‘Moonfall’, ‘The 355’ and more: The biggest flops of 2022

It’s a list no star or studio wants to be on come December, but Business Insider has compiled a list of the biggest theatrical flops of 2022. 

Overall, the U.S. box office showed strong signs of life, what with the huge numbers pulled by Top Gun: Maverick, another Jurassic World movie crossing the billion-dollar mark worldwide, the success of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and the last-minute theater surge of Avatar: The Way of Water. 

Comscore notes $7.2 billion was spent at the movies this year. And while that’s a hefty jump from 2021’s $4.5 billion, by comparison, 2019 saw box office receipts totaling $11 billion.

Using data from IMDB Pro, Business Insider compared budgets to ticket sales for a host of movies beginning in January of this year. Important to note, the production budget doesn’t include the tens of millions — and sometimes far more — studios spend to market the movies.

One of the biggest profile flops, when comparing budgets to tickets, was the Halle Berry sci-fi movie Moonfall: It made barely over $19 million here, and had a total worldwide take of $67 million, against a budget of $150 million. 

On the other side of the coin, the horror movie Smile was made for $17 million and grossed $216 million worldwide. A very clever — and cheap — viral marketing campaign used people wearing creepy smiles and “Smile” T-shirts behind home plate during Major League Baseball games to generate buzz. 

Here are the year’s underperformers, according to IMDB Pro: 

January

The 355

Total US box office: $14.57 million
Total global box office: $27.8 million
Production budget: $75 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 25%

February

Moonfall   
Total US box office: $19.06 million
Total global box office: $67.3 million
Production budget: $150 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 36%

Blacklight 
Total US box office: $9.6 million
Total global box office: $15.9 million
Production budget: $43 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 10%

April

Morbius
Total US box office: $73 million
Total global box office: $167 million
Production budget: $75 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 15%

Ambulance
Total US box office: $22.3 million
Total global box office: $51.8 million
Production budget: $40 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 69%

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Total US box office: $95.8 million
Total global box office: $405 million
Production budget: $200 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 46%

The Northman
Total US box office: $34.2 million
Total global box office: $69.6 million
Production budget: $60 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 89%

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Total US box office: $20.3 million
Total global box office: $29.1 million
Production budget: $30 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 87%

June

Lightyear
Total US box office: $118.3 million
Total global box office: $226.4 million
Production budget: $200 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 74%

August

Three Thousand Years of Longing
Total US box office: $8.3 million
Total global box office: $19.3 million
Production budget: $60 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 71%

September

Bros
Total US box office: $11.6 million
Total global box office: $14.76 million
Production budget: $22 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 88%

October

Amsterdam
US opening weekend: $6.4 million
Total US box office: $14.9 million
Total global box office: $31.2 million
Production budget: $80 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 33%

November

She Said
US opening weekend: $2.2 million
Total US box office: $5.8 million
Total global box office: $10.6 million
Production budget: $32 million
Rotten Tomatoes critics score: 87%

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