Box Office Bomb - Possible Success of Flops

Possible Success of Flops

If a studio recoups the production and marketing costs of a film, then it can be considered a success. Otherwise, if it does not do so by a significant margin, it is referred to as a box office bomb, even though international distribution, sales to television syndication, and home video releases often mean some films that are considered flops in North America eventually make a profit for their studios. Waterworld is an example of a movie that does not appear on lists of box office bombs, despite enormous budget overruns, because the film broke even after making huge revenues from foreign box office, rentals, pay-per-view fees, cable outlays, and other revenue streams that exist independently of the North American theatrical system. Head, a 1968 film featuring The Monkees was a flop that became profitable for its studio years later when its cult film status led to its sale to Rhino Entertainment and its re-release in various video formats. The popularity and profitability of DVD sales has added further opportunities for films to recoup losses and eventually become profitable, leading to doubts over the significance of US domestic grosses as a predictor of a film's overall success.

The Golden Compass, based on the first novel in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series, is considered a flop in North America due to its $180 million budget coupled with New Line Cinema's decision to sell all of the international distribution rights, but the unique circumstances of its international success have made the film's overall success a point of contention; it was the first film ever to make more than $300 million internationally but less than $100 million in the United States. New Line studio co-head Michael Lynne (who has since resigned) said, "The jury is still very much out on the movie..."