Here Are 2024’s Biggest Box Office Flops So Far—From ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ To ‘Madame Web’

Topline

While blockbusters “Dune: Part Two” and “Inside Out 2” rode the coattails of their prequels to become the top two highest grossing movies so far this year, a much greater list of Hollywood hopefuls failed to perform in the U.S., including thrillers, horrors and comedies.

Kathryn Newton at the Los Angeles special screening of Lisa Frankenstein, one of the worst … [+] performing movies of the year.

Variety via Getty Images

Key Facts

The worst-performing major release of the first six months of 2024 was Focus Features’ horror romance film “Lisa Frankenstein” (Forbes tracked the lowest-grossing major releases that played at over 3,000 theaters).

The Cole Sprouse and Kathryn Newton high school crush feature grossed only $9.77 million in U.S. theaters since its Feb. 9 release, and scored a 51% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Several other horror movies made for the biggest flops of the year, including Dakota Fanning’s “The Watchers,” which has pulled in $18.95 million since its release earlier this month, with an even worse critic score on Rotten Tomatoes (32%).

Among the major flops were several big-budget action movies, including “Madame Web,” the poorly reviewed Sydney Sweeney and Dakota Johnson superhero feature with a reported $80 million budget, and Universal Pictures’ “Argylle,” which fell just out the top 10 list after grossing $45.21 million despite a reported $200 million budget.

Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you’ll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.

10 Lowest-Grossing Movies This Year (at Least 3,000 Theaters — As Of June 30)

“Lisa Frankenstein” ($9.77 million)
“The Watchers” ($18.95 million)
“Ordinary Angels” ($19.17 million)
“The First Omen” ($20.09 million)
“Arthur the King” ($25.05 million)
“Monkey Man” ($25.12 million)
“Abigail” ($25.87 million)
“Imaginary” ($28.01 million)
“Night Swim” ($32.49 million)
“Madame Web” ($43.82 million)

Key Background

2024 has been a rough year for Hollywood studios still recovering from the Covid-era box office doldrums, especially as streaming platforms increasingly compete with theaters. Comscore media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said last month he believes this summer’s box office gross could fall $800 million below last summer, which raked in over $4 billion—the most since the pandemic. Last year’s Hollywood writers’ and actors’ strikes also stunted the summer box office, pushing the release date of several major films from 2024 to 2025, notably Paramount’s upcoming sequel to its “Mission: Impossible” franchise.

Tangent

Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1,” the long-awaited first installment of Costner’s western epic, grossed just over $11 million from its June 28 release through June 30, according to Box Office Mojo. While that performance would put it second on the list of worst-performing movies of the first half of the year, it does not appear on the list because it has only been in theaters for a single weekend, and its domestic gross is expected to grow from its underwhelming start.

What To Watch For

Several major releases out last month are expected to become some of the highest-grossing movies of the year, including Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2,” which boasted a $155 million U.S. opening—the biggest since “Barbie”—and Will Smith’s “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” which posted an impressive $56 million in its opening weekend last month, far surpassing expectations. Other upcoming releases include Eddie Murphy’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (July 3), horror “MaXXXine” (July 5), “Fly Me to the Moon” (July 12), “Twisters” (July 19) and “Deadpool and Wolverine” (July 26).