The biggest box-office flops of the year show how the movie business still has a long road to recovery
The 2022 box office saw a vast improvement over last year.
But some movies haven't given the theatrical industry much of a boost.
Some have been outright flops, like "Moonfall," and others underwhelmed, like "Lightyear."
The box office is on the road to recovery after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the theatrical industry.
Comscore is projecting the US box office to end the year with $7.2 billion — a vast improvement from last year's $4.5 billion, but still far below the $11 billion total in 2019.
There were surprise successes this year, like the low-budget horror movie "Smile," which made $216 million off of a $17 million budget.
But there have also been outright flops, some of which suggest audiences haven't been turning out in droves for adult-oriented dramas and action movies. Those include the recent journalism drama "She Said" and Roland Emmerich's "Moonfall."
Other movies weren't total disasters but underwhelmed, leaving the future of their respective franchises in question.
The latest "Fantastic Beasts" movie, "The Secrets of Dumbledore," was the lowest-grossing "Harry Potter"-related movie in the franchise yet, and cost a hefty $200 million to product.
Disney and Pixar's "Lightyear" cost $200 million to make, but made just $226 million worldwide — a disappointing figure for the "Toy Story" spinoff.
Some of these flops and disappointments were torn apart by critics. But others, like the Viking epic "The Northman" and the romantic comedy "Bros," received favorable reviews.
Both were original, mid-budget, star-driven, adult-focused, movies that couldn't drum up substantial interest in theaters. And that appears to be a theme throughout the industry that could be here to stay.
Another common theme: movies are being made available online much sooner than before the pandemic, whether on a steaming service or video-on-demand platform — especially if they flop in theaters.
Below are the year's most notable box-office flops and disappointments, in release-date order (numbers are based on data from IMDb Pro):
"The 355" — January 7
US opening weekend: $4.62 million
Total US box office: $14.57 million
Total global box office: $27.8 million
Production budget: $75 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 25%
"Moonfall" — February 4
US opening weekend: $9.87 million
Total US box office: $19.06 million
Total global box office: $67.3 million
Production budget: $150 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 36%
"Blacklight" — February 11
US opening weekend: $3.5 million
Total US box office: $9.6 million
Total global box office: $15.9 million
Production budget: $43 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 10%
"Morbius" — April 1
US opening weekend: $39 million
Total US box office: $73 million
Total global box office: $167 million
Production budget: $75 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 15%
"Ambulance" — April 8
US opening weekend: $8.7 million
Total US box office: $22.3 million
Total global box office: $51.8 million
Production budget: $40 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 69%
"Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore" — April 15
US opening weekend: $42.15 million
Total US box office: $95.8 million
Total global box office: $405 million
Production budget: $200 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 46%
"The Northman" — April 22
US opening weekend: $12.3 million
Total US box office: $34.2 million
Total global box office: $69.6 million
Production budget: $60 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 89%
"The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent" — April 22
US opening weekend: $7.13 million
Total US box office: $20.3 million
Total global box office: $29.1 million
Production budget: $30 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 87%
"Lightyear" — June 17
US opening weekend: $50.5 million
Total US box office: $118.3 million
Total global box office: $226.4 million
Production budget: $200 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 74%
"Three Thousand Years of Longing" — August 26
US opening weekend: $2.9 million
Total US box office: $8.3 million
Total global box office: $19.3 million
Production budget: $60 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 71%
"Bros" — September 30
US opening weekend: $4.8 million
Total US box office: $11.6 million
Total global box office: $14.76 million
Production budget: $22 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 88%
"Amsterdam" — October 7
US opening weekend: $6.4 million
Total US box office: $14.9 million
Total global box office: $31.2 million
Production budget: $80 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 33%
"She Said" — November 18
US opening weekend: $2.2 million
Total US box office: $5.8 million
Total global box office: $10.6 million
Production budget: $32 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 87%
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