10 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2025

by

As the 2025 season wraps up, movie fans are already looking forward to what promises to be a fantastic 2026. The past year was unpredictable at the box office, with some unexpected successes and a number of high-profile films that didn’t perform well. In fact, quite a few major movies flopped this year.

As a movie lover, I always say box office numbers don’t tell the whole story about a film’s worth. But let’s be real, studios need to make money when a movie hits theaters. Sadly, 2025 saw a lot of big releases that just didn’t perform well. We generally consider a movie a success if it earns twice its production budget back, and based on that, here are some of the year’s biggest disappointments.

Thunderbolts* Disappointed by Marvel Standards

This movie concludes Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and paves the way for a new chapter. It unites key characters from the Multiverse Saga, essentially forming a new version of the Avengers. However, it didn’t perform as well at the box office as previous Avengers films.

Despite costing $180 million to make, Thunderbolts earned just $382 million worldwide. This means the film barely made a profit in theaters, which is a significant concern for a Marvel team-up movie.

Despite positive reviews – Thunderbolts currently has an 88% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the best-received Marvel Cinematic Universe film since Spider-Man: No Way Home – the movie didn’t do well in theaters. It earned significantly less money than expected, which might suggest audiences are losing interest in the MCU after a few lackluster years. However, the film is performing well on Disney+.

I Know What You Did Last Summer May Have Killed the Franchise

This movie is a fresh start for the well-known horror series. It features a new group of actors, alongside a few returning favorites, in an attempt to revitalize the franchise. However, I Know What You Did Last Summer wasn’t a success, earning only $64.8 million at the box office.

Fortunately, Sony Pictures didn’t spend a lot on I Know What You Did Last Summer – only $18 million. This likely means the movie made money in theaters. However, those numbers are still quite low for a film intended to revive a horror series that had been on hold for a long time.

Although future installments aren’t impossible, it’s unlikely Sony will make more movies in this series, as it appears the story has already reached a natural conclusion.

M3GAN 2.0 Disappointed Fans of the Original Film

The horror film M3GAN was a big surprise success in 2022, so a sequel seemed likely. However, M3GAN 2.0, released in June, didn’t perform as well. Critics gave it mostly negative reviews, and the film only earned around $40 million worldwide – not enough to recoup its $25 million production cost.

Despite its modest budget, M3GAN 2.0 didn’t perform well enough to save the horror series. While the sequel only lost around $10 million, that was enough to halt plans for a third M3GAN film, making future installments unlikely.

Christy Never Got Out of the Ring

The movie follows the life of Christy Salters Martin, a professional boxer, and her journey to becoming famous. While critics and audiences generally didn’t like the film, many praised the acting of its star. It quickly disappeared from cinemas, earning only about $2 million before being withdrawn.

Despite costing only $15 million to make, the movie Christy earned less than a third of that amount in theaters. It had one of the lowest box office totals of any major release in 2025, and represented a career setback for star Sweeney and the film’s creators. Although Christy lost less money than other big flops this year, it’s still considered one of the year’s biggest disappointments.

The Smashing Machine Got Knocked Out at the Box Office

The Smashing Machine marks a departure for Dwayne Johnson, who’s known for big action movies. This film is a biographical drama based on the life of MMA fighter Mark Kerr. Directed by Benny Safdie and co-starring Emily Blunt as Kerr’s partner, the movie generated a lot of Oscar buzz before its release, especially for Johnson’s acting. However, it didn’t perform well in theaters, earning only $21 million.

Similar to other A24 productions, The Smashing Machine was made on a tight budget – around $50 million, according to reports. While the film didn’t perform well in theaters, its losses weren’t as significant as some other box office failures. This likely won’t hurt Johnson’s Oscar chances, but it might make him reconsider taking on similar serious roles in the future.

Mickey 17 Got Killed at the Box Office

The new sci-fi comedy Mickey 17 comes from celebrated South Korean director Bong Joon Ho, who also made the films Parasite and Okja. The movie stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey Barnes, a man who volunteers for a dangerous space mission. As an “Expendable,” he’s repeatedly cloned and used for testing, being brought back to life each time he dies. Despite a hefty $118 million budget, the film only grossed $133 million, resulting in estimated losses of over $100 million.

It appears Mickey 17 was an ambitious, unconventional film that didn’t quite connect with a wide audience. Despite having a large budget usually reserved for major blockbusters, it’s a darkly comedic film by a director known primarily to serious film fans. While critics generally liked the movie, it doesn’t measure up to the quality of the director’s earlier films, which likely contributed to its disappointing performance in theaters.

Because of this, viewers likely won’t see as many movies like Mickey 17 in the future, or those that are made may have smaller budgets.

Elio Never Got Off the Ground

Disney and Pixar’s Elio tells the story of a boy who gets his wish granted when aliens finally abduct him. While the film received generally positive reviews – earning an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – it proved to be a financial disappointment. Estimated to have cost around $150 million to produce (and potentially much more), Elio only made about $154 million in theaters, resulting in a loss of up to $146 million.

The disappointing box office performance of Elio is a worrying sign for Pixar. The studio has been struggling with original films lately, while sequels like Inside Out and Toy Story 4 have been big successes. To stay competitive, Pixar seems to be focusing more on established franchises. With Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and Finding Nemo 3 already planned, they’re clearly shifting away from taking risks on new stories.

Better Man’s Monkey Business Didn’t Pay Off

One of the most talked-about films of 2025 was Better Man, a biopic about the life of . The singer portrays himself in the movie, but as a CGI monkey. The film’s $110 million production cost was unusually high for a biopic – likely due to the special effects. Despite needing to earn $220 million to cover its costs, Better Man only made $22.5 million, resulting in a loss of around $197.5 million.

Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper box-office analysis

Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper box-office analysis

By signing up, you’ll receive our newsletter and promotional emails, and agree to Valnet’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You can opt out at any time.

Critics generally liked Better Man, but it didn’t attract a large audience. The trailers featured a CGI monkey which confused many potential viewers and likely kept them from seeing the movie. Plus, Robbie Williams isn’t widely known outside of England, which further limited the film’s appeal. Given its budget, it was unlikely the film could ever become profitable.

Tron: Ares May Have Deleted the Franchise for Good

After a fifteen-year gap, a new installment in the classic Tron sci-fi series has arrived with an original story and cast. Tron: Ares stars Jared Leto as a digital program named Ares who escapes into the real world on a mission. However, the expensive film—costing between $180 and $220 million to produce—was a box office disappointment, reportedly losing over $200 million worldwide despite earning $142 million.

It’s not a shock that Tron: Ares didn’t do well in theaters. Jared Leto’s movies haven’t been successful since the pandemic began, particularly when they’re part of big franchises. Plus, the Tron series has never been a huge money-maker, so spending so much on Ares seems like a mistake. Disney might have had better luck continuing the story of the more popular Tron: Legacy with a more reasonable budget.

Disney’s Snow White Was a Snoozer

Disney’s 2025 live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, directed by Marc Webb, quickly became known as the year’s biggest box office disappointment. Even before its release, the film faced scrutiny, particularly regarding its lead actress, Rachel Zegler. With a hefty budget of around $250 million, Snow White only earned $205 million in theaters. Because it needed to make $500 million to cover costs, the film lost an estimated $295 million, making it the most significant flop of the year.

As a big movie fan, I was really surprised by how poorly Snow White did in theaters. A lot of it, I think, came down to all the controversy surrounding the film. Plus, the reviews weren’t great, which definitely kept people away – whether they didn’t know about the drama or just weren’t interested. I heard it really rattled Disney’s faith in live-action remakes. Honestly, if Lilo & Stitch hadn’t become such a massive hit later that same year, it sounds like they might have scrapped all their plans for future reboots!

Read More

2025-12-26 04:41