Box Office Blunders: What have been some of the worst performing films at the box office in 2024?

• While ‘Wicked’ and ‘Moana 2’ battle it out for box office supremacy before Christmas 2024, spare a thought for those that fell at the first hurdle.
• From the outrage over ‘Joker 2’ after first screenings to Henry Cavill’s annus horribilis, what have been 2024’s biggest box office disappointments?
• Thanks to Box Office Mojo, we’ve narrowed it down to the ten likely candidates that may also appear at the 2025 Golden Raspberry Awards.

It’s been an interesting year for cinema in 2024, especially after the huge success last year of ‘Barbenheimer.’

While currently fans are flocking to their local cinemas to see either ‘Moana 2’ or ‘Wicked,’ it’s felt like there have been more disappointments this year than there have been successes. That’s just my hot take though before we all quarrel.

Perhaps we have finally seen the end of the superhero franchise, with the likes of ‘Madame Web’ making it hard for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ to show there is still life in the old horse, or franchise as it were, yet.

But there have also been some utterly heart-breaking moments for those at the box office in 2024; from Francis Ford Coppola’s long-anticipated ‘dream’ film to Henry Cavill’s year going from bad to worse after the release of ‘Argylle,’ there’s plenty for us to moan about in terms of 2024 in film.

But what films have had the worst reception at the box office, and either did not make their production costs back or fell well below the expectations the films had?

We’ve taken a look at Box Office Mojo to find out what have been the 10 biggest box office disappointments of 2024. Grab your tissues as some of the results are genuinely sad, admittedly.

What have been some of the worst performing films at the box office in 2024?

Despite being a passion project for Francis Ford Coppola and practically financing the film himself, ‘Megalopolis’ is, as of writing, the biggest box office disappointment in 2024; with an estimated budget between $120M and $136M, while its box office revenue was only $13.7M, leading to a loss between $106.3M and $122.3M, with a $200M budget and $96.2M in box office earnings, faced a loss of around $103.8M .

Perhaps there should have been red flags for the year Henry Cavill would be having in 2024, with ‘Argylle’ grossing only $96.2M at the box office, against a budget of $200M, suffering a reported loss of $103.8M.

While ‘Madame Web’ may not have had quite the stark contrast in budget and box office, the critically panned entry into the ‘Sony Spider-Man Universe’ did fail to live up to expectations upon release. The film was projected to earn between $25 million and $35 million during its opening weekend.

Its total domestic box office earnings were expected to fall between $56 million and $101 million - the film's actual performance, with a box office of $100.5 million, landed at the higher end of these estimates, but still far from a breakout success.

The top ten worse performing films at the box office in 2024

1. Megalopolis (Budget: $120M - $136M, Box Office: $13.7M)
2. Argylle (Budget: $200M, Box Office: $96.2M)
3. Madame Web (Budget: $80M - $100M, Box Office: $100.5M)
4. Borderlands (Budget: $110M - $120M, Box Office: $33M)
5. Fly Me to the Moon (Budget: $100M, Box Office: $40M)
6. The Crow (Budget: $50M, Box Office: $24M)
7. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (Budget: $60M, Box Office: $27.3M)
8. Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1 (Budget: $50M, Box Office: $38.2M)
9. Here (Budget: $45M - $50M, Box Office: $13M)
10. Joker: Folie à Deux (Budget: $190M - $200M, Box Office: $206.4M)

Did you spend your hard earned money to see one of the films on the list, or are you surprised at some of the entries despite the fanfare some of the films received before release? Let us know what you think was 2024’s biggest box office bomb by leaving a comment below.