Special Report
America's Biggest Box Office Losers of 2017
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A successful film can make a lot of money. For example, this year’s “Beauty and the Beast” grossed over half a billion dollars in the United States on a $160 million budget. Unfortunately for investors, a movie’s success is never guaranteed, and a film can lose millions just as easily as it can make them.
A film can fail at the box office due to poor distribution and marketing. It can also fail due to poor audience reception – either because it was poorly executed or because it is of interest to relatively few moviegoers. 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the 156 films that were wide released in 2017 to identify the 50 movies that grossed the least amount of money at the domestic box office.
Click here to see America’s biggest box office losers of 2017.
Many of these box office flops lost significant amounts of money. For example, historical drama “The Promise” grossed less than a tenth of its $90 million production budget in the US. Similarly, animated film “Rock Dog” failed to gain back even one-sixth of its $60 million budget at the domestic box office.
Yet some of this year’s lowest grossing films still managed to turn a profit. Christian drama “All Saints” grossed $5.8 million in the United States against its $2 million budget. Horror film “The Belko Experiment” also did well, bringing in over $10 million, while costing only $5 million to make.
Some of the films that performed relatively poorly are loved by those who saw them. Money-losing “The Promise” currently has a 92% audience score on movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. On the other end of the spectrum is box office failure “The Snowman,” which scores a mere 21% by the same metric.
To identify the 50 biggest box office losers of the year, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the domestic gross for 156 films that were wide released in 2017. Movies are considered wide releases if they are played in at least 600 theaters nationwide. Each film’s 2017 domestic gross came from online box office database Box Office Mojo. Production budgets came from film industry research service The Numbers. The percentage of the audience that enjoyed the movie is based on online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes’ audience score.
50. Battle of the Sexes
> 2017 domestic gross: $12,596,390
> U.S. opening weekend: $518,332
> No. of theaters played in: 1,822
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 76%
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49. Before I Fall
> 2017 domestic gross: $12,241,122
> U.S. opening weekend: $4,690,214
> No. of theaters played in: 2,346
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 57%
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48. Lady Bird
> 2017 domestic gross: $12,040,463
> U.S. opening weekend: $364,437
> No. of theaters played in: 1,194
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 86%
47. Unforgettable (2017)
> 2017 domestic gross: $11,368,012
> U.S. opening weekend: $4,785,431
> No. of theaters played in: 2,417
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 34%
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46. The Beguiled (2017)
> 2017 domestic gross: $10,576,669
> U.S. opening weekend: $229,292
> No. of theaters played in: 941
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 48%
45. Live By Night
> 2017 domestic gross: $10,378,555
> U.S. opening weekend: $33,336
> No. of theaters played in: 2,822
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 42%
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44. The Belko Experiment
> 2017 domestic gross: $10,166,820
> U.S. opening weekend: $4,137,230
> No. of theaters played in: 1,341
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 40%
43. Thank You for Your Service (2017)
> 2017 domestic gross: $9,479,390
> U.S. opening weekend: $3,817,700
> No. of theaters played in: 2,083
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 78%
42. Rock Dog
> 2017 domestic gross: $9,420,546
> U.S. opening weekend: $3,704,749
> No. of theaters played in: 2,077
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 45%
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41. Marshall
> 2017 domestic gross: $8,896,025
> U.S. opening weekend: $3,000,805
> No. of theaters played in: 821
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 88%
40. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
> 2017 domestic gross: $8,785,707
> U.S. opening weekend: $322,168
> No. of theaters played in: 1,430
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 88%
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39. The Lost City of Z
> 2017 domestic gross: $8,580,410
> U.S. opening weekend: $110,175
> No. of theaters played in: 866
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 57%
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38. The Promise (2017)
> 2017 domestic gross: $8,224,288
> U.S. opening weekend: $4,095,718
> No. of theaters played in: 2,251
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 92%
37. A Cure for Wellness
> 2017 domestic gross: $8,106,986
> U.S. opening weekend: $4,356,941
> No. of theaters played in: 2,704
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 41%
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36. The Space Between Us
> 2017 domestic gross: $7,885,294
> U.S. opening weekend: $3,775,596
> No. of theaters played in: 2,812
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 55%
35. Roman J. Israel, Esq.
> 2017 domestic gross: $7,292,661
> U.S. opening weekend: $61,999
> No. of theaters played in: 1,669
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 67%
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34. Gold
> 2017 domestic gross: $7,227,038
> U.S. opening weekend: $3,471,316
> No. of theaters played in: 2,166
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 45%
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33. Beatriz At Dinner
> 2017 domestic gross: $7,115,854
> U.S. opening weekend: $141,959
> No. of theaters played in: 683
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 56%
32. Silence (2016)
> 2017 domestic gross: $7,100,177
> U.S. opening weekend: $130,880
> No. of theaters played in: 1,580
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 68%
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31. Let there be Light
> 2017 domestic gross: $7,068,647
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,729,535
> No. of theaters played in: 774
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 77%
30. Birth of the Dragon
> 2017 domestic gross: $6,901,965
> U.S. opening weekend: $2,702,430
> No. of theaters played in: 1,633
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 73%
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29. The Snowman
> 2017 domestic gross: $6,670,765
> U.S. opening weekend: $3,372,565
> No. of theaters played in: 1,815
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 21%
28. Same Kind of Different as Me
> 2017 domestic gross: $6,324,944
> U.S. opening weekend: $2,591,985
> No. of theaters played in: 1,362
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 92%
27. All Saints
> 2017 domestic gross: $5,802,208
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,514,278
> No. of theaters played in: 846
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 78%
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26. Suburbicon
> 2017 domestic gross: $5,775,178
> U.S. opening weekend: $2,840,246
> No. of theaters played in: 2,046
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 25%
25. 20th Century Women
> 2017 domestic gross: $5,664,764
> U.S. opening weekend: $111,200
> No. of theaters played in: 650
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 73%
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24. The Book of Henry
> 2017 domestic gross: $4,288,104
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,424,540
> No. of theaters played in: 650
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 63%
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23. Stronger
> 2017 domestic gross: $4,209,483
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,611,040
> No. of theaters played in: 645
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 87%
22. Friend Request
> 2017 domestic gross: $3,759,046
> U.S. opening weekend: $2,002,863
> No. of theaters played in: 2,573
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 30%
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21. A Monster Calls
> 2017 domestic gross: $3,740,823
> U.S. opening weekend: $30,909
> No. of theaters played in: 1,523
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 81%
20. Table 19
> 2017 domestic gross: $3,614,896
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,597,928
> No. of theaters played in: 868
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 40%
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19. Phoenix Forgotten
> 2017 domestic gross: $3,600,146
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,816,499
> No. of theaters played in: 1,626
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 42%
18. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (40th Anniversary)
> 2017 domestic gross: $3,100,479
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,767,758
> No. of theaters played in: 901
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 92%
17. Ingrid Goes West
> 2017 domestic gross: $3,024,308
> U.S. opening weekend: $135,301
> No. of theaters played in: 647
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 73%
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16. A Question Of Faith
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,567,923
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,025,489
> No. of theaters played in: 661
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 84%
15. Newsies: The Broadway Musical
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,545,060
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,333,538
> No. of theaters played in: 780
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 94%
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14. Tulip Fever
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,425,664
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,158,017
> No. of theaters played in: 772
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 46%
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13. LBJ
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,419,149
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,110,565
> No. of theaters played in: 659
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 60%
12. Pokemon the Movie: I Choose You!
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,401,722
> U.S. opening weekend: N/A
> No. of theaters played in: 789
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 68%
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11. The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,303,792
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,206,771
> No. of theaters played in: 890
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 85%
10. Collide
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,280,004
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,512,824
> No. of theaters played in: 2,045
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 35%
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9. The Man Who Invented Christmas
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,173,604
> U.S. opening weekend: $1,353,297
> No. of theaters played in: 674
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 86%
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8. Good Time
> 2017 domestic gross: $2,026,499
> U.S. opening weekend: $125,101
> No. of theaters played in: 721
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 81%
7. Free Fire
> 2017 domestic gross: $1,799,312
> U.S. opening weekend: $994,431
> No. of theaters played in: 1,070
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 54%
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6. The Comedian
> 2017 domestic gross: $1,659,002
> U.S. opening weekend: $10,723
> No. of theaters played in: 848
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 29%
5. Professor Marston & the Wonder Women
> 2017 domestic gross: $1,584,759
> U.S. opening weekend: $736,883
> No. of theaters played in: 1,229
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 81%
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4. The Stray
> 2017 domestic gross: $1,573,546
> U.S. opening weekend: $596,547
> No. of theaters played in: 0,640
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 71%
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3. Spirited Away (Fathom Event)
> 2017 domestic gross: $1,196,791
> U.S. opening weekend: $903,896
> No. of theaters played in: 632
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 100%
2. TCM Presents Casablanca 75th Anniversary
> 2017 domestic gross: $1,024,560
> U.S. opening weekend: $596,068
> No. of theaters played in: 725
> Share of audience that liked the movie: 100%
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1. Kirk Cameron REVIVE US 2
> 2017 domestic gross: $718,607
> U.S. opening weekend: N/A
> No. of theaters played in: 731
> Share of audience that liked the movie: N/A
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