critically-derided screenplays credited to Steven E. de Souza, and he would not get his next one for 3 years. Both the film's star Sylvester Stallone and creator of Dredd John Wagner felt the movie never attained its potential (Wagner felt Stallone was good for the role, but Stallone got a Razzie nom for it).
Judgment Night (1993) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $12 million. This film stalled in pre-production for so long it would've died had Emilio Estevez not accepted the lead role. While the film flat-lined in theaters, its Rap Rock soundtrack went gold.
Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (2011) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $15,013,650. The last theatrical film by director John Schultz, whose most recent credit is the 2016 TV remake of Adventures in Babysitting. The critics didn't care for it but it fared better with audiences.
Jungle Cruise (2021) - Budget, $200 million. Box office, $220.9 million (plus around $60 million in "Premier Access"). After being delayed over a year by the COVID-19 pandemic, the film adaptation of the Disney theme park ride was released amid a still greatly depressed theatrical marketplace. Its performance on PVOD during the theatrical window lightened the blow, and belief that it performed as well as could be expected given the circumstances led to a sequel being greenlit.
Junior (1994) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $36,763,355 (domestic), $108,431,355 (worldwide). No mainstream movies dealing with human male pregnancy have been made since this attempt, which put a serious dent in Arnold Schwarzenegger's move for more comedic fare.
Jupiter Ascending (2015) — Budget, $175 million. Box office, $47,387,723 (domestic), $183,887,723 (worldwide). Was the death knell for The Wachowskis as a filmmaking duo (Lana would return for The Matrix Resurrections, another bomb). Eddie Redmayne, who played the film's Big Bad and won a Razzie for it, still won an Oscar for The Theory of Everything a few weeks later.
The Juror (1996) — Budget, $44 million. Box office, $22,754,725. Director Brian Gibson made one more film after this before his death in 2004. This also did no favors for Demi Moore, who won a Razzie for this and her more high-profile bust, Striptease.
Jury Duty (1995) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $17,014,653. A serious blow to director John Fortenberry, writer Neil Tolkin and star Pauly Shore's careers, and it's the final film to feature Billie Bird.
Justice League (2017) — Budget, $300 million (not counting marketing costs, interest expenses, and guild fees), $500 million (counting them). Box office, $229,024,295 (domestic), $657,924,295 (worldwide). The film has earned the dubious title of "most successful box office bomb ever". This is among the most expensive films ever made, caused in part by its Troubled Production that saw Zack Snyder replaced with Joss Whedon during reshoots, so it needed to gross a massive amount just to break even. It also had enormously high expectations for profit, as even the critically disappointing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice reached over $850 million on its own. Instead, it opened in a surprisingly competitive season on the release calendar. Its opening domestic weekend of $93.8 million was only about half of BvS and the lowest of any DCEU film to that point, suffering from lackluster marketing and critical backlash after a long embargo. Industry analysts predicted this film lost $50 to $100 million for Warner Brothers. The film's failure prompted the studio to fire several members of DC Films including heads Geoff Johns and Jon Berg, while both Snyder and Whedon were removed from future DC films, the latter also being accused of abusive behavior during the reshoots. A fan campaign succeeded and Snyder was allowed to work on and release a director's cut in 2021.
Just Getting Started (2017) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $7,634,022. This was the first film that Ron Shelton directed in over a decade since Hollywood Homicide, but unfortunately its critical and commercial performance wasn't an improvement from that film's also poor intake. It was quickly pulled from theaters after just two weeks. This film's failure also ended Broad Green Pictures, which had suffered many flops, particularly their horror hopeful Wish Upon.
Just Like Heaven (2005) — Budget, $58 million. Box office, $48,318,130 (domestic), $102,854,431 (worldwide). Reese Witherspoon bounced back a few months later with Walk the Line.
Just My Luck (2006) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $17,326,650 (domestic), $38,159,905 (worldwide). This derailed director Donald Petrie's career as his last notable film was My Life In Ruins. It also did no favors for Lindsay Lohan, whose star fell the next year.
Just the Ticket (1999) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $434,404. Yeah, you read that right. Shoved out to theaters during a packed weekend, then pulled almost immediately for video plans. Apparently didn't do too bad in the rental market, however.
Just Visiting (2001) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $16,176,732. This Foreign Remake of the French blockbuster Les Visiteurs was shot in 1999 and edited significantly for its American release. This was the last film Disney released under their Hollywood Pictures brand for five years.
Justine (1969) — Budget, $7,870,000. Box office, $2.2 million (domestic rentals). Recorded loss, $6,602,000. The film version of Lawrence Durrell's novel saw director Joseph Strick getting replaced with George Cukor after clashing with Fox's Executive Meddling. Its critical and financial takedown contributed to a bad slump for Fox.

Box Office Bomb / I-J

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