The 10 Biggest Box-Office Bombs of 2025, Ranked (original) (raw)

Published Dec 18, 2025, 5:45 PM EST

Writing from the Chicagoland area in Illinois, Robert is an avid movie watcher and will take just about any excuse to find time to go to his local movie theaters. Robert graduated from Bradley University with degrees in Journalism and Game Design with a minor in Film Studies. Robert tries his best to keep up with all the latest movie releases, from those released in theaters to those released on streaming. While he doesn't always keep up with the latest TV shows, he makes it a goal to watch nearly every major new release possible. He has been honing his craft and following any and all movie news all his life, leading up to now, where he has a vast knowledge of film and film history. He also logs every movie that he watches on his Letterboxd page, and has hosted a weekly online movie night with his closest friends for over 6 years.

While it's easy to look at a beautiful and sprawling art form like film from a strictly creative endeavor and perspective, at the end of the day, moviemaking is a business; one that strives to make a financial return on a movie's release by connecting with audiences. 2025, as a year in filmmaking history, has been no different, and while it has had several massive box-office successes such as A Minecraft Movie, F1, and Ne Zha 2, there have also been a multitude of box-office bombs.

Between the smaller-scale movies that simply couldn't find their audience or were overshadowed by a larger release and the massive budget blockbusters that couldn't maintain audience attention, 2025 saw various gargantuan box-office failures. These bombs come at a time when the theatrical venue as a whole continues to be under fire from the likes of the continued recovery in a post-COVID world and the continuous rise of streaming services as an alternative. While being a failure at the box office doesn't paint the entire picture of a film's quality, it shows that audiences simply didn't find enough interest in these films.

10 'Hurry Up Tomorrow'

Budget: $15 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $7.7 Million

The Weeknd in 'Hurry Up Tomorrow'

Image via Lionsgate

Especially in an era where concert films like Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour can make over $260 million at the worldwide box-office, it makes sense that other pop stars would take a swing at cinematic success. However, Hurry Up Tomorrow was positioned as much more than just a film meant to complement The Weeknd's latest album, but a striking, self-reflective story about The Weeknd himself, even directed by all-star indie director Trey Edward Shults.

However, the film proved to have minimal appeal outside The Weeknd's most die-hard of films, not even being able to earn back its minuscule $15 million budget. The film's jarring, egotistical story of psychological torment that The Weeknd faces simply came across as peachy and uninteresting to many traditional audiences that couldn't connect with his story. On top of that, no amount of good singing can save The Weeknd from giving a now-iconic terrible performance, which undermines any message that the film was trying to say.

9 'The Smashing Machine'

Budget: $50 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $20.3 Million

Dwayne Johnson holding a belt in 'The Smashing Machine'

Image via A24

It's an understatement to say that Dwayne Johnson has been an icon of box-office success throughout his career, leading many franchises into billion-dollar territory and being an icon for modern blockbusters as a whole. However, this prospect has left the actor relatively dry when it comes to truly gripping and critically acclaimed dramas, with The Smashing Machine positioning itself as the awards-hopeful sports biopic that could finally win Johnson his Oscar.

While the jury is still out on whether Johnson will receive a nomination for the film, audiences worldwide weren't receptive to this type of heavy-hitting drama from Johnson. A lot of this box office disappointment stems less from the actual quality of the film, but more of a massive disconnect from what audiences expect out of Johnson's films. An emotional, tear-jerker drama like this doesn't have nearly the pull and global appeal of Johnson's action blockbusters, making its $50 million budget, which is relatively high for dramas, a difficult goal to reach.

8 'The Alto Knights'

Budget: $45 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $10.2 Million

Robert De Niro as both Vito Genovese and Frank Costello in The Alto Knights.

Image via Warner Bros.

While Warner Bros., for the most part, had one of their most successful and notable years at the box office in 2025, The Alto Knights stands as one of their few complete misses at the box office. The crime film sees Robert De Niro in a dual role, following two of New York's most notorious crime bosses as they fight for control over the city's streets. Their overarching rivalry and battle threaten to upend the entire New York crime syndicate.

The Alto Knights placed all of its eggs into the appeal and allure of De Niro playing a dual role, a gimmick that defines the entire film, as it genuinely has nothing to offer outside of it. However, even a legendary actor like De Niro can only do so much to save what feels like the reheated leftovers of gangster films of the past. Audiences didn't find the film worthwhile, and it makes sense that one of the worst films of 2025 would be a box office disappointment.

7 'Christy'

Budget: $15 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $2.0 Million

Sydney Sweeney celebrates a win in the ring in an image from 'Christy'

Image via Black Bear Pictures

Somehow, the second award-hopeful sports biopic from 2025 that ended up being a box office disappointment, Christy had high hopes of bringing to life a story of perseverance to the big screen and getting Sydney Sweeney in conversation for an Academy Award. The biopic of boxer Christy Martin faced a multitude of hurdles leading up to its box office, from a middling marketing campaign to all sorts of controversies surrounding Sweeney earlier in the year that dominated conversation surrounding the film.

It reached a point where much of the conversation and discourse surrounding the film always came back to Sweeney herself, with little conversation revolving around the film itself, partly because the film was only just OK. Sweeney undeniably has her fans and a place in modern Hollywood, yet a heartbreaking LGBTQ+ sports drama about domestic abuse didn't align with what Sweeney's biggest fans wanted out of her. Even more so, the film wasn't as daring or effective enough to get the critical praise required of an awards hopeful film to succeed at the box office.

6 'The Running Man'

Budget: $110 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $68.4 Million

Glen Powell in a red suit stares ahead intently with two men in uniforms behind in The Running Man.

Image via Paramount Pictures

Acting as not just a modern remake of a classic 80s action film but a completely different rendition of the film more closely tied to the original Stephen King novel, The Running Man was enjoyed by audiences and critics alike but simply couldn't match its surprisingly high budget. The pieces were certainly there for a successful box office run, between the star power of Glen Powell, the appeal and brand recognition of The Running Man, and fan-favorite director Edgar Wright helming the film.

However, the film simply became a victim of a relatively crowded winter box office, with not nearly the overwhelming acclaim to maintain attention and excitement outside its opening weekend. Between opening on the same weekend as Now You See Me: Now You Don't and having to compete with the likes of Wicked: For Good in its following weeks, it's no wonder that conversation surrounding the film dropped off a cliff.

5 'Mickey 17'

Budget: $118 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $133.3 Million

A dead Robert Pattinson as Mickey in his space suit with his face scarred.

Image via Warner Bros.

The year's premiere example of how widespread acclaim from critics simply doesn't always result in box office profitability; Bong Joon-ho's Mickey 17 simply proved to be too abstract and unusual to connect with wider audiences. However, it's clear while watching the film that Mickey 17 was never attempting to have wide, all-encompassing appeal as traditinoal blockbusters, but instead telling a wild, unrestrained anti-capitalism sci-fi venture that perfectly fits with Bong Joon-ho's style of filmmaking.

It's almost admirable that Bong Joon-ho utilized the seemingly blank check that he received following his glorious Academy Award sweep with Parasite to tell a wild, sci-fi blockbuster perfectly tailored to his own tastes and conventions and not caring about audience reception. Mickey 17 almost feels like a film tailor made to be talked about in the conversation of hidden gems and exceptionally great films that weren't appreciated in their time as the years go by and more continue to fall in love with its personality and charm.

4 'After the Hunt'

Budget: $70-80 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $7.1 Million

Julia Roberts' Alma standing in front of Andrew Garfield's Hank in After the Hunt.

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

Luca Guadagnino has risen to be one of the most prominent and appreciated auteurs of recent memory, with films like Bones and All, Call Me by Your Name, and Challengers cementing him as one of the premier must-watch filmmakers of today. However, even his most popular films weren't absolute smash hits at the box office, making the jarringly large $70–80 million budget of After the Hunt that much more difficult to achieve.

On the one hand, the film's box office failure isn't nearly as impactful considering how it is largely positioned to be an original film to fill out the streaming catelog for Amazon's streaming offerings. At the same time, however, After the Hunt's massive budget compared to every other Guadagnino film felt like it required a larger return, as opposed to a film that completely floundered at the box office and was largely ignored, even by die-hard Guadagnino fans.

3 'Elio'

Budget: $200+ Million, Worldwide Box Office: $154 Million

While Disney's animated franchise sequels like Zootopia 2 and Inside Out 2 end up being some of the highest grossing and successful animated films of the modern era, audiences haven't shown anywhere close to the same enthusiasm towards new original films like Elio. The film was certainly appreciated and well-liked by the critics and audiences that saw it, yet Disney has sadly trained audiences that it's easier and acceptable to skip watching these original films in theaters and to watch them when they release on Disney+.

Even outside this plaguing issue that has affected many of Disney's more underwhelming films, Elio as a whole was plagued with mismanagement long before its initial release. From being delayed a full calender year after its initial trailer dropped to make room for Inside Out 2 to a mismanaged marketing campaign that failed to sell the appeal of the film, Elio is simply the latest in a long line of failures from Disney's original animated offerings at the box office.

2 'Snow White'

Budget: $269 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $205 Million

Rachel Zegler in Snow White

Image via Disney

One of the most controversial and widely despised major studio releases of 2025, Snow White was riddled with so much anger from all sides that it was never going to find success at the box office. It's one of many notoriously awful Disney live-action remakes of their classic animated stories, and while several of these other films found massive box office success, this film proved to be the one that broke the camel's back for audiences.

From divisive and controversial stars leading the film to the lackluster nature of the film itself, Snow White became the easy target to pick in the first half of 2025, as it completely failed to appeal to an audience that normally loves these live-action remakes. The film's $205 million gross doesn't even seem that bad until one sees the gargantuan budget that made its goal of profitability nearly impossible. Ironically, not even a few months later would the live-action Lilo & Stitch not only outgross this film, but become one of the highest grossing films of the year.

1 'Tron: Ares'

Budget: $220 Million, Worldwide Box Office: $142.2 Million

jared Leto riding a bike in Tron: Ares

Image via Disney

Tron is a franchise that, while certainly beloved and appreciated thanks to its impressive visual style and worldbuilding, has famously never been a major draw at the box office. Both Tron and Tron: Legacy were both considered box office disappointments when they released, only years down the line becoming cult classics as they found a niche with audiences who loved the Tron world. However, even these die-hard Tron fans were quick to express their dismay and lack of interest in anything to do with the latest film, Tron: Ares.

Not even some impressive visuals and a killer soundtrack from Nine-Inch Nails could save Tron: Ares from not just the same fate as previous entries, but easily standing as the biggest bomb in the franchise. Its storytelling and thematics are laughably barebones compared to previous films, removing the excitement and intrigue of the digital world and simply having boring digital avatars interacting with the real world. The film's disappointment was so massive that one has to wonder if this film ended up finally killing the Tron franchise for good, or if they will try and inevitably fail again decades from now.

TRON: Ares

Release Date

October 8, 2025

Runtime

119 minutes