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  • K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) — Budget, $100 million (not counting marketing costs), $135 million (counting them). Box office, $65,716,126. A downward trend for Harrison Ford began after this submarine thriller flopped; Ford had otherwise been a reliable box office draw for nearly two decades before this point. Director Kathryn Bigelow took seven years to make another movie but would rebound spectacularly with The Hurt Locker, which made her the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar.
  • Kafka (1991) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $1,059,071. Steven Soderbergh's followup to sex, lies, and videotape and sorta biopic of Franz Kafka was based around the author's body of work. It started a string of flops for Soderbergh that officially ended with Erin Brockovich. It came out around the same time as the similarly surreal Naked Lunch to which it was compared to. It's now a Cult Classic.
  • Kalifornia (1993) — Budget, $8.5 million. Box office, $2,395,231. Got good reviews, but director Dominic Sena saw his cinematic career crash until 2000.
  • Kansas City (1996) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $1,356,329. Robert Altman's jazz-era ode to his hometown faded in a limited release despite good reviews.
  • Kazaam (1996) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $18,937,262. Both this and Steel the following year effectively fouled up any chance of Shaquille O'Neal branching his career out of basketball after those two movies, his rap album, and the infamous video game Shaq Fu were all released and ripped apart in the mid '90snote . Kazaam also landed a critical hit on director Paul Michael Glaser's career (he's Starsky of Starsky & Hutch), as he would not direct or star in anything for the next five years, and any and all directing jobs he would hold after his hiatus were on television only.
  • Keanu (2016) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $20.7 million (domestic). This vehicle for comedy duo Key & Peele fared well with critics, but this would be the last time the duo would share the screen in live action. Peele fared much better the following year after he directed and wrote Get Out, taking his and Key's careers in very different directions.
  • The Keep (1983) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $4,218,594. The film version of the first novel of The Adversary Cycle suffered Executive Meddling which cut the film by two hours. The end result was lambasted for its incomprehensibility and faded from theaters pretty quickly. It hasn't been released on home video since VHS but it's available for streaming. Director Michael Mann and author F. Paul Wilson aren't happy with it, but it's become a Cult Classic.
  • Keeping Up with the Joneses (2016) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $29,786,594. Intended for that year's April, but it got pushed away from Zootopia and The Jungle Book into the Dump Months past the Summer Bomb Buster. This didn't stop it from being one of the worst reviewed films of the year. The first of Zach Galifianakis' Star-Derailing Roles in 2016. Director Greg Mottola does not have any major theatrical projects up past this bomb.
  • Khartoum (1966) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $3 million (rentals). This was the last film to utilize the Ultra Panavision 70 film format until The Hateful Eight 50 years later.
  • Kickin' It Old School (2007) — Budget, $25.7 million. Box office, $4.7 million. This breakdancing comedy was eviscerated by critics and was buried in the box-office when it opened the week before Spider-Man 3. This is the one and only film directed by Harvey Glazer, who went back to documentaries and music videos after its disastrous reception.
  • The Kid Who Would Be King (2019) — Budget, $59 million. Box office, $32,140,970. Despite positive reviews, the film ended up bombing on both sides of the Atlantic. Contrary to Fox's hope that the film would be successful in its native UK, it opened there at a measly sixth place on a weekend dominated by The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. This is one of several recent adaptations and reimaginings of Arthurian Legend to flop at the box office and could be the last for some time.
  • Kill Me Again (1989) — Budget, $4 million. Box office, $283,694. John Dahl's directorial debut; it did better on home video.
  • Killer Elite (2011) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $56,383,756. It was the debut film from Open Road Films, whose next film, The Grey, was successful.
  • The Killer Inside Me (2010) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $3,977,192. The second film version of Jim Thompson's mystery novel received a simultaneous theatrical and Video-on-Demand release, which limited its takings. Its reception was mixed, with critics calling out its brutal violence, especially towards women.
  • Killer Joe (2011, 2012) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $3,665,069. Being even originally released as NC-17 before some cuts, the film was only in 75 theaters stateside.
  • Killers (2010) — Budget, $75 million. Box office, $47,059,963 (domestic), $98,159,963 (worldwide). Supporting co-star Tom Selleck has not made any theatrical film appearances since then, though he remains a popular television star by reprising his role as the title character in two additional Jesse Stone television movies and playing the lead role in the police procedural Blue Bloods.
  • Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) — Budget, $200 million. Box office, $157,026,901. One of several films given a tremendous budget (and run time) by Apple for the purpose of beefing up the prestige of Apple TV+. Many observers believed that Apple would have been happy to send the film straight to streaming and not even release it in theaters (much like the rollout Martin Scorsese's prior, equally long and expensive film, The Irishman, was given by Netflix) and only gave it one (in partnership with Paramount) to appease Scorsese and attach his name to their service. A 3.5 hour runtime and dark subject matter limited the appeal for general audiences in the theatrical window, though it was an Acclaimed Flop by critics.
  • Kin (2018) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $10 million (worldwide). This sci-fi film debuted on Labor Day weekend to mixed reviews and practically Invisible Advertising. It suffered a 73.5% drop the following weekend and was zapped away soon after.
  • The King and I (1999) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $12 million. The film's negative reception due to its Disneyfication of the original musical and subsequent failure did not give any better of an impression to Thailand/Siam than the other adaptations of the book the musical came from (including Anna and the King, which also came out that year), prompted the estates of Rodgers and Hammerstein to permanently mandate that animated adaptations of their works are to be completely forbidden (reportedly, the producers would have been given the rights to Oklahoma! if this film was a success), and relegated Richard Rich to the C-list of animators. It was also released only a week before Doug's 1st Movie, based on the popular TV show, which did slightly better. Both this film and Quest for Camelot banished the career of writer David Seidler from the cinemas until 2010.
  • King Arthur (2004) — Budget, $120 million. Box office, $51,882,244 (domestic), $203,567,857 (worldwide). This star-studded Demythification attempted to channel the success of Gladiator, but a bevy of historical inaccuracies and Executive Meddling from the Mouse House to get a PG-13 rating helped result in a film that was largely considered dull and generic, with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Antoine Fuqua both expressing dissatisfaction with Disney's decisions on the final product. One of a handful of flops in 2004 that ultimately helped end Disney CEO Michael Eisner's long run at the company. It also prevented any more movies based on Arthurian Legend from being made until 13 years later...
  • King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017) — Budget, $175 million (not counting marketing costs), $250 million (counting them). Box office, $39,175,066 (domestic), $148,675,066 (worldwide). The movie lost $152 million total, making it one of the biggest bombs in history. This ended Charlie Hunnam's prospects as a major leading man, though director Guy Ritchie would follow it up with a major hit in Aladdin (2019) (and even bring Hunnam along for The Gentlemen that same year).
  • King David (1985) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $5,111,099. According to the book Disneywar, former Paramount president Michael Eisner, who had become the chairman and CEO of Walt Disney Productions the year prior (and renamed it The Walt Disney Company), criticized this movie's casting of Richard Gere, snarking, "I don't see David in a dress." Gere also earned derision from the Razzies, getting nominated for his role, and director Bruce Beresford admitted Gere was miscast.
  • King Kong Lives (1986) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $4,711,220. This finished off John Guillermin's directing career in cinema, and was part of a disastrous inaugural year for Dino De Laurentiis' DEG.
  • The King of Comedy (1983) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $2,536,242. This Martin Scorsese Black Comedy was adored by critics but dismissed by audiences until it hit HBO. It's now considered one of Scorsese's greatest films, as well as one of the greatest films for stars Jerry Lewis and Robert De Niro.
  • The King of Fighters (2010) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $2,370,600. This case of Video Game Movies Suck was released Direct to Video in the US.
  • King of New York (1990) — Budget, $5 million (estimated). Box office, $2.5 million. While the film went on to be a Cult Classic, the film was heavily criticized on release. It was so bad that at one of the premiere screenings, co-star Laurence Fishburne and writer Nicholas St. John got booed off the stage.
  • King of the Hill (1993) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $1,214,231. Was an Acclaimed Flop, but led to producers Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa not doing another non-fiction theatrical film for five years.
  • King Richard (2021) - Budget, $50 million. Box office, $15 million (domestic), $36 million (worldwide). Both this sports biopic and Will Smith's performance as the titular father of Venus and Serena Williams were acclaimed, with Smith ultimately winning an Oscar (though that's not what most remember from that ceremony), but it became another part of Warner Bros.' 2021 release slate to flop financially thanks to both COVID-19 and their policy of simultaneous release on HBO Max (which may have helped grow the platform but seriously hurt individual films' grosses).
  • The Kingdom (2007) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $47,536,778 (domestic), $86,658,558 (worldwide). One of several examples of the Post-9/11 Terrorism Movie to sink at the box office. It opened at number two and went down from there. Part of a post-Miami Vice rough patch for Jamie Foxx, while it also did no favors for Vice director Michael Mann, who executive produced this film.
  • Kingdom of Heaven (2005) — Budget, $130 million. Box office, $47,398,413 (domestic), $211,652,051 (worldwide). Its theatrical version was decimated by Executive Meddling over its length, though it was Vindicated on Video with the 3-hour director's cut.
  • The Kings Daughter (2022) - Budget, $40 million. Box office, $2.2 million. This one sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for eight years, bouncing all around various distributors before finally being quietly dropped in January with Invisible Advertising.
  • The King's Man (2021) - Budget, $100 million. Box office, $37.2 million (domestic), $125.7 million (worldwide). After suffering many delays due to both corporate shuffling following Disney's purchase of Fox and the COVID-19 Pandemic, this prequel to the Kingsman movies had difficulty communicating its premise with a somewhat clunky title and saw its chances lower even more once Spider-Man: No Way Home came out the week prior and took the box office by storm. In spite of somewhat steady domestic numbers (it remained in the top 5 for a month) and much better international ones, its final gross was far from profitable.
  • King's Ransom (2005) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $4,143,652. This was mauled by critics so badly it left theaters after six weeks. Jeffrey W. Byrd returned to the director's chair for 2012's A Beautiful Soul.
  • A Kiss Before Dying (1991) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $15,429,177. This got evicted from theaters after 31 days.
  • Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $15.8 million. Shane Black's directorial debut didn't set the box office on fire, but the critics loved it and it led Robert Downey Jr. to a Career Resurrection with Iron Man. Black wouldn't make another film until Iron Man 3.
  • Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) — Budget, $3.5 million. Box office, $5 million. This Billy Wilder Sex Comedy was eviscerated by Moral Guardians for its light treatment of adultery and its failure ended a long streak of success for Wilder. It has since been Vindicated by History.
  • Kiss of Death (1995) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $14,942,422. This film and Jade from later 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.
  • The Kitchen (2019) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $14,484,235. This marked the worst wide opening of Melissa McCarthy's career, beating The Happytime Murders from the year before.
  • Knights of the Zodiac (2023) - Budget, $60 million. Box office, $6.7 million. This Live-Action Adaptation of the Saint Seiya manga was caught in Development Hell for several years, was panned by critics upon its release, received only a brief limited release in North America, and died quickly on the vine in theaters.
  • Knock Knock (2015) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $36,336 (domestic), $5,567,103 (worldwide). Eli Roth's remake of the 1977 thriller Death Game played at 22 theaters and was gone after two weeks, with critics panning the film for its ineffective satire, overused Fanservice, and unintentionally campy tone. Audiences were similarly negative, though the film gained a small cult following after it hit VOD services due to Retroactive Recognition of Ana de Armas, the revival of Keanu Reeves' career, and the nature of some of the scenes featuring the two.
  • Knock Off (1998) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $10,319,955. This movie was accused by a few people of being a "Knock-Off" of Rush Hour, which came out a few weeks later. This did not help out Jean-Claude Van Damme or Rob Schneider's careers any. (The latter's association with Adam Sandler kept him in the public eye for a little while.) It is the last American film director Tsui Hark worked on, as he dealt with only Chinese-born movies since.
  • KPAX (2001) — Budget, $68 million. Box office, $50,338,485 (domestic), $65,001,485 (worldwide). A mixed reception to this adaptation of the novel of the same name failed to stop it from opening at number one, but fell the next weekend in the face of Monsters, Inc.. The terrible international numbers prompted producer Lawrence Gordon to sue Universal for fraud, alledging that they sabotaged the international releases. The box office failure killed any interest in adapting the sequel novels. This is the final movie Robert Colesberry produced in his life, and writer Charles Leavitt waited 5 years before writing his next film, Blood Diamond.
  • Krull (1983) — Budget, $27 million (not counting marketing costs), $50 million (counting them). Box office, $16,519,460. This fantasy film picked a fight with The Dark Crystal and lost, with critics lambasting this film for its derivative nature. Reportedly, it opened and closed on the same day in many theaters, which was virtually unheard of at the time. It wiped out star Ken Marshall's cinematic career right away; he would eventually resurface in a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. One of a handful of projects around that time that ended writer Stanford Sherman's career. Despite the critical and commercial drubbing, the film became a Cult Classic through home video and cable showings.
  • Kubo and the Two Strings (2016) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $48 million (domestic), $69.9 million (worldwide). Despite glowing reviews from virtually every critic in show business (this has the highest RT score for Laika's films so far), this stop-motion feature was overshadowed by bigger films such as Suicide Squad and Sausage Party, and was one of the last few films released during 2016's Summer Bomb Buster.
  • Kull the Conqueror (1997) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $6.1 million (domestic), $22 million (worldwide). The script was originally written as a third Conan the Barbarian movie but was remade for Robert E. Howard's earlier barbarian hero when Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to reprise the role. The unfamiliarity of the character may be one factor that damaged its prospects. It ultimately didn't help leading man Kevin Sorbo's career prospects outside of television and low-budget Christian films. This was the last film for director John Nicolella, who died the following year.
  • Kundun (1997) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $8,684,789. The production of this movie led to China barring director Martin Scorsese, writer Melissa Mathison, and several other crew members from returning to China. It also led to China hindering Disney's distribution of Mulan in the country the next year (Disney distributed Kundun through Touchstone). Mathison did not have another cinematic credit until dealing with the English dubbing of Ghibli's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea in 2008 and did not take part in another full project until Disney/Steven Spielberg's The BFG, which ended up being her final work when she died during production.

    L - Le 
  • Lady Jane (1986) — Budget, $8.5 million. Box office, just $277,646. Paramount made it up to Patrick Stewart for putting him in this.
  • Labor Day (2013) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $20,275,812. This and Men, Women and Children put a big dent into the career of Jason Reitman.
  • Labyrinth (1986) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $12,729,917 (domestic), $34 million (worldwide). This film's initial failure demoralized director and Muppet creator/puppeteer Jim Henson; he became depressed and was never able to direct another film before he suddenly died four years later. Combined with Absolute Beginners, this was a Star-Derailing Role for David Bowie's film career, who felt his costumes were unsuited for the intended demographic; co-star Jennifer Connelly does not look back fondly at this movie for her performance but appears to have warmed to the film in time for the 30th anniversary home media releases. This is also the only film co-written by author Dennis Lee and was one of two post-Monty Python films that derailed Terry Jones' cinematic writing until The New '10s. Labyrinth quickly became a Cult Classic through cable showings and home video and was Vindicated by History after critics reevaluated the film in the 1990s.
  • The Ladies Man (2000) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $13.7 million. Sent Reginald Hudlin's directing career straight to the junkyard; he would direct one more film in 2002, and then never again until 2016 (he remained active as a producer and writer during this hiatus). It's also a Star-and-Writer Derailing Role for Saturday Night Live alumnus Tim Meadows.
  • Lady in the Water (2006) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $42,285,169 (domestic), $72,785,169 (worldwide). Critics largely saw this film as a dull and self-indulgent Vanity Project from M. Night Shyamalan, whom wrote, directed, and starred in this, along with throwing in a gratuitous Take That, Critics! within the film itself. This bomb pulled away the Auteur License that Shyamalan had enjoyed up to this point and started a series of critical and/or commercial disasters for the director.
  • Ladybugs (1992) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $14.8 million. Paramount had trouble marketing the film, as it was aimed more at teens; not the typical audience for a Rodney Dangerfield movie. It also came out when Wayne's World and My Cousin Vinny were dominating the box office, both of which stole most of its audience, and the movie disappeared from theaters within two weeks. Director Sidney J. Furie hasn't helmed a theatrical film since.
  • Ladyhawke (1985) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $18.43 million. This Medieval Fantasy film had a mixed response, with most critics agreeing that Matthew Broderick was out of place. It's since become a Cult Classic.
  • Land of the Lost (2009) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $69,548,641. A failed attempt to start a cinematic franchise of the Krofft series, and the worst reviewed film to involve Brad Silberling, who directed the film. Silberling has not worked on another theatrical project since. The Kroffts also did not do another movie until 2016.
  • Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life (2003) — Budget, $95 million. Box office, $65,660,196 (domestic), $156,505,388 (worldwide). Paramount Pictures and copyright holder Eidos Interactive blamed this film's failure on the terrible reception of the Tomb Raider video game that was released alongside it, Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, seemingly ignoring that the film was not only greeted with negative reviews but lacked the audience enthusiasm the first film benefited from. As a result, this daily double not only permanently entombed the Tomb Raider movie series with Angelina Jolie after only two adventures but began the dominoes to Core Design going out of business after Eidos revoked their control over the series in response to both failures, almost killing the entire IP before Crystal Dynamics swooped in and saved it (twice). This movie, along with Speed 2: Cruise Control and the critical thrashing of The Haunting (1999), killed off Jan de Bont's directing career. The only film De Bont received a credit for since Cradle of Life was as a cinematographer on the autobiographical Dutch film Nema aviona za Zagreb in 2012.
  • Larger than Life (1996) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $8,315,693. Notable for being one of the last two film scores by Miles Goodman, who died a few months before it came out. It was also the last film directed by Howard Franklin.
  • Lars and the Real Girl (2007) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $11,293,663. The critics adored it but it only had a limited release.
  • Last Action Hero (1993) — Budget, $85 million. Box office, $50 million (domestic), $137.3 million (worldwide). Had the misfortune of being released the weekend after Jurassic Park; star Arnold Schwarzenegger asked Columbia to change the release date, but they didn't believe it was a threat — and to make matters worse, the second weekend drop was so steep that a romantic comedy by sister studio Tristar surpassed the movie. Reaction was mixed to negative at the time, probably not helped by a really aggressive promotional campaign that quickly wore out its welcome, but it has since become a Cult Classic for its Deconstructor Fleet style.
  • The Last Castle (2001) — Budget, $72 million. Box office, $27,642,707. Critics gave this mixed reviews but audiences viewed it more favorably. Director Rod Lurie stayed off the director' chair until 2007's Resurrecting the Champ.
  • The Last Days of Disco (1998) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $3 million. It led to director Whit Stillman's career falling to the low end of the Popularity Polynomial until The New '10s even though it got good reviews.
  • The Last Duel (2021) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $10,853,945 (domestic), $30,494,876 (worldwide). Ridley Scott's star-studded adaptation of Eric Jager's book based on the last Trial by Combat in France opened to strong reviews but an apathetic box-office. Scott blamed uninterested "millennians" [sic] for its disastrous opening, but stiff competition, dark subject matter, the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic keeping older crowds away from theaters, and sparse marketing are more likely reasons. Audiences and some critics also found the film's feminist themes undermined by the exploitative treatment of its material.
  • The Last Full Measure (2020) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $3.4 million. This Vietnam War film got decent reviews by critics but was overshadowed by the wide release of fellow war film 1917. This was also Peter Fonda and Christopher Plummer's final film; Fonda died before its release, while Plummer died a year later.
  • Last Holiday (2006) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $43,343,248. This Gender Flipped remake of the Alec Guinness movie received mixed reviews, with most praise going to Queen Latifah's performance.
  • The Last Kiss (2006) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $15,852,401. This stalled the film career of Zach Braff, who didn't appear in another film for four years. Tony Goldwyn also stayed off the director's chair for four years, returning to do Conviction.
  • The Last Legion (2007) — Budget, $67 million. Box office, $25,303,038. Director Doug Lefler retired from directing after this movie, his first theatrical film, did poorly with both critics and audiences, later returning to his previous life as a storyboard artist. This film hasn't helped its writers as well; while Jez Butterworth has remained a modestly successful screenwriter, the same can't be said for his brother, Tom, who stuck with writing for TV, only able to write one movie in 2015. This also damaged the careers of screenwriters Peter Rader (who moved on to directing television), and Valerio Manfredi (who had to wait five years before he would write another movie).
  • Last Man Standing (1996) — Budget, $67 million. Box office, $47,267,001. This remake of Yojimbo set in The Great Depression was the biggest bomb at the time for New Line Cinema, and along with two other duds that year led to many firings. Many critics called out the film for its dreariness and Bruce Willis's flat performance. Walter Hill didn't occupy the director's chair until 2000's similarly ill-fated Supernova.
  • Last Night in Soho (2021) - Budget, $43 million. Box office, $22.9 million. An Acclaimed Flop whose box office performance was likely negatively impacted by COVID-19.
  • Last of the Dogmen (1995) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $7,024,389. This fantasy adventure was one of the last film released by Savoy Pictures, which went out of business within a few weeks of its opening. This was also one of the last films produced by Carolco, though they had no financial involvement in it. This was also the directorial debut of screenwriter Tab Murphy; while he has had continued success as a writer, this is the only film he has directed as of 2020.
  • The Last of the Finest (1990) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $1,531,489. Another movie that contributed to Orion Pictures' bankruptcy.
  • The Last Stand (2013) — Budget, $30-45 million. Box office, $12 million (domestic), $48.3 million (worldwide). Arnold Schwarzenegger's first starring role since the end of his tenure as Governor of California. Audiences ignored it in its January release but the critics generally liked it.
  • The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $8.9 million. Martin Scorsese's film version of the Nikos Kazantzakis novel about the life of Christ was heavily protested by Christian groups over its Darker and Edgier take on the story, especially over a scene taken out of context where Jesus is tempted on the cross. Only about 200 theaters screened the film after several theater chains dropped it. It's still banned in Chile, Phillipines, and Singapore to this day. The critics still liked it and Scorsese got an Oscar nomination for directing. Many of the same Christian groups that protested it lightened their stance in later years (though others were unwilling to give Scorsese's 2016 historical religious drama Silence a chance because of the earlier film). It has since been ranked as one of Scorsese's best and considered by many to be the best film adaptation of the gospel story.
  • The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997) — Budget, $4 million. Box office, $46,367. A very poor start to Stephen Kay's directing career.
  • The Last Tycoon (1976) - Budget, $5.5 million. Box office, $1.8 million. The film version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's final, unfinished novel was also Elia Kazan's final film. It's also notable for being Robert De Niro and Jack Nicholson's only film together.
  • Late for Dinner (1991) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $8.9 million. The second and (as of 2019) last film directed by W.D. Richter.
  • Late Night (2019) — Budget, $4 million, but Amazon Studios paid $13 million for U.S. distribution rights and $35 million for marketing. Box office, $15,499,454 (domestic), $22,367,121 (worldwide). Despite receiving good reviews, Amazon canned this comedy’s chances of making a profit by spending twelve times its initial budget on distribution and marketing. This prompted them to rethink their theatrical distribution strategy.
  • The Law of Enclosures (2001) — Budget, CDN $2 million. Box office, CDN $1,000. This extremely low-gross is due to it playing in one theater. It was an Acclaimed Flop, winning a Genie Award for star Brendan Fletcher and two other nominations, but it never got released on DVD.
  • Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace (1996) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $2,409,225. The first Lawnmower Man movie wasn't all that well received by critics to begin with. This one fared even worse, having a completely different cast. It mowed down the career of director Farhad Mann; Mann didn't work on another theatrical film until 2013.
  • Laws of Attraction (2004) — Budget, $32-45 million. Box office, $30,016,165. The critics dismissed it as a lower quality version of Adam's Rib. Writer Aline Brosh Mckenna bounced back with The Devil Wears Prada but the other writer, Robert Harling, would have no more film credits after this, and his next significant work was the short-lived series GCB.
  • Leatherheads (2008) — Budget, $58 million. Box office, $41,299,492. Its misleading marketing, which made very little mention of its premise about the early days of football, likely led to its takedown.
  • Leave It to Beaver (1997) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $10,925,060. The film version of the classic sitcom was the first and only feature by directed by Andy Cadiff, who's had a steady career in TV before and after it.
  • Leaves of Grass (2009) — Budget, $9 million. Box office, $1,018,753. This comedy with Edward Norton playing identical twins was a hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, but it was dumped at only six theaters the following year.
  • Left Behind (2014) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $14,019,924 (domestic), $19,682,924 (worldwide). The original trilogy of films based on the popular Christian book series released in the early 2000s themselves flopped, but small budgets and mostly focusing on home sales kept losses minimal. By 2010, Cloud Ten Pictures got a second chance to produce a version of the Left Behind books more to the book authors' liking; this time with a bigger (by Christian film standards, at least) budget and cast that was headlined by Nicolas Cage. Despite being the Creator-Preferred Adaptation, the movie received poor reviews from secular (and some Christian) reviewers. A quasi-sequel, Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist, was released in 2023, directed by and starring Kevin Sorbo; it made just $3.7 million in limited release, though there is little information available about its budget.
  • Legend (1985) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $15,502,112 (domestic), $23,506,237 (worldwide). The production is noteworthy for starting an accidental fire at Pinewood Studios that decimated the famous 007 soundstage and forced a small change in the film's shooting schedule. Directed by Ridley Scott, the alterations he allowed the studio to make resulted in a film that was praised for its makeup and special effects, but panned for its uninspired story and bland characters. The release of a Director's Cut DVD in 2002 was more warmly received and propelled the film to Cult Classic status.
  • Legend (2015) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $1,872,994 (domestic), $38.7 million (worldwide). This Bio Pic of the gangster Kray twins (both Tom Hardy) got generally good reviews but its U.S. release was only in 107 theaters. Its advertising drew ridicule when one critic's two-star rating was made to look like a five-star one on the film's poster by careful photoshopping.
  • The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $39,459,427. Robert Redford's drama set in the Depression-era South received underwhelming critical reviews and was rather controversial for Will Smith's Magical Negro character and glossing over the racism of the time period. It was the last of three box-office busts for Matt Damon, following All the Pretty Horses and Titan A.E.. This is the last movie to date to credit Allied Filmmakers, who never really had a hit, with all of their films either being a critical flop or a commercial flop (or both). It was also the final film for Jack Lemmon before his death the following year.
  • The Legend of Hercules (2014) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $61,279,452. Part of a string of flops for director Renny Harlin and a Star-Derailing Role for Kellan Lutz.
  • The Legend of Lylah Clare (1968) — Budget, $3,490,000. Box office, less than $1 million (domestic rentals). Based on an episode of The DuPont Show of the Week by Robert Thom, this melodrama was greeted with a rancid critical reaction and audience apathy. Director Robert Aldrich blamed the film's failure on Kim Novak's performance and the sloppy editing, but he later owned up to its shortcomings.
  • Legend Of The Guardians The Owls Of Ga Hoole (2010) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $55,675,313 (domestic), $140,073,390 (worldwide). This intended first film of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole novels proved to be its only installment. The fans did not care for the changes to the story while critics thought it was So Okay, It's Average.
  • The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $12.6 million. The bad reputation of the film's Troubled Production and legal issues put a dent in any possible success. Was supposed to be the big debut of leading actor Klinton Spilsbury, yet it ended up being his only film appearance. The character wouldn't return to the big screen for another three decades- see below for how that turned out.
  • Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014) — Budget, $70 million. Box office, $18,662,027. This was the first time since Home on the Range's critical and financial implosion in 2004 that Will Finn directed a feature film, and this movie's failure sent his career back to prison (along with the directing career of Dan St. Pierre). Production company Summertime Entertainment quietly folded after this film's failure, and it was the first of three busts for distributor Clarius Entertainment. Two sequels and a follow-up TV series were announced to be in the works around the film's wide release, but after flopping with critics and the box office and the shutdown of Summertime, word on all of that happening went into dead silence.
  • Leonard Part 6 (1987) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $4,615,255. Bill Cosby was so disgusted with it that rather than promote it, he implored people to avoid it. They listened, which led to Leonard being beamed out of theaters after just three weeks, and Cosby became the first person to accept a Razzie for their own film (but not the first to accept it at the actual awards show, that "honor" belongs to Paul Verhoeven for Showgirls). The film's implosion, along with the severe financial failures of Ishtar and The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen, led distributor Columbia into a merger with Tristar and both studios leaving Coca-Cola for Sony. Director Paul Weiland, whom Cosby called "inexperienced", didn't direct another theatrical film for 7 years, and he has not made a particularly significant impact on Hollywood after this movie. Cosby, on the other hand, had one more flop on his hands (Ghost Dad) before his movie career was done for good.
  • Let It Ride (1989) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $4,973,285. Cost director Joe Pytka his major cinematic career until Space Jam in 1996, and writer Nancy Dowd, who had herself credited as Ernest Morton, did not have another visible job in Hollywood.
  • Let Me In (2010) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $12,134,935 (domestic), $24,145,613 (worldwide). This is an Acclaimed Flop, but it still did lead to director Matt Reeves' directing career to be locked out in the cold until Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 4 years later.

    Lf - Ln 
  • The Liberation Of LB Jones (1970) — Budget, $3.5 million. Box office, $1.3 million (domestic rentals). This neo-noir thriller was the final film for director William Wyler.
  • The Libertine (2004) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $10,852,064. This film about the infamous poet John Wilmot debuted at the 2004 Toronto International Film Festival. It made its official theatrical debut on November 25, 2005 in 55 theaters before expanding to 815 theaters about three months later on March 10, 2006. This is the one and only feature film for director Laurence Dunmore, whose only film credit since is the short The Parting Glass.
  • Licorice Pizza (2021) - Budget, $40 million. Box office, $29.8 million. Another Paul Thomas Anderson Acclaimed Flop, that managed to earn less in its expansion to over 1,000 theaters following the Oscar nominations than its earlier expansion to 700 in a crowded Christmas weekend.
  • Liebestraum (1991) - Budget, 5 million pounds. Box office, $133,645. Notable for being Kim Novak's last film, as her difficult time with director Mike Figgis soured her on the idea of making any more movies.
  • Life (1999) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $73,345,029. Eddie Murphy's last R-rated film until 2019's Dolemite Is My Name. The film opened strong but failed to make enough of a dent to cover its budget.
  • Life (2017) — Budget, $58 million. Box office, $30,234,022 (domestic), $100,541,806 (worldwide). Critics generally liked it even if they felt it added nothing new to the sci-fi horror genre. It didn't help that it came out in proximity to the similarly-themed Alien: Covenant, which overperformed Life in spades. Its own opening weekend saw it trounced by a tight crowd (Beauty and the Beast, Power Rangers and Kong: Skull Island) of other films.
  • The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $34,808,403. One of a handful of flops in 2004 that ultimately helped end Disney CEO Michael Eisner's long run at the company. It also ended Wes Anderson's relationship with Disney; the major films he's directed past this were distributed by Fox instead (except for Moonrise Kingdom, which was distributed by Focus Features), until the merger brought him back.
  • Life as a House (2001) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $23,903,791. Hayden Christensen would get bigger duties when he played Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones a year later, but writer Mark Andrus wasn't as fortunate.
  • The Life Before Her Eyes (2007, 2008) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $7,248,490. This sent the career of director/producer Vadim Perelman, who did DreamWorks' House of Sand and Fog, into a bottomless pit; he has yet to direct or produce another movie.
  • Life Itself (2018) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $5,067,393 (worldwide). This ensemble film from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman was shredded by critics for its overwrought melodrama and it suffered the second-worst opening for a wide release film since 1982.
  • A Life Less Ordinary (1997) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $4,366,722. This romantic comedy was seen as a Follow-Up Failure to Danny Boyle's Breakthrough Hit Trainspotting.
  • The Life of David Gale (2003) — Budget, $38 million. Box office, $19,955,598 (domestic), $38,955,598 (worldwide). The film's critical and commercial failure prompted director Alan Parker to retire from filmmaking, despite a high quality track record before it. Critics, in particular, took umbridge with its blunt anti-death penalty stance, which was botched by its twist ending.
  • Life or Something Like It (2002) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $16,872,671. This film, and Man of the House, three years later, derailed the A-list career of director Stephen Herek, who has mostly stuck to television and Direct to Video films since. Writer Dana Stevens didn't work for another 3 years and didn't get another cinema writing credit for 11.
  • Life Stinks (1991) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $4,102,526. The film's enormous critical and commercial flop was bad news for star, director, producer, and writer Mel Brooks, whose career took a downturn after this, bottoming out with Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
  • Lifeforce (1985) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $11,603,545. The film version of Colin Wilson's novel The Space Vampires confounded critics with its disjointed tone and extreme fanservice. It was staked that weekend by the far-lighter sci-fi film Cocoon. Its failure contributed to The Cannon Group's demise and director Tobe Hooper's decline, while Patrick Stewart has made it clear he only did this film because of money problems. It later became a Cult Classic.
  • The Light Between Oceans (2016) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $12.5 million (domestic), $24.3 million (worldwide). The last DreamWorks SKG film to be released by Disney's Touchstone Pictures label as part of its five-year deal and no films have been confirmed to be in development from Touchstone, effectively ending the label.note  Also part of a bad string for Michael Fassbender (who at least met his future wife Alicia Vikander while filming).
  • Light Sleeper (1992) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $1,050,861. The critics liked it a lot but it only played in 37 theaters.
  • Lightyear (2022) - Budget, $200 million. Box office, $118.3 million (domestic), $226.4 million (worldwide). After being relegated to Disney+ for three straight movies during the COVID-19 pandemic, Pixar came back to theaters with a spin-off from the beloved and lucrative Toy Story franchise. However, audiences weren’t entirely impressed at this attempt at Buzz Lightyear's origin story (or even understood the concept) and had seemingly been trained over the pandemic to wait for Disney animation to hit streaming rather than rush out to see it in theaters. Its opening weekend couldn't overtake Jurassic World Dominion, and it experienced a steep second week drop (comparable among Pixar films only to Onward, which came out right as the pandemic closed theaters). International numbers were also undercut by many countries who banned the film for a single scene with a same-sex kiss (which may have had an impact on domestic numbers as well).
  • Like A Boss (2020) — Budget, $29 million. Box office, $22,169,514 (domestic), $29,753,143 (worldwide). This Tiffany Haddish comedy was dumped in January to poor reviews and audience apathy. Both this and the catastrophic flop of The Rhythm Section marked a lousy January for Paramount before they rebounded with Sonic the Hedgehog the following month.
  • Limbo (1999) — Budget, $8-10 million. Box office, $2,160,710. The first film released and distributed by Screen Gems got mostly good reviews but only a wide release topping 111 theaters. It still got writer/director/producer/editor John Sayles recognition from the National Board of Review for excellence in filmmaking.
  • Lion of the Desert (1981) — Budget, $35 million (estimated). No accurate box office numbers seem to exist, but the revenue could be around $1–1.5 million. The fact that it was a historical epic honoring a Libyan national hero, commissioned and financed by the Muammar Gaddafi dictatorship, resulted in a very powerful case of Audience-Alienating Premise. This is too bad, because most critics who actually bothered to see it said that it is really good.note 
  • Lions for Lambs (2007) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $15,002,854 (domestic), $63,215,872 (worldwide). This wasn't a great start for the newly relaunched United Artists under the management of Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.
  • A Little Bit Of Heaven (2011) — Budget, $12.5 million. Box office, $1,296,937. This romantic dramedy about a terminally-ill woman was eviscerated by critics and was left to die in a limited release up against Thor.
  • Little Black Book (2004) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $22,034,832. Director Nick Hurran did one more theatrical feature before sticking to television.
  • Little Boy (2015) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $17.4 million. It had a limited release, but what really killed this World War II drama critically was that the initially happy reception of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki's bombings made the film come off as insensitive when it didn't mean it.
  • Little Buddha (1993) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $4,858,139. It opened in France in December 1993, where it was a box office success with other 1 million tickets sold. Its US release the following May consigned it to 139 theaters tops but it got a generally good reception from critics.
  • Little Children (2006) — Budget, $26 million. Box office, $14,821,658. Todd Field's second film as director received pretty good reviews but only played at 115 theaters. Its dark demeanor likely drove audiences away. It still helped cement Jackie Earle Haley's Career Resurrection, though Field took a sixteen-year absence from the director's chair.
  • The Little Drummer Girl (1984) — Budget, $12-20 million. Box office, $7,828,841. The penultimate film from director George Roy Hill.
  • Little Giants (1994) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $19,306,362. Director Duwayne Dunham was regulated to TV movies until 2011. It became a Cult Classic for some American football fans.
  • Little Man (2006) — Budget, $64 million. Box office, $58,645,052 (domestic), $101,595,121 (worldwide). It was derided for its blatantly similar plot to the Bugs Bunny cartoon Baby Buggy Bunny and an unfunny one at that. It didn't help that it was released in the midst of the smashing success of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. This was the last feature film Keenen Ivory Wayans directed.
  • Little Monsters (1989) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $793,775. It was financed and originally going to be released by Vestron Pictures, but they went bankrupt before it was released. The rights were promptly thrown over to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, who responded by dumping the film in only 179 theaters in late August.
  • Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (1989) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $1,368,000. This anime film version of the classic comic strip spent years in Development Hell, during which it went through numerous writers and directors, before it was released in Japan in 1989. It was given a limited release in the United States three years later. One of its potential directors, Hayao Miyazaki, considers it his biggest regret.
  • Little Nicky (2000) — Budget, $85 million. Box office, $58,292,295. This rather notorious movie didn't send Adam Sandler or his production company to Hell (it escaped some heat from the cinematic pits by being released the same year as Battlefield Earth), but Steven Brill, who directed and co-wrote the film, still took damage; he didn't write again until 2014. It also didn't help the cast out too much (cast includes Harvey Keitel and Patricia Arquette).
  • Little Nikita (1988) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $1,733,070. One of several Columbia Pictures films greenlit by outgoing president David Puttnam that the studio left out to dry. Its mixed reviews citing its questionable plot didn't help either.
  • A Little Princess (1995) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $10,015,449. Despite critical acclaim, Warner Bros. barely promoted the film, and it floundered out during a very competitive month.
  • Little Shop of Horrors (1986) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $39 million. The film version of the stage musical of Roger Corman's 1960 film was a critical smash that still underperformed at the box office. It was Vindicated by Video the following year and it helped get creators Alan Menken and Howard Ashman noticed by Disney.
  • The Little Things (2021) - Budget, $30 million. Box office, $31 million. COVID, poor reviews, and simultaneous streaming on HBO Max killed this movie about a killer.
  • The Little Vampire (2000) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $27,965,865. Uli Edel's first cinematic endeavor in six years, this movie's failure sent his theatrical career back into the coffin it came from; he only did TV work again outside of a few foreign films and didn't direct another theatrical film until 2015. This also sucked the life out of writer Larry Wilson's career; his co-writer, Karey Kirkpatrick, was saved thanks to his writing relationship with DreamWorks Animation.
  • Live by Night (2017) — Budget, $65 million. Box office, $21,675,886. Resulted in Warner Bros. having to declare a $75 million loss on the film, making it one of the larger bombs of 2016-17. This wasn't helped by coming out after Disney/Lucasfilm's Rogue One, which was the finishing touch to a $7 billion year for the Mouse House. Live By Night also didn't perform all that well with critics and the failure led to Ben Affleck dropping out of the director's seat for the DC Extended Universe Batman film, which promptly fell into Development Hell before being retooled into a standalone film. Broke the record for biggest theater drop during its third weekend before The Darkest Minds surpassed it the following year.

    Lo - Lz 
  • Lock Up (1989) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $22,099,847 (domestic). This sent Sylvester Stallone's production company White Eagle into oblivion after one movie.
  • Lockout (2012) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $14,326,864 (domestic), $32,204,030 (worldwide). It didn't help that John Carpenter successfully sued the makers for plagiarism over similarities to Escape from New York.
  • The Loft (2014) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $10.1 million. This was meant to be released in theaters by Universal and Dark Castle, but Universal dropped it to Open Road films, and Dark Castle went dark altogether.
  • Logan Lucky (2017) — Budget, $29 million. Box office, $27,780,977 (domestic), $47,400,777 (worldwide). Steven Soderbergh ended his retirement from feature films for this heist comedy. It was a critical smash but it was released at the tail-end of one of the most apathetic summers in years.
  • Lolita (1997) — Budget, $62 million. Box office, $1,071,255. Difficulties in finding a distributor for this controversial film resulted in it opening in Europe before America, and landing on Showtime before hitting theaters, where it became one of the biggest bombs of 1997. It was the last in a series of bombs that subsequently derailed the career of producer/presenter Mario Kassar for 5 years, and director Adrian Lyne also did not direct another film for 5 years, with his next movie being his last.
  • The Lone Ranger (2013) — Budget, $215–275 million (not counting marketing costs), $380–$450 million (counting them). Box office, $89,302,115 (domestic), $260,502,115 (worldwide). One of the biggest flops of all time, with or without adjusting for inflation, and, along with Cowboys And Aliens, is guilty of dropping the bridge on the fantasy western for the foreseeable future. The film was derided not only for trying the fantasy angle but also for simply being Pirates of the Caribbean recycled for the old west, and mocked when Jack Sparrow actor Johnny Depp was cast as Indian Tonto, which earned a bit of a backlash from the Native American community. This became part of a string of flops for Depp as well as co-star Armie Hammer, whose next attempt to jump to the Hollywood A-list in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) quashed any ambitions of him being a leading man. Lone Ranger also severely burned the careers of superwriter duo Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (the men who co-wrote the earlier Pirates films, Disney Animation's Aladdin, and the first Shrek film from Lone Ranger copyright holder DreamWorks Animation), as they do not have a theatrical credit past this movie. In addition, Disney ended their long relationship with producer Jerry Bruckheimer after this film, though for other reasons; the only major work with Disney Bruckheimer has past this point is 2017's Dead Men Tell No Tales. Its massive flop (the highest figure on the loss is $193 million) may have vindicated Disney's decision to terminate studio chairman Rich Ross after the failure of John Carter the year prior.
  • The Lonely Lady (1983) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $1,223,000. Virtually every major player in this film save Ray Liotta (it was one of his first roles) saw their careers derailed by its failure. The Lonely Lady is also the last time one of author Harold Robbins's works has been adapted at all.
  • The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) — Budget, $65 million. Box office, $33,447,612 (domestic), $89,456,761 (worldwide). A warm reception from critics did not translate to box office success for this actioner. This is the final major film that Geena Davis and Renny Harlin worked on together, and combined with the catastrophic implosion of Cutthroat Island the year before, it led to the end of both their professional and personal partnerships. Harlin has been a B-list director since, and Davis has had a minimal career in television. It would be nine years before writer and co-producer Shane Black would pen another film. Later became Vindicated by History through home video and cable showings.
  • Long Shot (2019) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $30,316,271 (domestic), $44,559,581 (worldwide). Positive reviews couldn't stop this Seth Rogen/Charlize Theron rom-com from getting slaughtered by Avengers: Endgame in its second weekend.
  • The Longshots (2008) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $11,767,866. Did some sizable damage to Fred Durst, who has not been a serious movie producer since.
  • Look Who's Talking Now (1993) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $10,340,263. The third film in the Look Who's Talking series was universally panned for being a cash grab, and suffered stiff competition from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
  • Lookin' to Get Out (1982) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $946,461. Most notable for being Angelina Jolie's debut role (she played the daughter to her real-life father Jon Voight's character).
  • Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $68,514,844. The movie's financial failure led WB to think that the Looney Tunes characters didn't have the lasting appeal that they hoped, cancelling the planned Looney Tunes shorts in production and effectively giving the "That's All, Folks!" to Warner Bros. Animation until 2014's The LEGO Movie along with the theatrical career of director Joe Dante (who was already on bad terms with Warner and Universal), and the cinematic career of star Brendan Fraser, who didn't do another studio film for 5 years. Ironically, it actually got decent critical reception, particularly vis-à-vis the last Looney Tunes movie. This movie, along with failures from Disney and DreamWorks, helped bring down traditional 2D animated films until Disney released The Princess and the Frog in 2009.
  • Loose Cannons (1990) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $5,585,184. It was taken out of theaters after two weeks, during which the critics mauled it to pieces. Dan Aykroyd isn't proud of this film; when footage from the film surfaced in a landfill during a murder investigation, Aykroyd remarked it should have stayed buried.
  • Lord of War (2005) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $24,149,632 (domestic), $72,617,068 (worldwide). It received generally good reviews and a commendation from Amnesty International, but its unflinching look at the business of international arms dealing likely turned audiences away.
  • Lords of Dogtown (2005) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $13,411,957. The first and only film produced together by Sony Pictures divisions Columbia and Tri-Star. It suffered in comparison to the recent documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys, which was about the same skateboarding team this film depicts.
  • Lorenzo's Oil (1992) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $7,286,388. Despite being critically acclaimed, this film did not fare well at the box office. Director George Miller toned his work down for the next two decades, focusing on family entertainment such as Babe, but would finally return to heavy action and drama with Mad Max: Fury Road in 2015.
  • Loser (2000) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $18.4 million. After this film's disappointing results, director Amy Heckerling took a break from movies until 2007's I Could Never Be Your Woman.
  • The Losers (2010) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $23,591,432 (domestic), $29,379,723 (worldwide). A failed attempt at adapting the comic book of the same name. Any plans for a sequel were quickly shot down.
  • Losin' It (1983) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $1.2 million. The flopping of this film ended up shuttering Tiberius Film Productions.
  • Losing Isaiah (1995) — Budget, $17 million. Box office, $7.6 million. It received mixed reviews for its heavy-handed melodrama, but Jessica Lange's performance was unanimously praised. Ironically, Lange herself came to regret doing the film.
  • The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008, 2009) — Budget, $6,500,000. Box office, $119,790. A long lost screenplay by Tennessee Williams was dusted off and filmed for this period melodrama which was reviled by critics and never left limited release. This is the only film for director Jodie Markell, who went back to acting after this. Its stars (Bryce Dallas Howard and Chris Evans) were barely phased by its underperformance.
  • The Lost City of Z (2017) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $17,122,336. Another highly-praised film that never left a limited release.
  • Lost Highway (1997) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $3.7 million. This David Lynch thriller got a mixed reception for its murky plot and never went past a limited release. This marked the final theatrical film for Richard Pryor, Robert Blake and Jack Nance. It became a Cult Classic once it hit home video.
  • Lost Horizon (1973) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $3 million. This infamous remake of the 1937 Frank Capra classic as a musical was seen as the final nail in the coffin for the traditional Hollywood musical, with frequent comebacks for the genre popping up ever since. Producer Ross Hunter only worked in television after this movie bombed out, and it didn't do director Charles Jarrott's career any favors, either. It even helped composers Burt Bacharach and Hal David to finish their 15 year partnership.
  • Lost in Space (1998) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $69,117,629 (domestic), $136,159,423 (worldwide). This update of the classic series ended Titanic's historic 15-week reign at the top of the box office, but tepid reviews and unenthusiastic audiences saw it rapidly decline, slipping behind Titanic by its fourth week. It left Friends star Matt LeBlanc's cinematic career hopelessly adrift, while director Stephen Hopkins saw his own career slow down greatly. The poor response ended plans for a three-film series, and any further adaptations of the show wouldn't materialize until Netflix's reboot series two decades later.
  • Lost in Yonkers (1993) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $9,285,189. This film of the Neil Simon play was the first film edited on Avid Media Composer. It was also marked his penultimate theatrical film.
  • Lost Souls (2000) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $16,815,253 (domestic), $31,355,910 (worldwide). The directorial debut of cinematographer Janusz Kaminski was placed on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for a year to keep it away from other big horror films. Its final release date put it in competition with the rerelease of The Exorcist.
  • A Lot Like Love (2005) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $21,845,719 (domestic), $42,886,719 (worldwide). Colin Patrick Lynch only wrote a short film after this. This is also the only American film directed by Nigel Cole, who hasn't directed a film outside of his native UK since.
  • Love And Monsters (2020) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $1.1 million. Like most movies scheduled for March 2020, wound up delayed once the COVID-19 Pandemic forced theaters to close. Paramount eventually decided that in October, it would hit video-on-demand alongside whatever cinemas were open, meaning a very limited release (387 screens!). It also went straight to Netflix overseas. Still, VOD numbers were high, reviews were good, and the effects even got nominated for the Academy Award.
  • Love Affair (1994) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $18,272,894. A failed remake of the famous romantic movie, which was previously remade as An Affair to Remember. It also served as the final theatrical appearance of Katharine Hepburn.
  • Love Crimes (1992) — Budget, $8,500,000. Box office, $2,287,928. Lizzie Borden only directed one more movie.
  • Love Field (1992) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $1,014,726. This was finished in 1990 but was held back by Orion Pictures' bankruptcy. Critics didn't really care for it but Michelle Pfeiffer got an Oscar nomination.
  • The Love Guru (2008) — Budget, $62 million. Box office, $40,863,344. Hindus and Indians were outraged at the comedy's portrayal of a "Hindu" guru along with the overabundance of Toilet Humour, which didn't help it at all. The film's failure and triple Razzie wins finished off Mike Myers's career as a leading comedian after the decline starting with the aforementioned The Cat in the Hat, with Shrek Forever After plus cameos in Inglourious Basterds and Bohemian Rhapsody being his only film roles since. This is also the only directing role for writer Marco Schnabel.
  • Love in the Time of Cholera (2007) — Budget, $48 million. Box office, $31,337,584. The film version of Gabriel García Márquez's novel was the first English-language version of one of his novels. Critics unfavorably compared it to its source material and it never expanded beyond 852 theaters.
  • The Love Letter (1999) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $8,302,478. Even if it was released the same week as The Phantom Menace, the studio still believed in counter-programming appeal — but it was not meant to be, specially once Notting Hill came out the following weekend to cover the romantic comedy niche and ensure Love Letter wouldn't expand, with its widest release being in 817 theaters.
  • Love Ranch (2010) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $137,885. It was only in 11 theaters for 4 weeks. The critics didn't care for it at all.
  • Love Wrecked (2005) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $3,505,963. Randal Kleiser directed Amanda Bynes in this lighthearted romantic comedy about a teenage girl who holds her celebrity crush hostage on a tropical island. Harvey Weinstein sat on it for a year before deciding to dump it onto cable TV in the United States sometime in January 2007. It was still released theatrically overseas. Kleiser has not directed another major film since.
  • The Lovely Bones (2009) — Budget, $65 million. Box office, $44,114,232 (domestic), $93,621,340 (worldwide). The film was received poorly for its jarring Mood Whiplash, though the performances were praised.
  • Loverboy (1989) — Budget, $8.5 million. Box office, $3,960,327.
  • Love's Labour's Lost (2000) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $299,792. Kenneth Branagh's version of the Shakespeare play turned it into a Hollywood musical, and its jarring tonal shifts bore the brunt of its mixed to negative reviews. Its limited release did it no favors. Miramax cut its three-picture deal with Branagh early after this bomb and it would be six years before he directed another film (or two, The Magic Flute and As You Like It).
  • Loving (2016) — Budget, $9 million. Box office $7,592,362. Despite universal acclaim and being an awards front-runner.
  • Lucas (1986) — Budget, $6,000,000. Box office, $8,200,000. It was an Acclaimed Flop, and it proved to be Corey Haim's Star-Making Role. It was also the film debuts of Courtney Thorne-Smith and Winona Ryder.
  • Lucky Numbers (2000) — Budget, $63 million. Box office, $10,890,222. Another blast against John Travolta's career in 2000 alongside Battlefield Earth, and director Nora Ephron didn't work another film for 5 years and put the crutch back on writer Adam Resnick, though he did work on another movie 2 years later. This was also the last film appearance of Daryl Mitchell prior to him losing the ability to walk in a motorcycle accident.
  • Lucky You (2007) — Budget, $55 million. Box office, $8,382,477. In fairness, it faced tough competition that opening weekend. Director Curtis Hanson didn't work on another theatrical film until Chasing Mavericks five years later.
  • Lucy in the Sky (2019) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $319,976. This psychological drama opened in 37 theaters to apathetic reviews.

    M - Man 
  • Mac and Me (1988) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $6,424,112. The movie failed in cinemas after it ripped off the plot of E.T. in an attempt to cash in on that movie's theatrical reissue and impending VHS release. It also cast a planned sequel into a black hole. Director Stewart Raffill and composer Alan Silvestri were the only major crew members to survive. Finally, the wheelchair scene from this film became the butt of a Running Gag from actor Paul Rudd on avenues such as Conan O'Brien.
  • Macbeth (1971) — Budget, $3.1 million. Box office, $3 million. Roman Polański's take on the Shakespeare play became notorious for its explicit violence and nudity, allegedly influenced by the murder of his wife, Sharon Tate, during production. This was an early attempt by Playboy at mainstream film production and they took a huge loss with its failure. It also put a dent in cinematic adaptions of Shakespeare plays that really didn't end until Kenneth Branagh hit it big with Henry V in 1989.
  • Macbeth (2015) — Budget, $15-$20 million. Box office, $1,110,707 (domestic), $16,322,067 (worldwide). Part of a bad string for Michael Fassbender.
  • MacGruber (2010) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $9,322,895. Although the movie didn't make back a lot of its money, it would become a Cult Classic years later, getting Alamo Drafthouse style Quote-alongs as well as a TV spin-off.
  • Machete Kills (2013) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $15,008,161. Critics cited the film for its Sequelitis and it ended up with one of the worst opening weekends of all time. The planned third installment Matchete Kills Again… In Space has since been languishing in Development Hell.
  • The Machine (2023) - Budget, $20 million. Box office, $10.7 million. This movie starring stand-up comedian Bert Kreischer As Himself faced an uphill battle from the start. This was Kreisher's first ever film role and was largely based on a viral clip from his comedy set that was over six years old at the time of the film's release. It was savaged by critics and had the misfortune of opening the same day as About My Father, another movie starring a stand-up playing himself, in a theatrical market that was becoming increasingly apathetic towards comedies.
  • Machine Gun Preacher (2011) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $3,338,690. Its biggest release was in 93 theaters and got major flak for trying to paint its subject, Sam Childers, as a religiously-redeemed hero, when in real life he was a lying, violent nut job.
  • Mad City (1997) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $10,541,523. Costa-Gavras's penultimate English language film opened at number six and faded from the spotlight pretty quickly.
  • Mad Dog and Glory (1993) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $10,688,490. This was held back a year for reshoots at the behest of Universal. It got generally good reviews, though.
  • Mad Dog Time (1996) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $107,874. This film was notoriously described by Roger Ebert as the first film he had seen that wasn't preferable to staring at a blank wall for the same amount of time. Its overall negative reception whacked actor Larry Bishop's directorial career until 2008's Hellride. It also did no favors for Christopher Jones, who made his first, and final, film appearance since Ryan's Daughter twenty-six years earlier.
  • Mad Money (2008) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $20,668,843 (domestic), $26,412,163 (worldwide). This is one of the many bombs that derailed Starz' theatrical distribution company, Overture Films. Callie Khouri, best known for scripting Thelma & Louise, hasn't directed a feature film since. It's generally believed that Katie Holmes turned down reprising her role in The Dark Knight to appear in this film.
  • Madame Sousatzka (1988) — Budget, $9 million. Box office, $3,548,238. John Schlesinger's adaptation of the Bernice Rubens novel got pretty good reviews, even winning Shirley MacLaine a Golden Globe in a triple-tie with Sigourney Weaver and Jodie Foster, but was left to wilt in a limited release. It also marked Peggy Ashcroft's final screen appearance.
  • Made (2001) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $5,480,653. This film only had a limited release in the United States and virtually no release elsewhere, plus it was part of a year's slate that put production company Artisan Entertainment on life support; they would rebound the next year before being absorbed by Lionsgate. It did, however, receive good reviews, ensuring director Jon Favreau, who made his debut in that job with this film, would move on to bigger and better things.
  • Made in Heaven (1987) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $4,572,845. This fantasy comedy sent Bruce A. Evans' writing career to purgatory for about five years, returning to write and direct the similarly ill-fated Kuffs.
  • The Magic Flute (2006) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $1.9 million (worldwide). Kenneth Branagh's film version of the Mozart opera was released direct-to-DVD in the US in 2013, seven years after it limped along in the international box office. European critics gave it generally good reviews.
  • The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) — Budget, $1.1 million. Box office, $1 million (domestic rentals). Recorded loss, $620,000. Orson Welles's version of the Booth Tarkington novel was intended to be an easy follow-up to Citizen Kane. Unfortunately, Welles had surrendered his final cut privileges to RKO, who promptly re-edited the film when he was away filming a documentary in Brazil. Over an hour's worth of footage was excised and later destroyed to bring the film down from over two hours to 88 minutes. Bernard Herrmann's score was also re-cut against his will and he promptly took his name off the finished film. Welles's reputation was ran through a shredder and he spent the rest of his life doing smaller budgeted films. Even in its edited state, it ranks with Kane as one of Welles's masterpieces.
  • The Magnificent Seven (2016) — Budget, $90 million. Box office, $93,432,655 (domestic), $160,437,812 (worldwide). This was considered The Mediocre Seven by critics and was pushed back into one of the Dump Months following the 2016 Summer Bomb Buster. Denzel Washington instantly recovered with Fences, co-star Chris Pratt has the lifeline of Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Jurassic World around him, but other cast and crew members such as writer Nic Pizzolatto may not have the same luck.
  • Magnolia (1999) — Budget, $37 million. Box office, $22,455,976 (domestic), $48,451,803 (worldwide). This received glowing reviews, but its massive length may have hurt it as much as its relatively limited release. Paul Thomas Anderson later admitted he felt the film was overlong.
  • The Magus (1969) — Budget, $3,775,000. Box office, $2,450,000 (domestic rentals). The film version of John Fowles's novel confounded its cast and crew with its Mind Screw and more than likely did the same for critics and audiences.
  • The Majestic (2001) — Budget, $72 million. Box office, $37,317,558. This movie only making half its budget back put The Shawshank Redemption director Frank Darabont's career in lock-up for 6 years. It also smashed up the general career of Michael Sloane.
  • Major League: Back to the Minors (1998) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $3,572,443. It killed all the chances of a considered fourth film. It was also a finishing blow to Scott Bakula's career as a leading role in theatrical films, as he hasn't held that billing again since.
  • Malignant (2021) - Budget, $40 million. Box office, $13.3 million (domestic), $33.2 million (worldwide). James Wan's return to horror was unorthodox and thus highly polarizing for both reviewers and audiences, so couple it with a pandemic still at large and a simultaneous HBO Max release and Malignant couldn't properly cut the competition - the film's opening weekend beat the third week of Candyman (2021), but the second one fell behind it.
  • Mallrats (1995) — Budget, $6.1 million. Box office, $2,454,447. This and the aforementioned Canadian Bacon led to threats by Universal and PolyGram higher-ups to shut down Gramercy Pictures; it soldiered on until 2000.
  • Malone (1987) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $3,060,858. This adaptation of the William P. Wingate novel Shotgun was the only one of the author's works to make it to film. It's also the only English-language screenplay by writer Christopher Frank, who went back to France after this.
  • The Mambo Kings (1992) — Budget, $15.5 million. Box office, $6,742,168. Reviews were still positive.
  • Mame (1974) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $6.5 million. This musical adaptation of Auntie Mame was lambasted for its woeful miscasting of the then 63-year-old Lucille Ball in the title role. This ended her film career and she returned to TV afterwards. It was also regrettable for co-star Bea Arthur, whose then-husband Gene Saks directed the film, though she kept afloat with Maude. Saks, meanwhile, did not direct another film for twelve years until Brighton Beach Memoirs. The tepid reception to this and Hello, Dolly! prompted songwriter Jerry Herman to forbid anymore adaptations of his work without his input.
  • The Man (2005) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $12,382,362. The second-to-last film that Les Mayfield directed and Robert N. Fried produced.
  • A Man Apart (2003) — Budget, $36 million. Box office, $26,736,098 (domestic), $44,350,926 (worldwide). Originally called Diablo, this sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for two years due to a trademark infringement lawsuit over Blizzard Entertainment's Diablo. While it was settled in New Line's favor, they changed the title anyway. The end result was panned by critics and greeted apathetically even after debuting at number 3.
  • The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (2015) — Budget, $75 million. Box office, $45,312,930 (domestic), $100,412,930 (worldwide). This cinematic reboot of the 1960s spy TV series got a fairly warm reception from critics but was lost among a crowd of spy films that year. This film's failure in the domestic market and the box office derailment of The Lone Ranger (2013) slammed the brakes on Armie Hammer's time as an up-and-coming action star before his abuse allegations drove him from the spotlight entirely; Henry Cavill has fared better by comparison. One of two consecutive bombs directed by Guy Ritchie, who would bounce back with Aladdin (2019).
  • Man of La Mancha (1972) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $3.8 million (domestic rentals). The film version of Dale Wasserman's musical based on Don Quixote author Miguel de Cervantes was slammed by critics, particularly for its casting of Peter O'Toole (whose singing was dubbed) and Sophia Loren (who wasn't).
  • Man of Tai Chi (2013) — Budget, $32 million. Box office, $5,400,144. This martial arts actioner is the first and thus far only film directed by Keanu Reeves, who hasn't planned to step behind the camera again. Critics gave it decent reviews, though, and it has become a minor Cult Classic among genre fans.
  • Man of the House (2005) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $21,577,624. This film, along with Life or Something Like It three years earlier, derailed Stephen Herek's A-list career, and he's mostly stuck to television and Direct to Video movies since Man of the House.
  • Man on a Ledge (2012) — Budget, $42 million. Box office, $18,620,000 (domestic), $46,201,189 (worldwide). Lionsgate, which recently bought this film's distributor, Summit Entertainment, offered moviegoers a discounted movie deal for those seeing this movie and the former's One for the Money, which opened on the same day. Both were received poorly by critics and floundered at the box office.
  • Man on the Moon (1999) — Budget, $82 million. Box office, $47,434,430. This was the first film starring Jim Carrey to not have a successful opening weekend. The biopic of late comedian Andy Kaufman was an Acclaimed Flop, with Carrey's performance as Kaufman earning particular praise, but interest in the subject matter just wasn't there and Carrey's name value alone wasn't enough to make up what was a pretty big budget for this type of film.note  Director Miloš Forman would take another hiatus before his final film, another bomb in Goya's Ghosts.
  • Man-Thing (2005) — Budget, $7.5 million. Box office, $1.1 million. This has the dishonor of being the lowest grossing movie based on a Marvel Comics property to ever get some kind of theatrical release. The film suffered numerous changes and budget boosts, which only caused more trouble for the film, and it got shoved into international theaters while only appearing on television in American markets.
  • Man to Man (2005) — Budget, 21.7 million Euros. Box office, $3.5 million U.S. Dollars. Writer William Boyd has not written for another film since.
  • Man Trouble (1992) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $4,096,030. Director Bob Rafelson's career never fully recovered after this. It was also one of the films that prompted Italian film company Penta to get out of the Hollywood industry.
  • The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018) — Budget, €16 million. Box office, $391,963 (domestic), $1.8 million (international). Terry Gilliam's legendarily troubled take on Don Quixote spent nearly 30 years in Development Hell, including one failed attempt, before it was finally completed. It faced a lawsuit from former producer Paulo Branco which nearly prevented its release. It was still released across Europe in May 2018, and eventually released in the US as a one-night event in April 2019.
  • The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $13,717,039. Bill Murray's last leading role in a live-action comedy; his roles in comedies have either been in supporting roles or dramedies.
  • The Man Who Loved Women (1983) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $10,964,231. Neither audiences nor critics loved Blake Edwards's remake of the French film and it faded out of theaters after seven weeks.
  • The Man Who Wasn't There (2001) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $18,916,623. One of the movies that led to Gramercy Pictures winding up in the morgue until 2015.
  • Man with a Plan (1996) — Budget, $100,000. Box office, $33,402. This mockumentary starred real-life Vermont dairy farmer and future political candidate Fred Tuttle as a fictionalized version of himself. It became a Cult Classic in its home state and its director, John O'Brien, successfully ran for the Vermont House of Representatives in 2018.
  • The Man with One Red Shoe (1985) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $8,645,411. Began the destruction of the career of director Stan Dragoti; his only two films past this were the critically-hated She's Out of Control and Necessary Roughness.
  • The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) — Budget, $15 million (not counting marketing costs), $20 million (counting them). Box office, $15,634,090 (domestic), $19,721,245 (worldwide). It lost its audience due to its competition, and Universal, who quickly lost confidence with the film, gave it no promotion upon the release date. A sequel WAS made, but it did not feature Russell Crowe and went Direct-To-Blu-ray-And-DVD. Director Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, aka, RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, did not direct another movie for 5 years, and co-producer Thomas Bliss's cinematic career was knocked out by this film and The Last Exorcism Part II (two of the other producers, Marc Abraham and Eric Newman, have seen some bad projects past this one).
  • The Man with the Iron Heart (2017) - Budget €27.8 million (about $33 million). Global box office gross: a little over $4 million.
  • The Manchurian Candidate (2004) — Budget, $80 million. Box office, $65,955,630 (domestic), $96,105,964 (worldwide). Critics liked this remake of the 1962 thriller even if not to the extent of the original. Meryl Streep's performance as Mrs. Iselin was especially praised.
  • Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $8.3 million (domestic), $27.3 million (worldwide). This biopic of Nelson Mandela was released around the same time as the real Mandela died. Despite this, the Weinstein Company opened it in limited release, expanding it to 975 theaters on a particularly crowded Christmas Day and it topped out with another 35. Screenwriter William Nicholson blamed its domestic underperformance on the success of 12 Years a Slave.
  • Manderlay (2005) — Budget, $14.2 million. Box office, $675,000. Lars von Trier's sequel to Dogville saw its two leads recast and its returning cast play new characters. Critics were split and it never expanded beyond 20 theaters. Its failure made plans for a third film unlikely.
  • Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) — Budget, $13.5 million. Box office, $11,330,911. Another Acclaimed Flop from Woody Allen.
  • The Manhattan Project (1986) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $3.9 million. The first film of David Begelman's shortlived Gladden Entertainment. Director Marshall Brickman wouldn't direct another film until the 2001 TV film Sister Mary Explains It All.
  • Manhunter (1986) — Budget, $15 million. Box Office, $8.6 million. This first adaptation of the novel Red Dragon was one of several busts for producer Dino De Laurentiis that ultimately ended his production company DEG. De Laurentiis sold the sequel rights to Orion for a pittance, but when the result was The Silence of the Lambs, the famous film producer returned to the Hannibal Lecter franchise. Was later Vindicated by History and enjoyed a cult resurgence.
  • Mannequin Two: On the Move (1991) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $3,752,428. This sequel to the 1987 hit opened at #8 in its opening weekend, a far cry from its predecessor's third-place opening. It was also the last film infamous Hollywood mogul David Begelman oversaw before his death in 1995.
  • The Many Saints of Newark (2021) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $8,220,603 (domestic), $4.1 million (international). The prequel to The Sopranos was left to be whacked by Venom: Let There Be Carnage and for audiences to conveniently prefer to stream the film on HBO Max (where fans would have watched the rest of the show) instead.

    Mao - Mh 
  • Map Of The Human Heart (1992) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $5 million.
  • Marci X (2003) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $1,675,706. Completed in 2001, Marci X was criticized heavily on release for its dated stereotypes of Jews, blacks and hip-hop culture. Chris Rock, who was offered to play the male lead in this movie, stated he'd "rather have gotten an envelope of anthrax" than read the film's script. This is the final theatrical film from director Richard Benjamin and one of the last films written by Paul Rudnick. The only films Benjamin has directed since are TV movies. Marci X also ended Lisa Kudrow’s brief studio leading lady career.
  • Margaret (2011) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $623,292. This sat on The Shelf of Movie Languishment for six years due to a extremely lengthy postproduction phase, which resulted in back-and-forth lawsuits between distributor Fox Searchlight and director Kenneth Lonnergan. It limped its way into an extremely limited release and faded away quickly. Lonnergan stuck to the stage after this movie until his Oscar-winner Manchester by the Sea.
  • Marie Antoinette (1938) — Budget, $2.9 million. Box office, $2,133,000. The last film greenlit by Irving G. Thalberg before his death was a vehicle for his wife, Norma Shearer. It was one of MGM's most successful films but it didn't make back its high budget.
  • Marie Antoinette (2006) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $15,962,471 (domestic), $60,917,189 (worldwide). It received mixed reviews for its historical and stylistic liberties, though it has since received a critical reappraisal. Sofia Coppola stayed off the big screen until 2010's Somewhere.
  • The Marksman (2021) - Budget, $23-30 million. Box office, $23.1 million. Yet another Liam Neeson action film dropped in the middle of the COVID box office wasteland.
  • Marmaduke (2010) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $33,644,788 (domestic), $83,761,844 (worldwide). Director Tom Dey's last film to date. It was rushed to DVD two and a half months after its theatrical debut (though it lingered in theaters for a few weeks more).
  • Married to It (1993) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $2,059,832. One of several films held back by Orion Pictures' bankruptcy; it was intended for an Autumn 1991 release, but the studio shelved it at the last minute. This put a huge dent in the career of director Arthur Hiller and its big name cast.
  • The Marrying Man (1991) — Budget, $26 million. Box office, $12,454,758. Dashed Kim Basinger's hopes of being a singer, and one of a few flops in the early '90s that melted her A-list career. The film was also critically panned and its failure led co-star Alec Baldwin to go on an epic tirade against distributor Disney/Touchstone's boss, Jeffrey Katzenberg, calling him "The Eighth Dwarf, Greedy" for giving the film a small budget (the writer of the movie, Neil Simon, also got heat from Baldwin, though the rant against Katzenberg didn't prevent them from working together again at DreamWorks Animation. Katzenberg, for his part, DIDN'T go on a counter-rant against Baldwin). As for director Jerry Rees, he did not direct another full-length theatrical film until 2013. The Marrying Man is perhaps most notorious for its turbulent production, in which stars Baldwin and Basinger made the crew's lives miserable with their on-set nastiness and prima donna attitudes.
  • Marooned (1969) — Budget, $8–10 million. Box office, $4.1 million. Based on a novel by Martin Caidin, this sci-fi film about a disastrous space mission was released four months after the Apollo 11 landing and it didn't quite capture the public's imagination as the actual event. However, it was eerily prescient of the Apollo 13 disaster five months later. It also has the dubious distinction of being the only Oscar-winning film (for Best Visual Effects) to get roasted on Mystery Science Theater 3000 (albeit under the title Space Travelers).
  • Mars Attacks! (1996) — Budget, $80-100 million. Box office, $37,771,017 (domestic), $101,371,017 (worldwide). Tim Burton's parody comedy of B alien movies was undermined by coming out only months after Roland Emmerich's alien epic Independence Day, which it got compared to. Burton would take a 3-year break before his next film, Sleepy Hollow (1999). Commitments to Spin City and his Parkinson's Disease also led cast member Michael J. Fox to not appear on camera in another feature film until 2002.
  • Mars Needs Moms (2011) — Budget, $150 million. Box office, $38,992,758. Adjusted for inflation, this movie is one of two finalists for being the biggest animated box office bomb of all time (the other movie is Don Bluth's final film, Titan A.E.). On top of that, it was also critically panned. Its production company ImageMovers Digital, a joint venture of Disney with the film's producer Robert Zemeckis, had already been shuttered during production for the underwhelming A Christmas Carol, and the failure of Mars Needs Moms ensured the studio also killed the Yellow Submarine remake Zemeckis was producing. It also essentially vaporized the motion-capture animated film as well. Director Simon Wells, a veteran of DreamWorks Animation and the Kung Fu Panda series, saw his directing/writing career beamed off to Mars by this film's failure; his only credits past this are as story artist for DWA's KFP and The Croods. Mars Needs Moms also helped derail the main careers of producers Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke.
  • Marshall (2017) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $10,051,659 (domestic). This biopic of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall received strong reviews, particularly for Chadwick Boseman's performance as Marshall, but it never left a limited release.
  • Martian Child (2007) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $9,351,744. The film version of David Gerrold's novelette and later novel caused considerable backlash for turning its gay protagonist straight. note 
  • Marvin's Room (1996) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $12,803,305. The film version of Scott McPherson's play was liked by critics but its widest release was 1,158 theaters. Director Jerry Zaks stuck to Broadway and TV for twelve years before his next film.
  • Mary of Scotland (1936) — Budget, $864,000. $1,276,000. The film version of Maxwell Anderson's play was one of several films that got Katharine Hepburn labeled "Box-Office Poison." Director John Ford was embarrassed to be even associated with it, losing interest in it early on.
  • Mary Reilly (1996) — Budget, $47 million. Box office, $12,379,402. The film had a Troubled Production due to Julia Roberts and John Malkovich's Hostility on the Set, Roberts keeping a personal jet on standby in case she wanted to leave (on the studio's dime), and the ending being rewritten multiple times. The end result was lambasted by critics, particularly for Roberts' inability to sustain an Irish accent. Roberts rebounded the next year with My Best Friend's Wedding.
  • The Master (2012) — Budget, $32 million. Box office, $26,248,232. The current page image of Acclaimed Flop, between The Weinstein Company neglecting it in favor of Silver Linings Playbook and protests from the Church of Scientology (the main character is an Expy of L. Ron Hubbard), it managed to be another underseen Paul Thomas Anderson production.
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) — Budget, $150 million. Box office, $93,927,920 (domestic), $212,011,111 (worldwide). The poor box office killed the idea of a series of Aubrey-Maturin movies before they even got started. The great reviews and awards buzz failed to give it momentum at the box office, and it fell from a respectable opening at number two. Peter Weir wouldn't make another movie until 2011.
  • Masterminds (2016) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $17,368,022 (domestic), $29,148,224 (worldwide). The second of Zach Galifianakis's Star Derailing Roles in 2016. It also hasn't really helped the writing trio behind the film out a whole lot.
  • Masters of the Universe (1987) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $17,336,370. Despite the heavy promotion of this adaptation of He-Man, the film failed and was one of the movies that eventually did in The Cannon Group. Plans for a sequel were screwed when He-Man copyright holder Mattel hiked their licensing fees, and star Dolph Lundgren was hammered into the B list of film actors and treats the movie with much contempt. Finally, it solidified He-Man's status as an '80s cheese symbol, which left the franchise dated by the end of the decade, although a remake is being worked on.
  • The Matador (2005) — Budget, $12.5 million. Box office, $17.3 million. Despite having Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear headlining the film and getting good critical responses, this "amoral, oddball comic thriller" failed to draw an audience.
  • Matchstick Men (2003) — Budget, $62 million. Box office, $36,906,460 (domestic), $65,565,672 (worldwide). It was an Acclaimed Flop but it was the start of several consecutive busts for Ridley Scott.
  • Material Girls (2005) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $16,907,725. It sent director Martha Coolidge's career into the second tier of filmmakers.
  • Matinee (1993) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $9,532,895. It was an Acclaimed Flop and would later do better on television and video.
  • The Matrix Resurrections (2021) — Budget, $190 million. Box office, $37,481,470 (domestic), $153,681,470 (worldwide). Released 18 years after The Matrix Revolutions, this sequel proved to be polarizing for its Meta Fiction commentary, Lighter and Softer tone, and action scenes seen as a step down from its predecessors. It gained a warmer reception from critics than Revolutions but is by far the lowest-grossing film in the franchise. At least part of the blame can be pinned on the arrival of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the COVID-19 Pandemic, which encouraged audiences to watch it on HBO Max (it was also the last major WB film to have such a hybrid release, a strategy that kneecapped the performances of almost every tentpole released in that stretch), along with Spider-Man: No Way Home dominating the box office. Several outlets also blamed a lack of audience interest in the franchise for its underwhelming numbers.
  • Max Keeble's Big Move (2001) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $18,634,654. A large reason for its misfortune at the box office is due to it releasing weeks after the September 11 attacks, resulting in it getting barely any advertising as most stations aired PSAs instead of commercials. This kept director Tim Hill off screen until 2006's Garfield: A Tale of Two Kitties.
  • Max Schmeling (2010) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $96,456 (Germany). An attempt by director Uwe Boll to cast a real-life boxer rather than an actor for this boxing-themed film imploded when said boxer, Henry Maske, was criticized for his acting (the film was also labeled as being riddled with clichés).
  • Max Steel (2016) — Budget, $10.4 million. Box office, $6,272,403. One of the most heavily panned films of 2016 and ejected from the theater circuit after three weeks, this film has likely liquidated any ideas of a film franchise based off of it and is a serious blow to director Stewart Hendler's career. This is also a serious setback to Mattel's attempt to get into filmmaking.
  • Maximum Overdrive (1986) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $7.4 million. Stephen King's Self-Adaptation of his Trucks short story became infamous for its drug-fueled production and baffling creative choices. While it later became a minor Cult Classic for its silly premise and AC/DC soundtrack, King and star Emilio Estevez hated the film and King vowed to never direct another theatrical film again.
  • McHale's Navy (1997) — Budget, $42 million. Box office, $4,408,420. One of two 1997 films that smashed the cinematic directing career of Bryan Spicer; For Richer or Poorer is the other. Did no favors to Tom Arnold's career as a leading man.
  • Me and Orson Welles (2009) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $2,336,172. This was a big hit on the Festival Circuit in 2008 but it couldn't get a proper release date until November 2009. Even then, its limited release was so paltry that it couldn't translate its critical raves for co-star Christian McKay, who played Welles, into an Oscar nomination.
  • The Mechanic (2011) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $29,121,498 (domestic), $62,040,498 (worldwide). Despite the film not doing very well, a sequel was released five years later.
  • The Medallion (2003) — Budget, $41 million. Box office, $34,268,701. A botched attempt on Sony/Tristar/Jackie Chan's part to make a theatrical replica of both The Golden Child and the cartoon series Jackie Chan Adventures (this film actually has Julian Sands, who was part of the Big Bad Duumvirate of JCA's first two seasons before departing the show, as its Big Bad). Director Gordon Chan has yet to direct another movie that can be released in an American cinema (the next film he helmed to surface in the United States was confined to a Direct to Video release), and writer Bey Logan got a serious setback to his own career.
  • Medicine Man (1992) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $45 million. The first film produced by Cinergi Pictures and the first of several lifelong flops for the company. It did no favors for Lorraine Bracco, whose performance was widely panned, and was the first setback for John McTiernan's career, followed by Last Action Hero.
  • Meet Dave (2008) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $50,650,079. Managed to break the record for largest amount of theaters lost between the second and third weeks, losing 77%. This helped towards the film not even grossing the original budget back. A major slam for Eddie Murphy, director Brian Robbins's next film A Thousand Words was delayed 4 years after IT completed shooting, co-writer Rob Greenberg hasn't returned to the cinemas thus far, and the other writer, Bill Corbett, has stuck with RiffTrax material since.
  • Meet Joe Black (1998) — Budget, $90 million. Box office, $44,619,100 (domestic), $142,940,100 (worldwide). Universal Pictures fired their chairman after this film failed. It didn't help that it came out in a year where Universal had a series of theatrical flops (the only movie the studio released in the calendar year that had any real box office success was Patch Adams, which was still received poorly by critics). Director Martin Brest's next project was the even bigger flop Gigli, which did in his career. The film's box office numbers were slightly boosted by the trailer for The Phantom Menace being attached to prints of this film, which led to Star Wars fans buying tickets to Meet Joe Black just to see the trailer and leaving before the movie started.
  • Meet the Deedles (1998) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $4.3 million. Steve Boyum's directorial debut and the only one of his films to get a theatrical release until Supercross.
  • Meet the Robinsons (2007) — Budget, Undisclosed (figures estimate it at $150-$195 million, including marketing costs). Box office, $97,822,171 (domestic), $169,333,034 (worldwide). This film started production under Michael Eisner and David Stainton, but they were both kicked out and replaced with John Lasseter, who asked for a reworking of about 60% of the film, hence why it was not released in 2006. This did OK with critics (much better than Chicken Little), but director Steve Anderson only directed one other film so far, Winnie the Pooh.
  • Megaforce (1982) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $5,675,599. Critics tore into this sci-fi action film for rampant Narm, cheap effects, and cartoonish plot. Plans for a sequel titled Deeds Not Words were dropped after this movie failed. The first in a string of underperforming films from director Hal Needham, who had previously helmed box office successes with Smokey and the Bandit and The Cannonball Run.
  • Megiddo: The Omega Code 2 (2001) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $6,047,691. This religious film financed by the Trinity Broadcasting Network was unable to expand beyond 353 theaters. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith waited five years to direct his next feature, and that one had a much smaller budget.
  • Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $14,358,033. This is the first film directed by John Carpenter to have a tentpole budget since Big Trouble in Little China. It also happens to be the first of a 9-year streak of bombs that ended his serious directing career. Co-writer Dan Kolsrud had his writing career go "poof" for 5 years until doing Disney's adaptation of George of the Jungle, and the film didn't exactly help the careers of stars Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah out a whole lot, either. Finally, it's one of three 1992 bombs that set William Goldman's cinematic career back by 5 years.
  • Memories of Me (1988) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $3,965,604. Henry Winkler's feature directorial debut; he wouldn't occupy the director's chair until 1993's Cop and a Half.
  • Men, Women & Children (2014) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $1,705,908. This film was picked apart by critics for being a Narm-filled attempt to tell a movie about how the internet desensitized people, and it got Invisible Advertising and sent the career of director Jason Reitman to a dark place.
  • The Merchant of Venice (2004) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $21,417,725. This Shakespeare adaptation was an Acclaimed Flop that never left a limited release.
  • Mercury Rising (1998) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $32,935,289 (domestic), $93,107,289 (worldwide). This is the semifinal film from director Harold Becker; he did one more movie, and then retired.
  • The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $14,276,317 (domestic), $66,976,317 (worldwide). This didn't fully burn producer/writer/director Luc Besson's career (it DID burn up writer Andrew Birkin's career), but it did lead to him not taking a director's credit again for 6 years. This film wasn't helped by a stuntman's death right in the first weeks of filming OR Besson divorcing star Milla Jovovich.
  • Metallica Through the Never (2013) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $7,972,967. This concert film starring the eponymous band only played for a month in limited release, mostly in IMAX theaters. The critical reception was pretty good.
  • Meteor (1979) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $8,400,000. This film's failure signaled the end of days for American International Pictures; the only movie they and owners Filmways made prior to closing that isn't frowned on is the premiere Mad Max movie.
  • The Meteor Man (1993) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $8,023,147. Compare this to director Robert Townsend's directorial debut, Hollywood Shuffle, which was made for $700,000 and grossed nearly $6 million, a huge proportional profit. While The Meteor Man didn't exactly end or all out ruin Robert Townsend's career as both an actor and director, it most definitely ended his ascent up the Hollywood ladder. Townsend would soon star in the WB sitcom The Parent 'Hood, which lasted for four seasons. It was the critical and box office failure of Townsend's next directed film, 1997's B.A.P.S. (which unlike The Meteor Man, only cost $10 million to make yet only grossed $7,338,279 at the box office) that officially killed his career within studio system. One of the last things he directed was a 2014 Bill Cosby (who is incidentally, in The Meteor Man) stand-up special that Netflix wisely decided to never release.
  • Metro (1997) - Budget, $55 million. Box office, $32,000,301. A major faceplant for Eddie Murphy after a good stretch in the 1990s, though he bounced back quickly.
  • Metropolis (1927) — Budget, 5,100,000 German Reichsmarks. Box office, 75,000 German Reichsmarks. It was panned by a few critics including H. G. Wells, but has since become one of the most iconic films ever made.

    Mi - Mo 
  • Miami Vice (2006) — Budget, $135 million. Box office, $63,450,470 (domestic), $163,794,509 (worldwide). A Darker and Edgier take on the '80s cop series by original series producer Michael Mann. The film suffered a Troubled Production due to hurricanes, star Jamie Foxx's ego, and security issues which rewrote the ending. The end result garnered mixed reviews and fell flat in the box office after opening at number one. Ironically, it's still one of Mann's most financially successful films.
  • Michael Collins (1996) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $11,092,559 (domestic), $28,092,559 (worldwide). This biopic of the Irish revolutionary received pretty good reviews and great box office results in Ireland, but it fell short of its budget overall. Fortunately, director Neil Jordan and the stars didn't see their careers slow down a bit.
  • Mickey (2004) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, less than $300,000. This took down director Hugh Wilson's career.
  • Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $33,864,342 (domestic), $54,264,342 (worldwide). This mob comedy is best remembered for featuring several actors from The Sopranos in minor roles.
  • Middle Men (2010) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $754,301. This drama about online porn only logged in a mixed-critical reception and vanished after a limited release in August. It probably didn't help that another film centered on an online company, The Social Network, would be released a few months later.
  • Midnight Crossing (1988) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $1.3 million. This was such a bomb that the producers owed money to the distributors for years to make up for the loss. This was director Roger Holzberg's final credit on a theatrical film, and he didn't work on another feature film for over 20 years. It was also the final film produced by Team Effort studios.
  • Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) — Budget, $35 million. Box office, $25,105,255. The film version of John Berendt's True Crime book got a mixed reception, with critics deriding the film's excessive length but praising the cast and its Southern atmosphere.
  • Midnight Madness (1980) — Budget, $7 million (estimated). Box office, $2.9 million. The second PG-rated Disney movie, a very atypical attempt at a raucous, Animal House-style teen/college comedy, including early roles for Michael J. Fox and Paul Reubens, it disappeared quickly from theaters, but got Vindicated by Cable as one of HBO's '80s staples. Co-directors Michael Nankin and David Wechter have worked in television ever since, but the film has attained Cult Classic status.
  • The Midnight Meat Train (2008) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $3,533,527. Ryuhei Kitamura's American directorial debut was this adaptation of the Clive Barker short story. Unfortunately, it was unceremoniously dumped in 102 Bargain theaters when Lionsgate changed management during production. The critics still liked it, though. Kitamura directed the anthology film Baton the next year, then made his next American feature, and next film overall with No One Lives.
  • Midnight Special (2016) — Budget, $18 million. Box office, $6,212,282. This was highly acclaimed by critics but never left a limited release.
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) — Budget, $981,000. Box office, $1.229 million. The film version of the Shakespeare play received mixed reviews, which derided some questionable casting note , while praising its dance sequences, use of Mendelssohn music and Hal Mohr's Oscar-winning cinematography note . It's now been Vindicated by History as a classic Shakespeare adaptation.
  • Midway (2019) — Budget, $100 million. Box office, $56,846,802 (domestic), $123,131,991 (worldwide). Despite its surprise triumph over Doctor Sleep, the WWII film still wasn’t highly thought of by critics and made only $17.9 million on opening weekend, in a particularly weak November box office in general that had to be bailed out by Ford V Ferrari and Frozen II, and did just about as well overseas, continuing Roland Emmerich's box office losing streak.
  • Mighty Aphrodite (1995) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $6,468,498. Another Acclaimed Flop from Woody Allen; this won Mira Sorvino an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.
  • A Mighty Heart (2007) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $9,176,787 (domestic), $18,935,657 (worldwide). Based on Marianne Pearl's memoir about the kidnapping and beheading of her husband Daniel, the film received strong reviews for Angelina Jolie's portrayal of Pearl. It also received backlash for casting the Caucasian Jolie as the Dutch/Jewish/Afro-Cuban-Chinese Pearl, even though Pearl herself approved of the casting.
  • Mighty Joe Young (1949) — Budget, $1.8 million. Box office, $1.9 million. Recorded loss, $675,000. This Spiritual Successor to King Kong (1933), produced by the same creative team, was praised for its Academy Award winning visual effects produced by Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen (in his movie debut). Unfortunately, it was one of several, ultimately crippling flops for RKO under Howard Hughes's leadership. This was the final film for writer Ruth Rose. It has since been Vindicated by History.
  • Mighty Joe Young (1998) — Budget, $90 million. Box office, $50,632,037. This film, along with the poor reception of Roland Emmerich's version of Godzilla, sent the giant monster movie genre into remission until the New '10s (the 2005 remake of King Kong didn't end it).
  • The Mighty Macs (2009) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $1,891,936. This played at the Heartland Film Festival in 2009 before it got a very limited release in 2011. It played itself out after six weeks.
  • Mike's Murder (1984) — Budget, $6.3 million. Box office, $1,059,966. This was filmed in 1982 but was delayed after poor test screenings prompted further edits.
  • The Milagro Beanfield War (1988) — Budget, $22 million. Box office, $13,825,794. Robert Redford's first film as director since Ordinary People received mixed reviews and a limited release but still got an Oscar for Best Original Score.
  • Mile 22 (2018) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $36.1 million (domestic), $66.3 million (worldwide). The fourth film from director Peter Berg to star Mark Wahlberg, this one fell short of their prior efforts in the eyes of critics, who were turned off by the film's choppy action scenes, jingoistic tone, and unsympathetic characters. The next film from Berg and Wahlberg would skip theaters and go straight to Netflix.
  • Milk Money (1994) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $18,137,661. This movie about a trio of adolescents wanting to see a naked hooker was considered very sour milk by critics and is the sole main Hollywood job for writer John Mattson. Mattson only did two Free Willy sequels, and then retreated from Hollywood completely. It also didn't help the career of the actress who played the hooker, Melanie Griffith, out too much.
  • Miller's Crossing (1990) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $5,080,409. This Coen Brothers crime thriller was one of the most acclaimed films of the year but it never went past a limited release. It found its audience once it hit home video.
  • Million Dollar Arm (2014) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $36,457,627 (domestic), $39,227,580 (worldwide). This baseball drama struck-out in a packed weekend led by newcomer Godzilla.
  • Million Dollar Mystery (1987) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $989,033 (domestic). The studio, hoping to make a big profit, put together a million dollar prize contest for the film after release, which alone cost more than the movie made at the box office. This finished off notable '50s director Richard Fleischer's (the man who directed Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) career. The movie also saw a stuntman's death during filming, and was hit by Roger Ebert for being no more than a plug-in for Glad trash bags.
  • Mimic (1997) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $25 million. Guillermo del Toro's first English-language film was this adaptation of a Donald A. Wollheim story. It was not a happy experience as he dealt with constant Executive Meddling from the Weinsteins which demanded excessive reshoots and divergences from the original script. Del Toro disowned the film and swore off working with the Weinsteins ever again. It did however, sell very well on home video to spawn two straight-to-video sequels.
  • Mind Hunters (2005) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $21,148,829. This premiered in the US a year after it debuted internationally.
  • Miracle at St. Anna (2008) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $9,323,833. This World War II drama faced protests in Italy for depicting a Partisan in league with the Nazis.
  • Miracle Mile (1989) — Budget, $3,700,000. Box office, $1,145,404. Critics adored this romantic-comedy turned World War III thriller, but audiences weren't blown away. It became a Cult Classic once it hit home video.
  • Misconduct (2016) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $2,124,005. This was released simultaneously into theaters and onto VOD.
  • The Misfits (1961) — Budget, $4 million. Box office, $4.1 million (rentals). This John Huston movie suffered from an extremely Troubled Production which saw, among other misfortunes, Marilyn Monroe suffering Creator Breakdown over her collapsing marriage with Arthur Miller (the film's screenwriter) and Clark Gable's poor health. This was the final completed film for both stars; Gable died 12 days after filming wrapped and Monroe died of an overdose a year after its release. The film was liked by critics even if it didn't recoup its budget.
  • Mishima A Life In Four Chapters (1985) — Budget, $5 million. Box office, $502,758. This biopic of Japanese writer Yukio Mishima directed by Paul Schrader and produced by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola was regulated to a limited release. Schrader considers the film his masterpiece.
  • Miss Bala (2019) — Budget, $15 million. Box office, $15,006,824. This American remake of the 2011 Mexican film only managed to gross back its relatively low budget right before it left theaters. It also received mostly negative reviews for taking the acclaimed original and turning it into a bland action vehicle for star Gina Rodriguez.
  • Miss March (2009) — Budget, $6 million (estimated). Box office, $4,543,320 (domestic), $48,309 (international), $4,591,629 (worldwide total). This movie resulted in the Fox Atomic label imploding, with their future projects moved to other Fox labels.
  • Miss Sloane (2016) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $3,500,605. The third and last of three commercial false starts for EuropaCorp's U.S. film division's beginning in 2016 alone, after Nine Lives and Shut In. Unlike the other two, this one got decent reviews, but all three movies dealt a serious blow to EuropaCorp's business.
  • The Missing (2003) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $38,364,277. It received mixed reviews from critics but was praised by Native Americans for its authentic use of Chiricahuan Apache dialect.
  • Missing Link (2019) — Budget, $102.3 million. Box office, $26,249,469. Despite largely positive reviews from critics, it received the lowest opening gross for a Laika film and was part of a nasty string of flops for Annapurna Pictures. This also wasn't a good start for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's and Annapurna's distribution unit, United Artists Releasing.
  • The Mission (1986) — Budget, £16.5 million. Box office, $17 million. This damaged the prospects of Goldcrest Films along with Absolute Beginners and Revolution. This was an Acclaimed Flop, however.
  • Mission to Mars (2000) — Budget, $90-100 million. Box office, $60,883,407 (domestic), $110,983,407 (worldwide). The first in an ongoing series of career-wrecking bombs for famed director Brian De Palma.
  • Mixed Nuts (1994) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $6.8 million. A remake of the French comedy Santa Claus Is a Stinker by Nora Ephron and her sister Delia. It was despised by critics, including Roger Ebert, and was shoved out of theaters pretty quickly. The Ephrons had better luck a few years later with Michael.
  • Mobsters (1991) — Budget, $23 million. Box office, $20,246,790. It opened at number two behind Terminator 2: Judgment Day and was shot down immediately. It didn't help that the critics hated it completely.
  • The Mod Squad (1999) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $13,263,993. This and Brokedown Palace derailed Claire Danes's career for a good bit.
  • The Moderns (1988) — Budget, $3.5 million. Box office, $2 million. Nearly ended Linda Fiorentino's career as a leading actress though she rebounded in the next decade.
  • Mohammad, Messenger of God (1976) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $15 million. This historical film about the early days of Islam was seen as an Audience-Alienating Premise in both Hollywood AND the Islamic world. As such, producer-director Moustapha Akkad, himself a Muslim, had a difficult time getting support and he even secured funding from dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Its reputation in America took a massive hit when Islamic militants took 149 hostages in Washington DC and demanded, among other things, the destruction of all copies of this film. Still, Shiite Muslims actually enjoyed the film. Akkad spent most of his career producing the Halloween movies.
  • Molly (1999) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $17,650. It's an understandable gross considering its release topped out at 12 theaters. According to Leonard Maltin, it debuted as an in-flight movie. Elisabeth Shue never fully recovered from the failure of this film. Amidst the generally negative reviews this film received, a unifying point of criticism was that Shue's portrayal of an autistic person was extremely offensive and a misrepresentation of what autism truly is. Although Shue would continue to act, this was the last project where she appeared in the lead role.
  • The Molly Maguires (1970) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $2.2 million. The film version of Arthur H. Lewis' novel, based on a real life uprising of Irish-American coal miners, saved its filming location, Ecksley, Pennsylvania, from demolition. The town now stands as a museum. It did no favors for the careers of director Martin Ritt or stars Sean Connery and Richard Harris.
  • Mom and Dad Save the World (1992) — Budget, $14 million. Box office, $2 million. This sci-fi parody spent a year on The Shelf of Movie Languishment where it was released to apathetic reviews and non-existent box office, getting pulled from theaters after less than two weeks. It's since become a Cult Classic.
  • Moment by Moment (1978) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $10,963,824. This romantic drama was lambasted for its dull script and awkwardly mismatched leads, John Travolta and Lily Tomlin. It died a quick death in the box office and wasn't officially released on home video until 2021. This was the only feature film directed by Jane Wagner, Tomlin's then-domestic partner and later wife, but the movie careers of both Tomlin and Travolta survived.
  • Money for Nothing (1993) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $1,039,824. This biopic of Joey Coyle, a man who stole a bag of $1 million after it fell of an armored car, was released less than a month after the real Coyle committed suicide. Subsequently, Disney did not expand the film beyond the 449 theaters that opened it.
  • Money Train (1995) — Budget, $68 million. Box office, $35,431,113 (domestic), $77,224,232 (worldwide). In addition to poor reviews, someone duplicating a dangerous stunt from the film soon after its release earned it a boycott. This, Return to Paradise, and the critical hatred towards The Good Son all delivered a severe blow to the career of director Joseph Ruben.
  • Monkey Shines (1988) — Budget, $7,000,000. Gross, $5,344,577. George A. Romero's version of the Michael Stewart novel was extensively re-edited by Executive Meddling; the experience drove Romero away from studio films for five years.
  • Monkeybone (2001) — Budget, $75 million. Box office, $7,622,365. The film was significantly changed from its source material, and the result was blasted by critics. Henry Selick wouldn't play producer/director on a full length movie again until 2009 with Coraline, though he did do work with Wes Anderson and LAIKA in the meantime. Co-producer Sam Hamm, on the other hand, has not played producer at all since this movie. It was also a major factor in Bridget Fonda deciding to retire from acting.
  • Monsieur Verdoux (1947) — Budget: $2,000,000. Gross USA: $325,000. Cumulative Worldwide Gross: $1,500,000. The American public in 1947 were not able to stomach Charlie Chaplin's dark comedy. It was later Vindicated by History.
  • Monsignor (1982) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $6.5 million (domestic). This movie's failure put director Frank Perry in a bad spot (the Razzie wins from his previous film Mommie Dearest didn't help).
  • A Monster Calls (2016) — Budget, $43 million. Box office, $3,740,823 (domestic), $43,456,127 (worldwide). It was an Acclaimed Flop, however.
  • Monster Hunter (2020) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $15,104,790 (domestic), $42,145,959 (worldwide, excluding China). This attempt by the husband-wife duo of writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich to follow up their Resident Evil Film Series with another adaptation of a Capcom game series recieved mixed-to-negative reviews from critics and fans of the game series, though general audiences were more accepting. It predictably did weak business stateside and in most other countries, what with being released in the middle of the still-ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, but what really sealed Monster Hunter’s fate was when China, a notable market for the Resident Evil films whose movie industry was getting back on track after dealing with the pandemic, pulled the movie from wide release only a couple days into its run after audiences were offended by a perceived racist joke made by one of the characters, resulting in it falling a third short of its budget worldwide.
  • The Monster Squad (1987) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $3.8 million. This horror family comedy was greeted with an Uncertain Audience and OK critical reception. It ultimately became Vindicated by Cable and is now a Cult Classic.
  • Monster Trucks (2017) — Budget, $125 million. Box office, $64,493,915. Notable for being a foreseen financial failure by Paramount, culminating in a $115 million writedown months before its release. It also played a role in costing Paramount head Brad Grey his job.
  • Monument Ave (1998) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $333,760. Its widest release was in 24 theaters.
  • Moon over Parador (1988) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $11,444,204. This debuted at number one but faded away quickly.
  • Moonfall (2022) - Budget, $138-146 million. Box office, $19 million (domestic), $67.3 million (worldwide). The biggest disaster of all for Disaster Movie auteur Roland Emmerich, it struggled to survive against new release Jackass Forever and the still-popular Spider-Man: No Way Home in its opening weekend before rapidly falling out of orbit. Came on the end of a string of disappointments and bombs for both Emmerich and the genre he had helped spearhead since the 1990s.
  • Moonlight Mile (2002) — Budget, $21 million. Box office, $10,011,050. Brad Silberling's autobiographical film got pretty good reviews but it topped out at 437 theaters.
  • Morgan (2016) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $3,915,251 (domestic), $8,810,591 (worldwide). The movie received a wide release and had a massive 75% drop between its first and second weekends, and it left all but 99 of its theaters by the end of the third. This was not a good start to the directing career of Ridley Scott's son, Luke Scott, and he has not directed a film since.
  • Morgan Stewarts Coming Home (1987) — Budget, $6 million. Box office, $2,136,381. The directors of this film played the Alan Smithee card to put space between them and it. It would be a few years before producer Stephen Friedman produced a new film (and he only produced two more movies before he passed away), but it would be seventeen years before co-writer David N. Titcher wrote another film; his next movie was Jackie Chan's version of Around the World in 80 Days, which was one of the factors that derailed Disney CEO Michael Eisner's career with the firm.
  • Morituri (1965) — Budget, $6,290,000. Box office, $3,000,000. It is believed that the film's title note  was not understood by the public. As such, when re-released, the film was re-named Saboteur: Code Name Morituri. This was one of several flops that kept Marlon Brando's career sunk until The Godfather.
  • Morning Glory (2010) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $31,011,732 (domestic), $60,040,976 (worldwide). This romantic comedy produced by J. J. Abrams was released during a packed November and it flatlined after it spent its first weekend at number five. Its failure continued a dry spell for Harrison Ford.
  • Mortal Engines (2018) — Budget, between $100–150 million. Box office, $15.9 million domestic, $83.2 million worldwide. This adaptation of the sci-fi YA book series suffered from poor reviews and marketing and struggled to find an audience. It opened to a pitiful $7.5 million domestically, fifth below Ralph Breaks the Internet, The Grinch, The Mule, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, then was hammered further the following week by Aquaman, Mary Poppins Returns, and Bumblebee. The film lost Universal $175 million, making it the largest confirmed box office loss in history at the time, and is currently the film that serves as the main page image. This tremendous failure one-and-doned the directing career of Christian Rivers, but it arguably was more damaging to the career of Peter Jackson, who served as producer and co-writer and whose name was plastered all over the marketing material. Easily the biggest bomb on Jackson's resume, its failure (coupled with the mixed critical reception of the Hobbit trilogy) led him to refocus his creative efforts towards documentaries, having not worked on a major motion picture since.
  • The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones (2013) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $31,165,421 (domestic), $90,565,421 (worldwide). Its failure sent plans to adapt the rest of The Mortal Instruments books into oblivion. A planned sequel was scrapped only a week before production was due to begin. It's one of three flops that killed interest in Paranormal YA novel adaptations. The franchise would find new life after being rebooted as a TV series several years later.
  • Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $35 million (domestic), $51 million (worldwide). While the first Mortal Kombat film was a financial success and generally regarded as one of the better video game movies, this sequel bombed both with critics and audiences, with both sides criticizing its large cast of characters (most of whom show up for just one fight scene and are never mentioned again)note , awful visual effects, and nonsensical story. Plans for a sequel were crippled by its failure and the film franchise would be rebooted in 2021 to better results (though that film had other problems). First-time director John R. Leonetti would return to his day job as a cinematographer, though after second attempt The Butterfly Effect 2, he finally had a break in 2014.
  • Mortdecai (2015) — Budget, $60 million. Box office, $7,696,134 (domestic), $47,275,695 (worldwide). The film grossed only $5 million in Week One, plummeted by 90% in Week Two, and very negative reviews from critics and moviegoers convinced Lionsgate to unplug the film's theatrical run after Week Three and before it had any chance of reaching the original budget with help from the international box office. Part of a string of flops for star Johnny Depp, director David Koepp didn’t direct again for 5 years, and writer Eric Aronson has yet to write again.
  • The Mosquito Coast (1986) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $14,302,779. This reteaming of Witness director Peter Weir and star Harrison Ford flopped with critics and audiences at the time but it was later Vindicated by History. Weir had better luck with Dead Poets Society a few years later and Ford bounced back with Working Girl. This was the last screen appearance of Butterfly McQueen before her death nine years later.
  • A Most Violent Year (2014) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $6 million. It first saw release in four theaters before going to 818. It IS an Acclaimed Flop, however.
  • Most Wanted (1997) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $11,838,218. Finished off the cinematic career of director David Hogan, who stuck to music videos and a documentary short since. Writer/Star Keenen Ivory Wayans wouldn't write another film until 2004's White Chicks.
  • mother! (2017) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $17,800,004 (domestic), $44,400,272 (worldwide). This received polarized reviews for its Surreal Horror and overwhelming dreariness, which helped steer it to a rare F rating on Cinemascore. Being released the week after the It remake and the controversy over Jennifer Lawrence's comments stemming from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma likely didn't help.
  • Mother and Child (2009) - Budget, $7 million. Box office, $4 million. It was an Acclaimed Flop and didn't affect anyone's careers too much.
  • Motherhood (2009) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $726,354. Easily the biggest bomb of Uma Thurman's career. Particularly notable for its British release, where it's the second-biggest flop of all time. It was shown in only one UK cinema and took £88 on its opening weekend. On its opening night it took £9. That's one ticket.
  • Motherless Brooklyn (2019) — Budget, $26 million. Box office, $8.8 million (domestic), $10.6 million (worldwide). Edward Norton's version of the Jonathan Lethem novel was admired by critics for its intriguing plot, even if they questioned its extreme length. It came up far short of expectations in a weekend dominated by Terminator: Dark Fate and holdover Joker.
  • Mothers Boys (1993) — Budget, $8 million. Box office, $874,148. Based on a novel by Bernard Taylor; his works have not been adapted on film since.
  • Mountains of the Moon (1990) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $4,011,793. Part of a string of bombs for director Bob Rafelson.
  • Movers and Shakers (1985) — Budget, $3.5 million. Box office, $372,438. The first and only film written and produced by Charles Grodin. This spent seven years in Development Hell before MGM buried it in a limited release. This was also the final theatrical directed by William Asher.
  • Moving (1988) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $10,815,378. This Richard Pryor comedy debuted at number two behind Good Morning, Vietnam and flatlined immediately, pushed out of theaters after only three weeks. It put a damper into Pryor's career, with this being his final movie as a solo lead, and director Alan Metter only did one more theatrical movie afterwards.
  • Mozart and the Whale (2006) — Budget, $12 million. Box office, $84,444. It only ran in five theaters in Spokane, Washington, where it was made, and faded out after a month.

    Mp - Mz 
  • Mr. 3000 (2004) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $21.8 million. Director Charles Stone III didn't work on another theatrical film for a while, mainly sticking to TV work and music videos, until Lila and Eve eleven years later.
  • Mr. Baseball (1992) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $20,883,046. This struck out after six weeks in theaters. It also bombed in Japan where it was set.
  • Mr. Bug Goes to Town note  (1941) — Budget, $713,511. Box office, $214,000. The film received almost no promotion from Paramount in either its 1941 release, nor its 1946 re-release as Hoppity Goes To Town. The premiere was also delayed by producer Max Fleischer, which led to it opening two days before the Pearl Harbor attacks that ultimately prompted the U.S. to enter World War II. That took the wind out of the film, and led to the Fleischers, who were no longer on speaking terms with each other, losing their studio to Paramount, who renamed it Famous Studios. Copyrights for this film subsequently went all over the place, last being distributed by Fleischer rival Disney internationally.
  • Mr Jones (1993) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $8,345,845. Re-shoots following poor test screenings and fear of competition from another Richard Gere movie (Sommersby) held this film's release back for a year.
  • Mr. Magoo (1997) — Budget, $30 million. Box office, $21.4 million. Disney was forced to pull the movie shortly after release due to pressure from blindness advocates, which subsequently blinded the franchise itself outside of an animated special in 2010 and becoming part of the DreamWorks Classics portfolio. It was a huge blow to director Stanley Tong as well, possibly one of the reasons why he never directed another American film again. It was also an embarrassing blip on the resume of a then-unknown Jennifer Garner, who is tasked with wearing Yellowface here.
  • Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium (2007) — Budget, $65 million (not counting marketing costs). Box office, $32,061,555 (domestic), $69,474,661 (worldwide). The first and only feature film by director Zach Helm. He only directed a segment of the documentary 140 and wrote the TV movie Good Canary and nothing else.
  • Mr. Nobody (2009) — Budget, $58 million. Box office, $3,547,209. This surreal Sci-Fi film premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2009 before debuting across Europe in 2010. Director Jaco Van Dormeal wouldn't participate in another film until he co-wrote 2014's Nicholas on Holiday. Star Jared Leto stuck to documentaries until his 2013 Oscar-winning role in Dallas Buyers Club. The film has become a Cult Classic.
  • Mr. Saturday Night (1992) — Budget, $43 million. Box office, $13,351,357. Billy Crystal's directorial debut. It received mixed reviews from critics who praised the acting but questioned whether Crystal's character was meant to be likable or not.
  • Mr Wonderful (1993) — Budget, $13 million. Box office, $3,125,424. The film's two writers, Vicki Polon and Amy Schor, do not have any more writing credits for feature films beyond this one.
  • Mr Wrong (1996) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $12.3 million. This shot director Nick Castle (the man who played Michael Myers in Halloween) and the writer's careers right in the heart for several years, and was one of the last times producer Marty Katz associated himself with Disney, who distributed this thru Touchstone, before moving his production company to Santa Monica.
  • Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) — Budget, $7 million. Box office, $2,144,667 (domestic). Though it was critically acclaimed. One of the last feature films produced by Mayfair Entertainment.
  • Mrs Soffel (1984) — Budget, $11 million. Box office, $4,385,312. This biopic of Kate Soffel and her role in the Biddle Brothers' escape from prison was director Gillian Armstrong's first American feature. Critics weren't kind to it, but Diane Keaton still got a Golden Globe nomination.
  • Mrs. Winterbourne (1996) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $10,082,005. The last film by A&M Films.
  • Mulan (2020) — Budget, $200 million. Box office, $70 million worldwide. In normal conditions, it would be a huge moneymaker like the previous Disney Live-Action Remakes, with analysts expecting the opening weekend alone to be $60 or $80 million. But the exact month the movie would premiere was the one where the COVID-19 Pandemic escalated to the point of closing theaters worldwide, forcing a postponement. By the time Mulan premiered six months later, it was only in countries that were willing to have a theatrical release — and that didn't count the United States, where the movie went straight to Disney+ (but under a fee of $30note ) and a few others that chose to get it on Disney's streaming service whenever it arrived — and yet still afflicted enough by COVID to not have all screens available. This, most damningly, included the source of Mulan's story, China, that was expected to be a big market and instead barely cared to watch it.
  • Mulholland Falls (1996) — Budget, $29 million. Box office, $11,526,099. Screenwriter Pete Dexter didn't write another screenplay until adapting his novel The Paperboy in 2012.
  • Multiplicity (1996) — Budget, $45 million. Box office, $21 million. One of several late summer releases that got crushed under Independence Day. It got mixed reviews from critics and set back director Harold Ramis's career by three years.
  • Mumford (1999) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $4,555,459. Lawrence Kasdan wouldn't go near Disney again for over a decade, but when he finally did, it was with the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, which started with The Force Awakens.
  • Muppets from Space (1999) — Budget, $24 million. Box office, $22.3 million. It was rushed into theaters by distributor Columbia Pictures, and its financial failure tarnished Jim Henson Productions' film division Jim Henson Pictures along with the subsequent failure of The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland. Columbia dropped the label and it was only used as an in-name credit for whatever film Henson managed to produced until 2005. In addition, legendary Muppet performer/director Frank Oz has barely been associated with the franchise since. The next 3 Muppet movies were TV movies, and Disney secured the rights to the franchise in 2004 and rebooted the series with The Muppets in 2011.
  • Muppets Most Wanted (2014) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $51,183,113 (domestic), $80,383,290 (worldwide). There have been a number of reasons suggested as to why the film didn't do well as its predecessor, such as tough competition, a string of previous animated family movies likely leaving its audience exhausted, poor timing (part of the film involves Kermit being imprisoned in a Russian gulag; the film came out around the same time as the Ukraine crisis), and an over-reliance on Viral Marketing at the expense of traditional advertisements. After this, the future of the Muppets in film seems uncertain. A new TV series for ABC premiered the following year, but even that failed to reinvigorate the franchise as ratings took a huge downturn, leading it to be axed after only one season.
  • Murder at 1600 (1997) — Budget, $40-50 million. Box office, $25,804,707 (domestically). Wesley Snipes bounced back with U.S. Marshals and Blade, but director Dwight Little would retreat to TV and only get a big release again in 2004.
  • Murder by Numbers (2002) — Budget, $50 million. Box office, $31,945,749 (domestic), $56,714,157 (worldwide). Director Barbet Schroeder wouldn't return to the director's chair for five years until Terror's Advocate.
  • Music (2021) — Budget, $16 million. Box office, $641,783. Sia's directorial debut was met with heaps of backlash over, among other reasons, its stereotypical portrayal of the autistic title character. This, alongside the COVID-19 Pandemic, resulted in the film not getting a wide release outside of her native Australia (where the pandemic was handled much better compared to much of the rest of the world by its January 2021 release), though it still performed poorly there.
  • Music of the Heart (1999) — Budget, $27 million. Box office, $14,859,394 (domestic). The only time Wes Craven went beyond the horror/thriller genre, other than his segment of Paris, je t'aime. This received glowing reviews and added to Meryl Streep's record Oscar nomination tally.
  • The Musketeer (2001) — Budget, $40 million. Box office, $34,585,771. It opened at number one with a paltry $10.3 million and it went down from there. It didn't help that it came out on the first week of September and only a few days before 9/11, along with getting a viciously negative critical reception.
  • Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) — Budget, $19 million. Box office, $13,680,000. This remake of the 1935 Best Picture Oscar winner suffered a massively Troubled Production that sent it overbudget, largely due to the antics of star Marlon Brando. Unsurprisingly, the film's poor reception derailed Brando's career until The Godfather. This was also the last film by veteran director Lewis Milestone, who did a few TV episodes before retiring a few years later. It was still nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, but didn't win any.
  • My All-American (2015) — Budget, $20 million. Box office, $2,246,000. Much like Disney/Touchstone's Michael Eisner killer The Alamo, most of the few positive reviews for this film came from Texas-based critics (this film was about a University of Texas football player who got cancer with Aaron Eckhart as coach Darrell K. Royal), with the reviews in most of the rest of the country being very negative. Its release is also notable in that original distributor Clarius Entertainment went under before the film hit theaters and they transferred it to newcomer Aviron Pictures just so it wouldn't spend time on the shelf. The box office foul was so great, it took Aviron almost two years to get their game back together and announce more projects.
  • My Boyfriend's Back (1993) — Budget, $10 million. Box office, $3.3 million. This horror comedy marked the film debuts of Matthew Fox, Matthew McConaughey and (in a Deleted Scene) Renée Zellweger.
  • My Favorite Martian (1999) — Budget, $65 million. Box office, $36,850,101. A failed film version of the classic sitcom that zapped the cinematic careers of writers Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver, who are both doing well on TV.
  • My Little Pony the Movie (1986) — Budget, Unknown. Box office, $5,958,456. Hasbro (and even Marvel Productions/Sunbow Productions) would never reveal the movie's budget but losses from it and The Transformers: The Movie are estimated at $10 million combined. Both films also led to the cancellation of Jem movie then in development. This first movie in the My Little Pony franchise would later become vindicated through home video sales, and it wouldn't be until 2017 (during the fourth generation) that another theatrical My Little Pony movie would get made, though that movie wound up being a success.note 
  • My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) — Budget, ¥2 billion. Box office, ¥1.56 billion. Studio Ghibli's adaptation of the Nono-Chan manga opened to decent critical reviews, but it opened the same day as Pokémon: The Movie 2000, which overtook it at the box office. This was the penultimate film of Isao Takahata's career and it would take fourteen years before he made his next, and final film, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
  • My Soul to Take (2010) — Budget, $25 million. Box office, $20,976,402. The penultimate film of Wes Craven held the record for the worst opening of a wide release 3D film until GulliversTravels.
  • My Stepmother Is an Alien (1988) — Budget, $26 million. Box office, $13,854,000 (domestic). This sci-fi comedy was originally written as a horror film before the studio interfered. One of a handful of 1988/1989 films that caused the Weintraub Entertainment Group to implode right out of the gates, and one of the movies that ended Coca-Cola's control over Columbia and caused their merger with TriStar and (much later) Sony. It was probably a victim of poor timing and too much competition as it opened the same day as Twins (1988) and only a week after the releases of The Naked Gun and Scrooged. Thankfully for Dan Aykroyd and Kim Basinger, they had Ghostbusters II and Batman (1989) around the corner, respectively. Aykroyd would later reference the film when guest starring on Family Guy while expressing his bewilderment upon hearing Peter Griffin tell him that he has literally seen all of his movies.
  • Myra Breckinridge (1970) — Budget, $5.385 million. Box office, $4 million. This film version of the Gore Vidal satirical novel suffered from a very Troubled Production that resulted in an incoherent exercise in bad taste. This was a Creator Killer for director/co-writer Michael Sarne (whose bizarre behavior on the set contributed to the mess) and a Star-Derailing Role for Raquel Welch and Roger Herren (in his only movie role). It also did no favors for Mae West, who came out of retirement for this, and she made only one other film, the equally despised Sextette, eight years later. The film also used Stock Footage of classic movies for vulgar punchlines, which prompted a lawsuit from Loretta Young to get her clip out and the White House to order a Shirley Temple clip excised since she was a US Ambassador to Ghana. Finally, it was greatly despised by Vidal himself, who blamed the film for causing sales of the book to freeze for a decade. Nevertheless, it became something of a Cult Classic later on.
  • Mystery, Alaska (1999) — Budget, $28 million. Box office, $8,898,623. Fortunately for Jay Roach, his next film as director was Meet the Parents. David E. Kelley, who co-wrote this film, wasn't so lucky; he returned to television after this.
  • Mystery Men (1999) — Budget, $65 million. Box office, $33,461,011. Despite some decent reviews, the film flopped, and commercial director Kinka Usher, who made his theatrical debut with this film, never took part in any kind of non-commercial project since. Its Breakaway Pop Hit, Smash Mouth's "All-Star", became far better known for its use in the Shrek franchise than this film.

Alternative Title(s): I Through R, I Through M

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