In keeping with this weeks theme of our picks for the Worst films of all time, we thought it would be appropriate to print the official list of the least successful films of all time, based on budget. Essentially, take what you earn on a film away from the original budget, and you have some of the most financially abhorrent films ever made. Whether the film is actually a bad one or not is not the question, it’s just the return on the outlay makes these films the worst performing cinematic turkeys of all time:

Biggest Money Losers, Based on Absolute Loss on Worldwide Gross
Release DateMovieDistributorBudgetWorldwide GrossLoss
14/27/2001Town & Country New Line$105,000,000$10,364,769-$99,817,616
27/29/2005Stealth Sony$138,000,000$76,416,746-$99,791,627
38/16/2002The Adventures of Pluto Nash Warner Bros.$100,000,000$7,094,995-$96,452,503
47/11/2001Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within Sony$137,000,000$85,131,830-$94,434,085
58/27/1999The 13th Warrior Buena Vista$125,000,000$61,698,899-$94,150,551
66/22/2007Evan Almighty Universal$175,000,000$173,219,280-$88,390,360
74/8/2005Sahara Paramount Pictures$145,000,000$121,671,925-$84,164,038
84/9/2004The Alamo Buena Vista$92,000,000$23,911,362-$80,044,319
99/2/2005A Sound of Thunder Warner Bros.$80,000,000$6,300,451-$76,849,775
106/14/2002Windtalkers MGM/UA$115,000,000$77,628,265-$76,185,868
116/16/2004Around the World in 80 Days Buena Vista$110,000,000$72,004,159-$73,997,921
125/9/2008Speed Racer Warner Bros.$120,000,000$92,387,402-$73,806,299
134/2/2004Home on the Range Buena Vista$110,000,000$76,482,461-$71,758,770
1411/24/2004Alexander Warner Bros.$155,000,000$167,297,191-$71,351,405
152/18/2005Son of the Mask New Line$100,000,000$59,918,422-$70,040,789
165/12/2006Poseidon $160,000,000$181,674,817-$69,162,592
175/9/1997Father’s Day Warner Bros.$85,000,000$35,681,080-$67,159,460
187/19/2002K-19: The Widowmaker Paramount Pictures$100,000,000$65,716,126-$67,141,937
198/8/2007Daddy Day Camp Sony$76,000,000$18,197,398-$66,901,301
2011/26/2003Timeline Paramount Pictures$80,000,000$26,703,184-$66,648,408

But, in order to balance the ledger, we will, just to be fair, present the highest box office earners. These are the films that represent the biggest earners compared to budget. If this is an indication of quality, then why are the Star Wars prequels in here?

Most Profitable Movies, Based on Absolute Profit on Worldwide Gross
Release DateMovieDistributorBudgetWorldwide GrossProfit
112/19/1997Titanic 20th Century Fox$200,000,000$1,848,813,795$724,406,898
212/17/2003The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King New Line$94,000,000$1,133,027,325$472,513,663
36/11/1993Jurassic Park Universal$63,000,000$920,100,000$397,050,000
45/25/1977Star Wars Ep. IV: A New Hope 20th Century Fox$11,000,000$797,900,000$387,950,000
55/19/2004Shrek 2 DreamWorks SKG$70,000,000$915,278,586$387,639,293
66/11/1982ET: The Extra-Terrestrial Universal$10,500,000$792,910,554$385,955,277
77/7/2006Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest Buena Vista$150,000,000$1,065,659,812$382,829,906
812/18/2002The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers New Line$94,000,000$926,284,377$369,142,189
911/16/2001Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Warner Bros.$125,000,000$976,457,891$363,228,946
105/19/1999Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace 20th Century Fox$115,000,000$924,288,297$347,144,149
1111/15/2002Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Warner Bros.$100,000,000$878,987,880$339,493,940
125/30/2003Finding Nemo Buena Vista$94,000,000$866,592,978$339,296,489
137/3/1996Independence Day 20th Century Fox$75,000,000$817,400,878$333,700,439
145/25/2007Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End Buena Vista$150,000,000$952,420,425$326,210,213
1512/19/2001The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring New Line$109,000,000$868,621,686$325,310,843
167/11/2007Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Warner Bros.$150,000,000$938,468,864$319,234,432
175/23/1997The Lost World: Jurassic Park Universal$75,000,000$786,686,679$318,343,340
186/15/1994The Lion King Buena Vista$79,300,000$783,839,505$312,619,753
195/19/2005Star Wars Ep. III: Revenge of the Sith 20th Century Fox$115,000,000$848,998,815$309,499,408
207/18/2008The Dark Knight Warner Bros.$185,000,000$966,692,764$298,346,382

The above information is taken from www.the-numbers.com.

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