Six Hollywood Films that Ruined their Creators

Sometimes even a good movie can sink the studio that released it. Because the recognition of descendants and the approval of film critics will not be spread on bread.

"Cleopatra", 1963

The film with Elizabeth Taylor, released in 1963, is now considered a classic, and by the time of the premiere it almost ruined the Fox studio, which was shooting the picture. The budget of the film was originally planned to be no more than two million dollars, but eventually grew to 44 million (translated into modern money, this is about 300 million dollars), so "Cleopatra" is considered one of the most expensive films in history. The producers wanted to see Elizabeth Taylor in the lead role exclusively, but the wayward actress said she would not be filmed for less than a million dollars, and the producers agreed to her condition.

The film's directors were constantly changing, and there was no script as such, so the shooting stretched very much. In addition, Elizabeth Taylor dropped out of the project for eight months due to a serious illness, the actress even had surgery. To top it all off , during the filming at Elizabeth Taylor had a stormy affair with Richard Burton. As a result, they both divorced their spouses and got married. Cleopatra won four Oscars out of nine nominations, and Fox Studios had to sell 300 acres of land that belonged to her to pay off loans.

"Guys are what you need!", 1983

The legendary studio founded by Adam Ladd Jr., who gave the green light to Star Wars, pursued ambitious projects. Such was, for example, the film adaptation of Tom Wolfe's book about the dawn of astronautics in the United States, "The Right Guys." The film won four Oscars, but failed at the box office.

"Island of Thugs", 1995

In 1994, the studio Carolco, which had previously released the successful films "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Basic Instinct", took up the expensive project of Paul Verhoeven "Showgirls". And along the way, I decided to invest in an adventure film about pirates, which could either be a lucky ticket for the company, or, conversely, sink it. The second thing happened.

Expensive filming in Malta. Constant food poisoning of the actors and crew, prolonged filming and, finally, an absolutely mediocre advertising campaign brought enormous losses to the film. With a budget of almost $120 million, he raised only about $10 million. The studio was forced to declare bankruptcy and close down.

It is curious that the gun of one of the heroes of the picture migrated to "Pirates of the Caribbean" — the most successful pirate franchise of all time. There he can be seen at Captain Barbossa's. "Titan: After the death of the Earth", 2000

In the 1990s, after a temporary lull in the 1980s, Disney proved with his paintings "The Lion King" and "The Little Mermaid" that full-length animation is a very profitable product. And in 1994, Fox decided to repeat the success of these cartoons, for which directors Gary Goldman ("All Dogs go to Heaven") and Don Bluth, who already had a successful cartoon "American Tail", were invited.

The first work of Fox Animation studio — "Anastasia" — was modest in terms of costs, but was a success with the audience. After that, the ambitious project "Titan" was launched: After the destruction of the Earth." In its creation, both traditional technologies and the latest computer graphics at that time were used — the production cost $ 75 million. The roles were voiced by famous actors: Matt Damon, Drew Barrymore and others. It was also planned to release the game for the Playstation console. But in the first weekend after the release, the cartoon collected a modest $ 9.4 million, and then this amount grew only to $ 22 million. The development of the game was curtailed, and the studio was closed.

Into the history of "Titan: After the death of the Earth" entered due to the fact that he was the first picture transmitted over the Internet. For a preview in Atlanta on June 6, 2000, the film was digitally transmitted from a Hollywood studio 3,000 miles away to a digital projector in a SuperComm Mall movie theater.

"Golden Compass", 2007

New Line Cinema was not considered a risk-averse studio. There, of course, Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings was released with a budget of $ 200 million and, perhaps, because of this, they lost their sense of caution, starting the release of the Golden Compass project. The cost of the first part (it subsequently remained the only one) was $ 180 million. As a result, the film collected $ 70 million on the American market, and $ 260 million on the international market, but this did not save the studio, because the rights to foreign screenings were sold to other companies. As a result, the studio went bankrupt and was absorbed into Warners Bros.

Nevertheless, the film even won an Oscar in the nomination "Best Visual Effects", and, according to rumors, the company is now in talks to make a series based on the books that formed the basis of the film. "This Wonderful life", 1946

Today, the film "This Wonderful Life" is considered public domain in the United States and it is traditionally shown before Christmas (something similar in Russia happens with the "Irony of fate"). However, at the time of release, the picture became the greatest disappointment for the creators — director Frank Capra and his friends George Stevens and William Wyler, who opened a new independent studio, The Liberty. After the release of "This Wonderful Life", the studio had to be closed.