7 Biggest Superhero Movie Flops of All Time

Eight of the 19 biggest movies in history at the worldwide box office are superhero movies. These titles have proven enduringly popular to global moviegoers of all stripes, with mega-hits like Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: No Way Home becoming popular enough to enter a rare breed of movies to crack $1.9+ billion worldwide. Looking at the highest box office points of superhero cinema, it’s easy to imagine that this is a bulletproof domain for major studios. Surely a superhero movie is the closest thing a studio can do to printing money, right?

Of course, anyone who tracks both this realm and box office geekery is well aware that not every superhero movie becomes a Black Panther-sized success. Throughout history, many superhero movies have lost tons of money for their financiers and studios. The seven biggest superhero movie flops in history especially reflect that no amount of money or familiar brand names can save feature film concepts people just aren’t interested in. Ranked from “lowest” to greatest losses, these seven gargantuan flops depict a “bulletproof” subgenre bleeding tens of millions of dollars despite arriving with Marvel or DC monikers.

Fantastic Four (2015)

“It’s fantastic” is one of the last lines uttered in Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four. That same sentiment was not expressed by 20th Century Fox executives once receipts came in for the film’s box office haul. Initially expected to launch a new franchise that would keep the Fantastic Four property out of the hands of Marvel Studios, this dud only grossed $167.9 million worldwide. That included a dismal $56.1 million lifetime domestic haul that resembled the North American opening weekends of the two Tim Story Fantastic Four movies. It was later reported that the feature’s losses amounted to roughly $100 million, an embarrassing outcome.

Black Adam

Once set to the change “the hierarchy of power in the DC Universe,” Black Adam instead was greeted with a shrug by general audiences. Worldwide, the film’s $393.3 million gross was underwhelming but not inherently disastrous. However, Black Adam cost a mighty $200 million to make even before counting marketing costs. Variety would later report that the film’s losses could reach $100 million. Though Dwayne Johnson would later try to counter such claims, years later, it’s clear Black Adam was a costly dud for Warner Bros. No wonder the DC Universe went in a radically different direction.

The Suicide Squad

Like Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad is one superhero movie box office bomb that comes with a major asterisk. This James Gunn directorial effort also debuted on HBO Max simultaneously with its theatrical release. Additionally, that first Suicide Squad being so toxically recieved (not to mention the five-year gap between installments) couldn’t have helped this production strike a positive chord with moviegoers. No wonder this $185-million-budgeted tentpole only grossed $167.4 million worldwide, leading to roughly $119.5 million in losses.

[RELATED: You Won’t Believe These Actors Were Once Rumored For 2015’s Fantastic Four Movie]

Dark Phoenix

Once upon a time, 20th Century Fox’s X-Men movies regularly scored $400+ million box office hauls. Even as late as 2017, Logan was still scoring $700+ million global box office cumes. Dark Phoenix closed out this era of mutant cinema on an atrocious note, though, with this lambasted sequel only grossing $252.4 million worldwide on a $200 million budget. This led to it losing an estimated $133 million, a far cry from the sizable profits of past X-Men installments.

Wonder Woman 1984

There was once lots of hype surrounding Wonder Woman 1984 because, after all, it was following up a beloved 2017 box office juggernaut. Since its December 2020 release, though, Wonder Woman 1984 has become a widely derided punchline. Its dismal box office numbers haven’t helped its reputation. Released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max on Christmas Day 2020, Wonder Woman 1984 had a significantly smaller theatrical footprint than its predecessor despite a heftier $200-million budget. This awkward release strategy led to the project only grossing $166.5 million worldwide and losing an alleged $136.5 million.

The Flash

Before its release, The Flash was talked about by film industry figures and various artists as one of the greatest superhero movies ever created. This film did end up making history for superhero cinema when it hit theaters, but not in a way anyone at Warner Bros. expected or wanted. For a few months, The Flash was the costliest superhero movie flop in history. Grossing just $271.3 million worldwide on a budget that’s been reported to run as high as $220 million, The Flash lost $155 million for Warner Bros. Pictures. That staggering loss exemplified how far The Flash had sped off from pre-release expectations.

The Marvels

Everyone behind The Flash must’ve breathed a sigh of relief once the box office numbers for The Marvels began to come in. This $274.8 million sequel to Captain Marvel grossed a disastrous $199.7 million worldwide. That global haul was more than $1 billion less than the original Captain Marvel. To rub salt into its financial wounds, the $84.5 million domestic haul of The Marvels made this the very first Marvel Cinematic Universe title to miss the $100 million mark domestically. In the end, The Marvels lost an eye-popping $237 million for Disney and Marvel Studios. The rare title in the history of cinema to lose over $200 million in its box office run, The Marvels was a stunning box office misfire and a sign of just how badly superhero movies can do at the box office.

The Marvels is now streaming on Disney+.