“The Pirate Bride,” a major pirate film, was released in 1995. But the film was a disaster for the studio. For years the film was considered Hollywood’s biggest flop. One reason why people in Hollywood didn’t touch pirates for years.
Filmmakers regularly try out new ideas or genres to attract people to the cinema. But even Hollywood stays away from some topics.
For years, pirate films were considered “box office poison” in Hollywood. This was mainly due to “Cutthroat Island,” which failed horribly at the box office and ruined the studio responsible.
Pirate film makes it into the “Guinness Book of Records” as the biggest commercial flop
What film is it about? After several major successes, the production company Carolco Pictures wanted to venture into a completely new topic. With “Cutthroat Island” (“Pirate Bride” in German), a pirate film was brought to cinemas in 1995. With Geena Davis and Matthew Modine, a strong cast was also offered for the film.
The daughter of a pirate wants to find his treasure and wants to be faster than her father’s brothers. Because one of the brothers in particular is willing to do anything to take the treasure map from her in order to retrieve the treasure himself. A wild chase begins in the Caribbean, where the British crown also gets involved.
The film relies on wild chases and a sea battle with a real ship that was built for the film. Overall, the film offered nice entertainment for an evening with great effects and an excellent soundtrack.
However, the film failed with the critics: on the IMDb, the action spectacle only received 5.7 out of 10 points with almost 30,000 reviews (via imdb.com). The film is now considered an underrated insider tip among fans.
How badly did the film flop? The film only grossed $10 million with an estimated production cost of around $100 million, making it one of the biggest failures in cinema history for years. After adjusting for inflation, the loss is $147 million. (via guinnessworldrecords.com)
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the film was considered the biggest commercial flop in the film business for years.
Only “Pirates of the Caribbean” breaks the curse of the pirate film
After the disaster with “The Pirate Bride,” Hollywood no longer touched on pirates as a topic for years (via gamerant.com). The fear of another catastrophe is too great, and the concern that the production company Carolco Pictures will also have to file for bankruptcy is too great.
That only changed with “Pirates of the Caribbean”. The first film was released in 20023 and Hollywood tried another pirate adventure again. To date, the film has grossed over $600 million at a cost of around $140 million.
And “Pirates of the Caribbean” is so successful that even some games now bring content and so-called crossover content with the films:
Sea of Thieves brings a DLC to Pirates of the Caribbean – perfect for newcomers and PvE fans