The Biggest Box Office Bombs Of 2026 (So Far)

In every year, a little rain must fall — and these films are evidence that when it rains, it pours. They entered the public arena hoping to make a mint, but instead they hit the dirt. Each one has become a box office casualty in 2026.

So many things can factor into a movie's failure — whether it's inclement weather keeping people from theaters, terrible reviews ruining that crucial opening weekend haul, or an uninspiring marketing campaign. Sometimes audiences would just prefer to wait for motion pictures to show up on streaming. Even bad word of mouth can sink a film before it's released. 

No matter the issue, these productions just plain didn't have what it took to make it to the top of the pile, sinking under the weight of their own bad luck. Here are all of the big screen flicks that have bombed at the box office so far in 2026.

Perhaps it was released too close to "28 Years Later," which came out in the summer of 2025. Perhaps it was because the "28 Days Later" series has always been more of a cult property than a key-turning franchise player. In any event "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" undeniably bombed at the box office, making just over $58 million worldwide on a $63 million budget, far short of the twice-its-budget number needed to break even. During the week of February 1, Sony Pictures began pulling the film from theaters, signaling that it has decided to close up shop on the movie's big screen run.

"Bone Temple" did well critically and has audience support, standing at an 88% viewer approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. But director Nia DaCosta hasn't had a big hit since 2021's "Candyman," and the film's largest stars are Ralph Fiennes and an uncredited Cillian Murphy, finally reprising his role as Jim from "28 Days Later." 

Maybe it was bad luck, maybe it was destiny — or maybe fans are just waiting to see Jim's story, which might play out in the next flick in the franchise. In any event, the failure of "Bone Temple" leaves the fate of the whole "28 Days" universe up in the air. That could be ironic for those holding out for Murphy.

Chris Pratt's latest science fiction epic had audiences begging for "Mercy," which bombed, crashed and burned at the box office even though it knocked "Avatar: Fire and Ash" off the top of the American box office during its debut. Making just under $55 million worldwide as of this writing, the film's budget sits at $60 million. It would need to make another $70 million worldwide at least just to break even. 

The problems "Mercy" faced were multifold. The film raked in a pitiful 24% critical approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it came out the same weekend a blizzard hit the East Coast and closed hundreds of movie palaces. 

On top of that, Chris Pratt has never really been able to open a non-franchise movie on the power of his name alone; while his MCU, Lego universe, "Jurassic World," "Super Mario" and "Garfield" films have been hits, "The Electric State" and "Passengers" didn't exactly set the world on fire. It's quite possible that sci-fi fans weren't in the mood for a somber futuristic action piece about AI. All that snow didn't help. 

The "Melania" documentary was destined to be a qualified success at best. A film that focuses on First Lady Melania Trump in the run-up to President Donald Trump's second inauguration, it cost $75 million to make and has pulled in under $17 million to date. Amazon Studios seems unlikely to recoup its investment, even though the movie landed in third place at the domestic box office the weekend of its release.

The flick received a dire critical response, and it sits at a 10% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. But audience feedback was conversely glowing, and it's certified Hot on the viewer side of the Tomatometer. That underlines how difficult it is to sell a political documentary in this day and age; while some people will love it, if they don't spend money on tickets, it will sink into the cultural mire. Eventually, the outing will end up on streaming, where Amazon will house it and likely recoup at least some of what it spent to get it out the door. 

The most incredible thing about the failure of "Greenland 2: Migration" is that many moviegoers probably didn't know about the existence of the first movie in the disaster series, "Greenland." But the original flick persevered as a pandemic-era VOD hit, leading to the theatrical release of its progeny. Word of mouth must not have been strong enough; audiences resisted the Gerard Butler-led sequel, which made a scant $44.8 million worldwide against a $90 million budget. 

The film also flopped with critics; just 48% of the 105 Rotten Tomatoes accredited pundits who saw the motion picture liked it. Post-apocalyptic fare has done decently at the box office before this; outings as varied as the "A Quiet Place" series and "Mad Max: Fury Road" have generated moolah for the genre, so there's no reason why "Greenland 2" couldn't have done the same. Leads Gerard Butler — the king of so-bad-they're-good-action flicks — and Morena Baccarin aren't the kind of stars who conjure up box office gold these days, which may be a bigger factor in the feature's failure.

"Silent Hill" has been uncommonly lucky when it comes to the success of its big screen adaptations. 2006's "Silent Hill" and 2012's "Silent Hill: Revelations" both made back their budgets, and it seems as if "Return to Silent Hill" looks like it might have done the same. The feature has pulled in over $48 million worldwide on a $23 million budget. As of this article's publication, it's likely that it's recouping its humble margin, but only barely.

The movie fizzled with both critics and fans of the game; it has a 17% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes and the audience score is 29%. This is in spite of its fairly faithful rendering of the plot of "Silent Hill 2." Perhaps the movie was too loyal to those plot strictures and became incomprehensible to newbies dipping their toes into the franchise for the first time. In any event, it looks like the fans might have to wait another 10 years for a fourth walk into the mists.

There are only three certainties in life: death, taxes, and a Jason Statham movie ruling the midwinter box office. The king of the post-Christmas cineplex, Statham has become a comforting presence in the top 10 every year; give him a cockamamie action plot and a wide-open January weekend, and he can usually break the bank. But what gelled for "The Beekeeper" and "A Working Man" didn't quite come together for "Shelter," which has only made $53.9 million worldwide on a $50 million budget. 

Its familiar plot might have been a factor. Teaming up a tough guy and a little girl has meant easy cash for decades, but with strong competition coming from "Send Help," audiences might have been looking for more unusual fare. 

Yet there may be some hope left for "Shelter"; critics responded positively to it, giving the flick a 63% positive approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. Judging from the film's popularity with Statham fans on the Tomatometer and IMDb, it's possible that word of mouth might end up making this a cult classic in years to come. But don't bet on it.

"Dead Man's Wire" has an astounding pedigree. Helmed by Gus Van Sant, the cast includes Bill Skarsgård, Al Pacino, Colman Domingo and Cary Elwes. But though it had a microbudget of $15 million, it has only made a little under $4 million worldwide. That's a huge disappointment, considering how much talent the film boasts and how many critics loved it. The movie has been certified fresh by pundits and sits at 91% on the Tomatometer.

The true-life tale is a period piece that could have been hampered by a small marketing budget and lack of experience at the top; this is, in fact, the very first film that Row K Entertainment has ever released, though financial problems may scuttle the rest of its modest 2026 slate. "Dead Man's Wire" might become a hidden gem that finds its way into the hearts of thriller lovers over time, but it looks like it won't be breaking box office records any time soon.

While it provided an inventive, music-laden look into the messy life of a singing superstar, "Mother Mary" didn't do any favors for the career of the red-hot Anne Hathaway. Coming just before the release of "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "Mother Mary" landed with a comparative whimper; it only made just under $3 million on a reported $20 million budget. Perhaps audiences weren't ready to embrace the film's high-concept combination of thriller, musical, and romantic drama, or perhaps A24's promotional machine was focused elsewhere; in any event the film did have its defenders when it debuted, holding a 70% critical approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The movie centers around the titular Mother Mary (Hathaway), a Lady Gaga-style pop star who seems to have it all. But in the wake of an onstage accident she feels quite literally haunted. She seeks the support of the creator of her many exotic costumes — and, it's hinted, ex-lover — Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel), who reluctantly agrees to design a dress for Mary's comeback concert; but first they find that they have to hash out the tension between them and heal the wounds that caused their relationship to rupture in the first place.

The notion of turning the deadly serious George Orwell novel "Animal Farm" into a kid-friendly treatise on the horrors of communism feels like the stuff Robot Chicken sketches are made of. But director Andy Serkis really did risk his reputation on such a passion project, managing to accrue a $35 million budget to bring the film to life. Well, "Animal Farm" is alive all right — and like Frankenstein's Monster, it was rejected by an appalled public, grossing just over $5 million worldwide. Critics were equally unkind, with the film sitting at a 28% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film's plot heavily rearranges what Orwell set in stone; the created-for-the-movie villain here is Frieda Pilkington (voice of Glenn Close), who repossesses Manor Farm not due to Farmer Jones' (Andy Serkis) alcoholism, but his failure to stay ahead of his mortgage payments. As in the novella, the animals stage a revolt and take over the property, renaming it "Animal Farm." A conflict soon erupts between Napoleon (Seth Rogen), a pig who helped lead the original revolt, and Snowball (Laverne Cox), who eventually turns against Napoleon and teams with Frieda to reclaim the farm for pigs and humans alike — and only pigs and humans. 

Hoping to get an untold story out into the world, the spirit of Mary Shelley possesses the body of Ida (Jessie Buckley), who knows sensitive information about a mob boss and blurts it out when Mary takes hold of her body. Unfortunately, Ida quickly tumbles to her death. Enter Frank (Christian Bale), the real, living Frankenstein's monster, who wants a bride to assuage his loneliness and turns to Dr. Cornelia Euphronius (Annette Bening) for help. They steal the body of Ida and bring her back to life. Frank takes advantage of Ida's missing memory by insisting she's his long-lost wife. Though romance soon sets in, Frank and Ida find themselves on the run and in deep trouble.

"Frankenstein" might seem like a timeless property that could weather any sort of adaptation, but "The Bride!" proved that not everything that shambles back from the dead is golden. Though director Maggie Gyllenhaal's interpretation of Mary Shelley's tale — which mixes reincarnation, bootlegging and movie-mad aesthetics — is definitely different, its box office total marks it as an also-ran. On a $90 million budget, the delayed film only posted just over $13 million worldwide. Critics also weren't wowed; it ended up with a 57% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Nate Wilcox (Nate Bargatze) is a successful car salesman with a beautiful stay-at-home wife named Katie (Mandy Moore) and three daughters. His fortunes change when Katie successfully pitches an invention of hers on "Shark Tank." Kate goes to South Korea to ensure the manufacturing of her invention, leaving Nate in charge of the house and on leave from his job. He quickly learns how hard it is to put in the work his wife does at home while also doing his day-to-day job. Nate decides to approach the situation in his own way — leading to disaster and a rift with all the women in his life.

"The Breadwinner" is a throwback to '80s comedies in which befuddled dads are forced to raise their children when the mom goes back to work. But it looks like viewers have turned their nose up at this formula; the film has a $25 million budget and has barely made it to $9 million worldwide as of this writing. Mediocre reviews have also mired the film at the Tomatometer with 21%.

It may be the most expensive film ever produced by Saudi Arabia at $150 million, but it looks like "Desert Warrior" is going to go down in history as a major international flop. Though producers hoped the film would continue to stimulate the growth of the Saudi Arabian film economy, which had been in a booming state when the international production was mounted, the film's release was delayed by creative issues, and it ultimately arrived on the festival circuit in late 2025. But once it hit wide release in late April of 2026, it only made just over $700,000 worldwide. The film also crashed with critics, earning a mere 23% on the Tomatometer.

The film takes place in seventh century Arabia, as Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart) seeks to escape the lecherous ways of Emperor Kisra (Ben Kingsley), who wants her for his concubine. Hind decides to enlist the help of a bandit named Hanzala (Anthony Mackie) and raise an army of her own, leading to the Battle of Ze Qar — a real-life event with far more impact than it seems this movie will have.

"Crime 101" centers on jewel thief Mike (Chris Hemsworth), a master at engineering clean getaways who's shocked when he's grazed by a bullet during one of his carefully planned robberies. He tries to walk away from the heist game, only to have a job gone wrong be blamed on him. LAPD detective Lou Lubesnick (Mark Ruffalo) works to track down both Mike and the other culprit, a psychotic biker named Ormon (Barry Keoghan), while Mike zeroes in on an insurance broker (Halle Berry) who holds the key to what he hopes is his final job.

"Crime 101" boasted a star-packed cast, with Ruffalo and Hemsworth reuniting for the first time outside of a Marvel Cinematic Universe film. But the twosome could not guarantee the movie a big opening; it only made just under $73 million on an estimated $90 million budget. It was, however a huge critical hit and rests at 88% on the Tomatometer. While critics might have loved the noir-flavored mystery, it looks like audiences will have to discover it outside of the box office.