The abysmal opening weekend gross of Francis Ford Coppola’sMegalopolishas proven thatnot even the most legendary filmmakers in the world are immune to the occasional box office bomb. Even the promise of a new movie fromthe director ofThe GodfatherandApocalypse Nowisn’t enough to get audiences to theaters. No movie is guaranteed to find success at the box office. Some of the most iconic, grandfathered-in filmmakers in Hollywood, from Martin Scorsese to Steven Spielberg, have suffered commercial flops (with some of their best movies no less).
Of course,sometimes a director gets too ambitious, and their own vision trumps the need to entertain the audience. This was the case with Oliver Stone’sAlexander, Michael Cimino’sHeaven’s Gate, and, indeed,Megalopolis. In some cases, a director’s chances at the box office were hurt by the lingering effects of the pandemic, like Christopher Nolan’sTenet— which arrived in theaters at the height of lockdown — orRidley Scott’sThe Last Duel. And sometimes, a movie just fails to connect with a wide enough audience to turn a profit.
10Francis Ford Coppola - Megalopolis
Megalopolis Has Grossed $4 Million Against A $120 Million Budget
The latest movie from a legendary director to bomb at the box office is Francis Ford Coppola’s epic sci-fi dramaMegalopolis.Megalopolisis a passion project that Coppola has been dreaming about since the 1970s.Coppola self-financedMegalopolis’ $120 million budgetby selling off a chunk of his winery business. Despite its star-studded cast, raft of controversies providing free publicity, and the director ofThe Godfathertrilogy at the helm,Megalopolisgrossed a measly $4 million in its opening weekend (viaDeadline).
Megalopolis
Cast
Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
The writing was on the wall forMegalopolis’ box office struggles. When Coppola initially screened the film for distributors, not a single studio wanted to pick it up because they thought it had no chance of turning a profit (and they were right). But sinceCoppola made the movie for the sake of the art itselfwith money he could afford to lose, this box office bomb isn’t as financially devastating as it sounds.
9Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Hugo Barely Recouped Its Production Costs
Martin Scorsese usually makes low-budget character dramas likeTaxi DriverandRaging Bull, which don’t need to gross a ton of money to turn a profit. But in 2011, Scorsese tried his hand at a big-budget blockbuster withHugo,a fantasy adventure set in 1930s Paris. It marked his first foray into making a family film (aside from his self-referential cameo inShark Tale), as well as his first foray into 3D filmmaking. All told,Hugocost around $180 million to produce.
Hugo
Based on The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick, Hugo follows the titular character, a young boy living alone in a train station in Paris. While working to restore an automaton found by his late father, Hugo becomes involved in a mystery surrounding the automaton and filmmaker Georges Méliès. Asa Butterfield stars as Hugo, with Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, and Jude Law as part of the main cast.
When it arrived in theaters, it made back its production budget almost to the penny with a worldwide total of $180,047,784 (viaThe Numbers). But since that figure doesn’t take marketing costs or the exhibitors’ cut into consideration, it was considered a box office bomb.AlthoughHugois a great film, it struggled to find an audience, since it’s too family-friendly forGoodfellasfans and too lofty and intellectual for kids.
8Oliver Stone - Alexander
Alexander Grossed $167 Million On A Budget Of $155 Million
In 2004, Oliver Stone stepped outside his comfort zone to helm a mega-scale three-hour biopic of Alexander the Great. With a $155 million budget,Alexanderwasone of the most expensive movies ever made at the time. But its box office receipts didn’t match its ambitions, as it went on to gross just $167,298,192 worldwide (viaBox Office Mojo). Although the film performed well in European markets, it failed to find an audience in America.
Alexander
Alexander is an epic historical drama directed by Oliver Stone, chronicling the life of Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia. Released in 2004, the film stars Colin Farrell as Alexander, following his military conquests against the Persian Empire and his unprecedented campaigns extending to India.
At the time, similar swords-and-sandals epics likeGladiatorandTroyhad found box office success. But the difference was that those movies were well-received, whereasAlexanderwas universally panned by critics.Alexanderwas unfavorably compared to those movies for being dry and academic, whereas they were action-packed and entertaining. It was also criticized for its historical inaccuracies and lack of emotional engagement.
7Michael Cimino - Heaven’s Gate
Heaven’s Gate Was A Historic Flop
Michael Cimino had perhaps the fastest rise and fall in Hollywood history. In 1978, Cimino’s second directorial feature,The Deer Hunter, was lauded as one of the greatest war movies ever made, winning Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Cimino was instantly catapulted to the A-list and given carte blanche for his follow-up movie. Then,his very next movie,Heaven’s Gate, was panned by criticsand became one of the biggest box office bombs in film history.
Heaven’s Gate
Sheriff James Averill tries to protect immigrant farmers from wealthy cattle barons in 1890s Wyoming. Conflict intensifies as Averill and a mercenary, Nathan Champion, both vie for the affection of Ella Watson, a local madam. The escalating tensions culminate in a brutal battle that questions their roles and the harsh realities of the American frontier.
Heaven’s Gatecost $44 million to produce and grossed a paltry $3,484,331 at the box office (viaBox Office Mojo). According to Peter Biskind’s bookEasy Riders, Raging Bulls, the failure ofHeaven’s Gateis credited with singlehandedly ending the New Hollywood movement.American studios stopped giving auteurs like Cimino so much artistic controland focused on more commercial projects throughout the 1980s.
6Christopher Nolan - Tenet
Tenet Grossed An Admirable $359 Million Mid-Pandemic (But Still Lost Money)
AfterInception,Interstellar, andThe Dark Knighttrilogy, it seemed as though Christopher Nolan could do no wrong. He’s one of the few filmmakers whose name alone can draw blockbuster crowds to movie theaters.
Nolan insisted on giving his spy-fi thriller Tenet a traditional pre-pandemic-style theatrical release.
Buteven Nolan isn’t a miracle worker. In the summer of 2020, when big-budget movies likeBlack WidowandA Quiet Place Part IIwere being sent to streaming or delayed indefinitely, Nolan insisted on giving his spy-fi thrillerTenet a traditional pre-pandemic-style theatrical release.
Tenet
Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, a nameless Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
Consideringit arrived in the midst of lockdownwhen governments around the world were advising people to stay in their homes,Tenetmade an impressive haul at the box office. It grossed $359,518,466 (viaThe Numbers), which is more than some of 2024’s most expensive films have made. But it wasn’t enough to recoup its $205 million budget and the marketing costs on top of that.
5Orson Welles - Citizen Kane
Before It Was A Renowned Classic, Citizen Kane Was A Box Office Bomb
Today, Orson Welles’Citizen Kaneis a revered masterpiece regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made. Butwhen it was released in 1941, it wasn’t an immediate hit. Welles based the character of Charles Foster Kane not-so-subtly on media magnate William Randolph Hearst, who wasn’t too pleased that a cinematic critique had been produced in his honor.
20 Best Directors Of All Time, Ranked
As one of the oldest of the most popular entertainment mediums, the film industry has built an impressive catalog of legendary directors.
According to the booksOrson Welles, A Biographyby Barbara Leaming,The RKO Storyby Richard B. Jewell and Vernon Harbin, andThe Making of Citizen Kaneby Robert L. Carringer, Hearst used his widespread influence to buryCitizen Kane.
Citizen Kane
Directed by and starring Orson Welles in his feature film debut, Citizen Kane tells the life story of Charles Foster Kane, a self-made business tycoon partially based on William Randolph Hearst. The film tells the story of Kane’s rise and fall from power, narratively framed by the sensation caused by death at the beginning and end of the film. Besides Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Ray Collins, Agnes Moorehead, and Ruth Warrick also star.
A theater chain with more than 500 theaters had the option to screenCitizen Kane, but refused to show it out of fear of Hearst’s retaliation. As a result of Hearst’s petty disruptions,Citizen Kanelost $160,000 during its initial theatrical run. It would ultimately turn a profit in re-releases, butit took a while for it to be recognized as a classic.
4Quentin Tarantino - Death Proof
Death Proof Was Released As Part Of A Double Feature
Like Nolan, Quentin Tarantino is a one-man hit factory whose name alone can turn even the most experimental film — like a blood-soaked, darkly comedic spaghetti western about American slavery— into a blockbuster hit. But, like Nolan,Tarantino also has a notable box office bombto his name. In 2007, Tarantino teamed up with fellow filmmaker Robert Rodriguez to helm the double featureGrindhouse.
Death Proof
Mike McKay, a Hollywood stuntman, murders young women via “stunts” he performs with his vehicles — but he makes a mistake when he targets another stunt performer.
Rodriguez directed the first film on the bill, the zombie comedyPlanet Terror, while Tarantino directed the second, thegenre-blending carsploitation slasherDeath Proof. Although it was a cool idea to recreate an old-school B-movie double feature,Grindhousewas a box office bomb, grossing just $25,422,088 against its $67 million budget (viaBox Office Mojo).
Although it was a cool idea to recreate an old-school B-movie double feature,Grindhousewas a box office bomb
If anything,Planet TerrorandDeath Proofreplicated the scratchy, amateurish feel of those old exploitation movies a little too well. The audience that shared Tarantino and Rodriguez’s nostalgia for those drive-in double features turned out to be pretty limited.
3David Lynch - Dune
The Original Dune Adaptation Wasn’t A Blockbuster
Although Denis Villeneuve would eventually turnDuneinto a blockbuster franchise, David Lynch’s original adaptation wasn’t so successful.Lynch’s films are so bizarre and transgressivethat they’ve never made much of a splash at the box office. However, movies likeEraserheadandBlue Velvetare relatively cheap to produce, so that’s never been much of an issue.
Dune
Dune, released on June 20, 2025, is a science fiction film directed by David Lynch. Set in a distant future, it follows the journey of Paul Atreides on the desert planet of Arrakis, where the precious spice Melange is found. This substance is pivotal for space travel and consciousness expansion.
Dunemarked Lynch’s first (and last) time making a big-budget tentpole for a major studio. Lynch’sDunecost a whopping $40 million to produce (equivalent to about $120 million today) and only grossed $30,928,421 at the box office (viaBox Office Mojo).
What is the best director for Dune 4 with Denis Villeneuve out?
Denis Villeneuve said that the third Dune movie, his adaptation of Dune: Messiah, will be the director’s final film in the franchise. Still, he plans to leave the story open for another director to possibly step in and continue the adaptation of the popular book saga. The first Dune movie would be a difficult one to make. As such, I believe that directors like The Green Knight’s David Lowery, Steven Spielberg, and The Maze Runner & Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes director Wes Ball could be great choices.
The movie was hurt by the fact thatit tried to cram the entire novel into one movie— a mistake that Villeneuve mercifully avoided — which didn’t give the rich themes of Frank Herbert’s opus enough room to breathe. Despite its underperformance at the box office and initial mixed reviews,Lynch’sDunehas since been reevaluated as a cult classic.
2Ridley Scott - The Last Duel
The Last Duel Only Grossed $30 Million Against Its $100 Million Budget
In the months leading up to its release in 2021,The Last Duelseemed to have everything going for it.It marked Ridley Scott’s return to the historical epic genre, and it was Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s first screenwriting collaboration since their Oscar-winning work onGood Will Hunting. It was based on the fascinating true story of the last official duel in French history, told from three different perspectives in aRashomon-style structure.
The Last Duel
The Last Duel is a historical epic drama set amid the Hundred Years War, and explores the ubiquitous power of men, the frailty of justice, and the strength and courage of one woman willing to stand alone in the service of truth. Based on actual events, the film unravels long-held assumptions about France’s last sanctioned duel between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris; two friends turned bitter rivals.
ButThe Last Duelarrived as one of the biggest box office bombs in history, grossing just $30,080,003 against its $100 million budget (viaThe Numbers). There are a couple of factors involved inThe Last Duel’s failure.It was overbudgeted, it deals with the challenging subject of sexual assault (and shows it twice), and it arrived at the tail end of the pandemic, when audiences were still cautious about coming back to theaters.
1Steven Spielberg - West Side Story
Spielberg’s West Side Story Suffered From Post-Pandemic Blues
Steven Spielberg, the originator of the summer blockbuster, finally realized his lifelong ambition to remakeWest Side Storyin 2021. But despite being hailed asone of the director’s best films of the 21st century,Spielberg’sWest Side Storybombed at the box office. It grossed just $74,826,329 against its $100 million budget (viaThe Numbers).
West Side Story
Based on the 1957 Broadway musical, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is the second feature-length film to adapt the musical for the big screen. Starring Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort, the film tells the story of the forbidden love between a young couple on opposite sides of a conflict between two rival gangs in 1950s New York City.
LikeThe Last Duel,West Side Storysuffered from its post-pandemic release window. But that wasn’t the only reason forWest Side Story’s underperformance.The musical genre hasn’t been doing well at the box office in recent years. Modern musical movies likeIn the HeightsandThe Color Purplehave similarly struggled to make their money back. Even thoughWest Side Storyis one of Spielberg’s best films, there wasn’t much of an audience for it.
Source:Deadline, The Numbers, Box Office Mojo, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Orson Welles, A Biography, The RKO Story, The Making of Citizen Kane
