Hollywood’s Biggest Flops of 2019: Schwarzenegger, ‘Charlie’s Angels,’ ‘Cats’

Hollywood is flopping harder than ever as the major studios throw more money at each new movie, hoping that fatter budgets equal bigger box office returns. Instead, the blast radius of each bomb is only getting wider.

The entertainment industry saw highly anticipated tentpole releases collapse in embarrassing fashion in 2019, with some titles expected to lose in excess of $100 million for their studios.

Unpopular social justice messages are to blame for some of the biggest failures as Hollywood continues to force feed left-wing ideology to audiences, who are catching wise to the game and rejecting it wholesale. Franchise fatigue was another factor, as creatively bankrupt studios continue to pump out sequels and reboots to diminishing returns.

Hollywood is in panic mode. The domestic box office is expected to drop 3.6 percent in 2019 compared to last year, the largest percentage drop in five years. Audiences are shunning the cinemas in favor of at-home entertainment options, which include Netflix and a growing array of competitors.

Here are some the year’s most notable box-office flops, and how much each stands to lose.

 

Terminator: Dark Fate

Estimated budget: $185 million

Domestic gross: $62.3 million

Verdict: The combined presence of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton wasn’t enough to resuscitate this expired franchise. In a major audience turn off, the plot turned U.S. border patrol into the bad guys. Overseas markets brought in nearly $200 million, thanks in large part to the China. Still, the movie is expected to lose more than $100 million after marketing and promotional expenses.

 

Charlie’s Angels

Estimated budget: $48 million

Domestic gross: $17.7 million

Verdict: The movie’s woke gender politics — girl power, men suck — turned off audiences despite the hard sell from mainstream media journalists. The Sony release could lose more than $60 million, though the studio reportedly partnered with other producers to share the costs.

 

Dark Phoenix

Estimated budget: $200 million

Domestic gross: $65.8 million

Verdict: The lowest grossing entry into 20th Century Fox’s highly profitable X-Men franchise could signal the final chapter in this 20-year superhero saga. Universally panned by critics and reviled by even die hard X-Men fans, the release stands to lose more than $100 million.

 

Cats

Estimated budget: $95 million

Domestic gross: $17.8 million

Verdict: Panned, mocked, and mercilessly memed, this misbegotten screen adaptation of the enduring Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical was the year’s biggest fiasco on all fronts. Universal, which could easily lose more than $100 million, recently pulled the movie from its awards contender site. Razzie Award prospects look promising.

 

Dishonorable mentions:

Gemini Man

Estimated budget: $138 million

Domestic gross: $48.5 million

The Goldfinch

Estimated budget: $45 million

Domestic gross: $5 million

Ugly Dolls

Estimated budget: $45 million

Domestic gross: $20.2 million

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