With Marvel, DC and a fantasy cracker that doesn’t deserve it

Cinemas were mostly open in many countries around the world this year. Three blockbusters broke the billion-dollar mark in gross revenue (last year only Spider-Man: No Way Home did) and told some success stories that you might not have expected.

However, it is not only the positive records that are remembered. 2022 was the year that the magic formula Dwayne Johnson + DC mercilessly fizzled out while a Marvel hero became an embarrassing meme. Blockbusters failed the box office, as did (unfortunately) medium-sized dramas aimed at mature audiences, including She Said, Upheaval, The Fabelmans, and other films that struggle for Oscar season.

Yet which films were the biggest financial failures of 2022? Here are a few things to consider when making your selection:

We list 12 candidates who notably underperformed financially this year. There is the data for the budget, the worldwide box office and a Estimation of the break-even point or the break-even point. This is the moment when expenses and income are equal. The 2.5 rule is used for high budgets, and the budget is only doubled for lower ones.

The term flop says nothing about the quality of these films.

Flops 2022: The Viking epic The Northman with Alexander Skarsgård

After The Witch and The Lighthouse, Robert Eggers had his biggest budget to date to capture the Viking saga The Northman on screen. He used this for the meticulous recreation of the Nordic world, against the background of which a prince wants to avenge his murdered father. However, the trip into the cold was disappointing at the cash desks.

Flops 2022: The action film The 355 with Jessica Chastain and Penélope Cruz

Following his directorial debut, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, producer and writer Simon Kinberg released the Spy Action The 355 after. He lured stars like Dark Phoenix villain Jessica Chastain, Marvel colleague Lupita Nyong’o and Penélope Cruz in front of the camera. That didn’t help, though: The 355 launched during the Omicron wave in January and didn’t even break its (low) budget in cinemas.

Flops 2022: The Marvel meme Morbius with Jared Leto as a vampire

Oh Morbius, you brought us so much joy. Sony’s Marvel movie, starring superhero vampire Jared Leto, inspired the internet for excellent memes and gave the world a great scene of Matt Smith dancing shirtless through a bathroom decorated with gold horse wallpaper. However, it was never at the box office Morbin’ Time. The comparatively low budget prevents a total catastrophe, a convincing extension of Sony’s Marvel Universe however, looks different.

Flops 2022: The crime comedy Amsterdam with Margot Robbie and Christian Bale

Although an estimated 50 percent of all Hollywood stars end up in David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, the crime comedy about amateur detectives crashed at the box office in the 1930s. Deadline estimates the financial loss of the film starring Margot Robbie, John David Washington and Christian Bale at $97 million.

It’s not the only box office flop for Margot Robbie this year: Babylon, which is also ambitious, just had one of the worst opening weekends ever. We can only hope Robbie doesn’t lose interest in non-franchise films because of this.

Flops 2022: The fantasy romance Three Thousand Years of Longing

If any film on this list deserved more success, it would probably be George Miller’s lovingly crafted fantasy film Three Thousand Years Of Longing. In any case, we can only applaud everyone who decided 60 million dollars to invest in an episodically told fairy tale in which Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba sit in a room and… talk.

Flops 2022: The fantasy film The King’s Daughter with Pierce Brosnan

If you’ve never heard of this film, you’re excused, The King’s Daughter didn’t even have a German theatrical release (it’s now available on Blu-ray*). But the most exciting thing about the film is the story of its origins. The fantasy adventure starring Kaya Scodelario and Pierce Brosnan was filmed in 2014 (!)., then Paramount canceled the release date and an almost never-ending story of hawked distribution rights began before the film finally released in a few countries in January 2022. Where he disappeared without a word.

Flops 2022: The aviator action devotion based on real events

Devotion tells a true story of two Korean War aviators, starring Loki star Jonathan Majors and Top Gun: Maverick veteran Glen Powell. Neither the aviator action nor the Top Gun connection were enough to lead Devotion to financial success. Which is a shame, since it’s the kind of film that used to be the norm in Hollywood.

Flops 2022: The Harry Potter offshoot Fantastic Beasts 3

In Germany, Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore drew 3 million people to the cinemas, but interest was not shared across the globe. The 3rd part of the series drove that lowest box office grossing of any film from the Harry Potter world and put an end to the Fantastic Beasts series for the time being.

Flops 2022: The animated film Strange World starring Jake Gyllenhaal

The financial failure of the animated film Strange World is sad, just as every flop without a franchise connection deserves at least a second to commemorate it. Families went to the cinema more often this year (Minions 2 is the most successful film of 2022 in Germany), but unfortunately not in Strange World. It remains to be seen if that’s highly budgeted Sci-Fi Adventure with Jake Gyllenhaal on Disney+ is finding a receptive audience.

Flops 2022: The DC adventure Black Adam with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

Black Adam should die Hierarchy of the DC Universe upside down, instead the blockbuster Dwayne Johnson plunged into a career crisis. The budget should amount to up to 260 million dollars. According to the above rule of thumb, the box office would have been close to $700 million must, to make a profit. The only Johnson films to have reached that mark before are the Jumanji and Fast and Furious ensemble adventures.

Flops 2022: The Toy Story offshoot Lightyear with the voice of Chris Evans

The reviews were mostly positive, and with the Toy Story series, Lightyear had an animated cash cow behind it that has grossed around $3 billion worldwide. However, the spin-off goes as one of the major financial failures 202 in the annals, which can be attributed, among other things, to the budget that has grown over the five years of development.

Flops 2022: The science fiction disaster film Moonfall by Roland Emmerich

With a Loss of up to $137 million (via /Film) Moonfall will be remembered by Roland Emmerich as one of the biggest flops of 2022. And yes, the generic sci-fi disaster film can be snubbed as a pale copy of the director’s better films. However, the Stuttgarter deserves a modicum of respect for realizing one of the most expensive independent films of all time without the help of the big Hollywood studios or a streaming service – in this economy!

Sources: Box Office Mojo, The Numbers, IMDb, Forbes

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