5 Shamelessly Expensive 2000s Movies Absolutely No One Remembers Today
Hollywood has several examples of movies that ended up flops despite having loads of money and pompous marketing. We’re dropping some box office bombs in this list.
Some films have sky-high budgets, A-list actors, and heavy marketing, yet still manage to vanish from public memory in an instant.
Here are 5 cinematic misfires that cost a fortune, but delivered little more than nothing before quietly dying, forgotten.
1. ‘Simone’ (2002)
Starring the beloved Al Pacino, Simone tried to cash in on the growing paranoia around digital technology and virtual reality. Pacino plays a director who digitally creates a virtual actress after his real one quits, only for the fake star to become more popular than anyone imagined.
Despite its original concept, audiences largely shrugged, and the film faded into obscurity almost immediately.
The movie cost $18 million to produce but only managed to gross $19,6 million worldwide.
2. ‘Transcendence’ (2014)
Starring Johnny Depp as a dying AI researcher who uploads his consciousness into a machine, Transcendence had the budget (near $150 million), the cast, and the ambition. What it lacked was clarity.
Bloated with philosophical half-questions and disjointed pacing, the movie tanked both critically and commercially, earning approximately $100 million.
3. ‘The Alamo’ (2004)
Another perfect example is The Alamo. With a staggering $145 million budget, this historical epic was supposed to be Disney’s gritty answer to beloved cult classic Braveheart.
Instead, The Alamo was a dreary slog that couldn’t connect with audiences. Which resulted in it grossing a shameful $25,8 million worldwide.
“The fact that the poster on imdb uses "You will never forget" as the tagline is icing on the cake,” Redditor BreakingBrak said.
4. ‘Stealth’ (2005)
Stealth imagined a future where an AI-controlled fighter jet goes rogue, a bit like Top Gun meets 2001: A Space Odyssey, minus the charm or depth.
With a $135 million budget and almost no cultural impact, the film bombed spectacularly, grossing $79,3 million globally.
5. ‘Tomorrowland’ (2015)
“I’ve literally never heard a single person talk about Tomorrowland. Not even in a negative context. This is a perfect answer. Feels like it doesn’t even exist,” Redditor pm-me_10m-fireflies said.
A rare Disney flop, Tomorrowland was visually dazzling but thematically incoherent. Built around the idea that hope could save the world, the story forgets its own message when the “bad guy” is dispatched with a few punches and a massive explosion.
With a production budget being around $180 million, the movie only grossed $209 million. But the financial losses Disney faced were also counted in the tens of millions.
