The theatrical landscape has become increasingly cutthroat, with even critically acclaimed movies far from guaranteed to become a success story at the multiplex. In fact, these days, unless a movie is linked to a major franchise, it’s often a struggle to get the general audience's interest.
2025 has seen a few pleasant breakouts, including “Sinners” and “Weapons,” but there’s also been a glut of great movies that deserved success but instead suffered the ignominy of being branded a box-office flop. These range from the latest film from “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho, a “John Wick” spinoff that was anything but a cheap cash-in, and a Leonardo DiCaprio epic already being talked about as one of the decade’s best.
Granted, in the world of Hollywood accounting, determining a movie’s financial results is no easy task, and it should also be noted that a movie’s budget is only half the picture. Studios also spend enormous sums of money on advertising (for a blockbuster, it’s not uncommon for marketing to match the budget), and we also have to factor in that a movie’s box office gross is split with the theaters as well. So even a movie that appears to have achieved a profit on paper may have actually lost money when the dollars are counted.
5 movies that didn’t deserve to flop in 2025
‘Mickey 17’
The list of the biggest box office bombs in history is littered with sci-fi flicks ("John Carter, "Blade Runner 2049" etc.), and while “Mickey 17” might avoid the indignity of being labeled a historic flop, its global return of $131 million won’t have steered it into the black, considering its hefty $118 million budget and estimated marketing spend of around $80 million (per Variety). Bong Joon Ho’s quirky interstellar comedy deserved much better, as for all its faults, you can’t deny its originality.
It stars Robert Pattinson in a dual role as Mickey Barnes and Mickey’s identical clone. Working as an “Expendable,” Mickey performs the toughest gruntwork on a large spaceship headed for the ice planet of Niflheim. When Mickey’s dangerous tasks prove fatal, a clone of him is created, and back to work he goes. The high-concept movie is laced with social satire, and Pattinson is excellent in his multiple roles. But the weak ending was criticized, and unfortunately, it appears that theater goers weren’t wholly convinced to give Mickey a chance.
Watch "Mickey 17" on HBO Max now
‘Ballerina’
It would be unfair to expect “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina” to match the box-office results of the last mainline entry in the franchise (“Wick 4” grossed almost $450 million in 2023), but this first effort “From the World of John Wick” was more of a whiff than a winner. With a pre-advertising budget touching $100 million and a theatrical gross of $137 million, it almost certainly lost money on the big screen. It might have made some profit via streaming, but this result suggests that if the action franchise makes a cinematic comeback in the future, Mr. Wick will be front and center
Led by Ana de Armas, “Ballerina” follows an assassin as she seeks revenge against those responsible for her father’s death. Curiously, John Wick himself (Keanu Reeves) actually plays a fairly prominent role in the movie’s third act. But best of all, this spin-off is packed with the same high-energy action that made the preceding Wick franchise such a blast. The use of a hilariously overpowered shotgun in one brutal fight scene was especially memorable.
Watch "Ballerina" on Hulu w/ Starz now
‘One Battle After Another’
It pains me to include “One Battle After Another” on this list. However, it’s important to caveat its inclusion by acknowledging it's still playing in theaters, so it has at least a little gas left in the tank. But still, as reported by Variety, Paul Thomas Anderson’s acclaimed thriller is on track to lose as much as $100 million (ouch!). There’s often a line of thinking in box office tracking circles that audiences will turn out for good movies, but “One Battle After Another” struggles suggest that even when a director crafts a movie that is touted as “generational,” it's not enough to get butts in seats.
One of the best-reviewed movies of 2025 to date (holding a 95% score on Rotten Tomatoes), “One Battle Another Enough” is a propulsive action-thriller that sees Leonardo DiCaprio flexing his comedic muscles as a former revolutionary trying to protect his daughter from his past deeds. With incredible supporting turns from Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro and Regina Hall, not to mention newcomer Chase Infiniti holding her own among major Hollywood A-listers, “One Battle After Another” is worthy of the hype. See it on the big screen while you still can.
Watch "One Battle After Another" in theatres now
‘Elio’
It’s little wonder that Pixar has become increasingly reliant on sequels when its original movies struggle to match the success of yet another “Toy Story.” "Elio's" budget is believed to be in the ballpark of $150-200 million, and unlike Pixar’s 2023 effort “Elemental,” which recovered from a sluggish start to be a modest success, “Elio” was never able to gain much traction. At least the silver lining is that it’s doing very well on Disney Plus, currently holding the No. 1 movie slot even more than a month after its streaming debut.
Pixar has had box office disappointments before, but these have been credited to quality issues (like the very divisive “Lightyear”). However, “Elio” was embraced by critics and viewers, posting high scores from both. “Elio’s” struggles to attract viewers over the summer are a little puzzling. Perhaps the concept of a space-obsessed boy being abducted and mistaken for Earth’s ruler by an intergalactic council of aliens just didn’t appeal to families.
Watch "Elio" on Disney Plus now
‘Black Bag’
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14 - YouTube](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/maxresdefault.jpg)
“Black Bag” is one of my favorite movies of 2025, and it’s exactly the type of movie I want to see more of in cinemas, but as director Steven Soderbergh noted in an interview with Business Insider, “The people we needed to come out didn’t come out.” The stylish spy thriller didn’t even recoup its $50 million budget with theatrical receipts totalling less than $45 million (and don’t forget that money is then split between the studio and exhibitors).
Soderbergh noted in the same interview that the movie’s distributor believes it will become profitable over time, but it’s certainly not a Hollywood success story. Starring Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, it sees a British intelligence officer (Fassbender) attempt to root out a mole, but when his wife (Blanchett) becomes a suspect, his loyalties are tested. Laced with sharp dialogue and palatable intrigue, not to mention a great supporting cast, if you skipped "Black Bag" in theatres, I implore you to catch it on streaming.
Watch "Black Bag" on Prime Video now
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