15 Biggest Box Office Flops of 2011

[marvelman2006]

True Grit was a well liked hit and Cowboys and Aliens was not so well liked massive disappointment. True Grit was the exact opposite of boring. Cowboys and Aliens was the most unimaginative and boring movies of 2011. I almost didn't get through it because it was so pathetic. Daniel Craig is beyond boring in the lead role and has no sense of fun and the movie itself has no sense of fun. The script is painfully mediocre and so is the direction. The movie was just an epic fail on all levels and that's why it didn't succeed.

I question a poster's taste if they think that Cowboys and Aliens was more entertaining or better than True Grit.

I didn't hate GL but it is a flop and the fanboys of the movie need to get over it and accept the fact that it was and that a sequel will never be made.

Lets put it this way I liked

Tombstone
Wyatt Earp
Open Range
3:10 to yuma (remake)
Unforgiven
The quick and the Dead
Cowboys and aliens (stupid fun)

Bored by:
Hidalgo
True Grit
The Alamo


Some westerns I can have fun with and get involved in the story and others like true grit I get bored by because I cant take matt damon as a cowboy seriously and Josh brolin acting like a mentally handicapped person. Jeff bridges was fine in the role and the young actress was very good but the story was just "meh", once it was over I didnt care nor could I remember it 2 hours later.

 

[DACrowe]

Really? I didn't watch Sucker Punch yet, but the people that watched it and understood it loved it, and all of those that liked it for that were some of the best students of school, one of them is 14 and loves the Tree of Life.
I'm begining to think that Sucker Punch will be more apreciated with time

Sucker Punch is a very, very shallow film that throws around big words like "freedom" and "empowerment." "Empowerment" covers all manner of sins, including that a movie about waifish girls wearing fetishistic and hyper-sexualized outfits battling Nazi zombies (in the wrong iconography of WWI) and giant gun-wielding samurai is somehow deep or a feminist cry.

It's exploitative schlock pretending it's important. The movie deserved to flop and will only be a "cult classic" for teenage boys before they grow out of it.

 

[ShadowBoxer]

IMO Sucker Punch was easily one of the worst movies of the year, right along side Green Lantern. It was just so random, and didn't make much sense to me. When I saw it in theaters no one said anything as they were leaving until this one guy stood up and said "WTF did I just watch? That movie was complete bullsh**". At that point everyone burst out laughing, and a lot of people agreed with him.

 

[flickchick85]

True Grit was better and more entertaining than Cowboys and Aliens in pretty much every way, imo.

And I think Sucker Punch did honestly try for some depth. It just went for it in a very immature and misguided way. Ultimately, it just felt very tedious to watch, and I'm not surprised or disappointed that it flopped.

 

[marvelman2006]

I love debates like these, I can see where people would like true grit but I think I just caught cowboys and aliens at the right time last week from blockbuster. I was in the mood to be entertained and I got it. Sat with my wife and friends and watched it on christmas break with beers and pizza.

 

[The Morningstar]

I just love the Coen's. True Grit was a pretty straight forward western. But it had those trademark Coen twangs to it. Like the aforementioned scene with the guy in the Bear skin. It was just so odd and random... yet strangely, felt right.

I'm racking my brain and i don't think I can think of a Coen movie I dislike.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I understand that people have their own opinions but I just don't see how anybody could be bored with True Grit. I thought that it was one of the top 3 most entertaining movies of it's year. Cowboys and Aliens was just lifeless and after the debacle that was Iron Man 2, it makes me believe that Favs got lucky with the first Iron Man, as far as action movies are concerned.

 

[nogap87]

I had no idea other Glee fans were losing interest in the show. I stopped watching after the second season because the singing segments started to become awkwardly placed (to me) and I didn't like that they lost regionals.

I understand that people have their own opinions but I just don't see how anybody could be bored with True Grit. I thought that it was one of the top 3 most entertaining movies of it's year. Cowboys and Aliens was just lifeless and after the debacle that was Iron Man 2, it makes me believe that Favs got lucky with the first Iron Man, as far as action movies are concerned.

I agree about Favs. None of his other films interest me and chances are he will be coasting on that "from the director of Iron Man" tagline for the foreseeable future.

 

[DACrowe]

If his next movie flops he won't be. They'll send him to director jail alongside Joel Schumaucher. After the one-two-punch of Tower Heist and the Oscar debacle, they might meet Ratner there as well.

I will say I thought Elf, Favreau's first movie, is a delightful Christmas movie (and for more than just Will Ferrell) that holds up year-to-year. So, I can't say IM1 was a complete fluke.

 

[flickchick85]

Favreau is a talented guy, something that was first evident with Swingers (which he wrote), imo, and proven with Elf. The first Iron Man was great, thanks almost entirely to his character work and refreshingly breezy/witty tone, but I don't think he's best-suited for big blockbusters.

 

[Mrs. Sawyer]

I agree flick chick. I don't think Favs IS a guy that can make plot driven blockbusters. His tendency to be witty and at times quirky doesn't fit with most blockbusters. Iron Man was lightning in a bottle.

 

[cherokeesam]

Sucker Punch is a very, very shallow film that throws around big words like "freedom" and "empowerment." "Empowerment" covers all manner of sins, including that a movie about waifish girls wearing fetishistic and hyper-sexualized outfits battling Nazi zombies (in the wrong iconography of WWI) and giant gun-wielding samurai is somehow deep or a feminist cry.

It's exploitative schlock pretending it's important. The movie deserved to flop and will only be a "cult classic" for teenage boys before they grow out of it.

Yeah, but Tarantino does the same thing in Kill Bill and he's hailed as a visionary. There's plenty of directors who've made exploitative schlock that rightly or wrongly, intentionally or unintentionally, goes on to become cult and/or critical faves.

 

[Warhammer]

Damn shame about The Thing. I liked that movie almost as much as the original.

 

[Lasirius]

The Thing did deserve to get more recognition. It wasn't as great as the original but it was a well-made flick all around, more deserving of money than a lot others that got it.

 

[Liam_H]

Coming out a week before PA3 was not a good thing, essentially losing any legs the movie might have had.

 

[Quasimod0]

I loved Arthur christmas

 

[DACrowe]

Yeah, but Tarantino does the same thing in Kill Bill and he's hailed as a visionary. There's plenty of directors who've made exploitative schlock that rightly or wrongly, intentionally or unintentionally, goes on to become cult and/or critical faves.

Except Kill Bill had a clear through-line plot and narrative with building action in each film. "The Bride" was a clearly defined character with a clear arc and interesting backstory that reached an ending, that while a bit of gimmick, feels emotionally genuine. She also didn't have to dress like a Catholic School Girl or wear skin tight leather cut low. And most of all, the movie didn't feel pointless.

Even so, KB is not one of my favorite Tarantino films because it is lighter than some of his better films.

 

[cherokeesam]

Except Kill Bill had a clear through-line plot and narrative with building action in each film. "The Bride" was a clearly defined character with a clear arc and interesting backstory that reached an ending, that while a bit of gimmick, feels emotionally genuine. She also didn't have to dress like a Catholic School Girl or wear skin tight leather cut low. And most of all, the movie didn't feel pointless.

Even so, KB is not one of my favorite Tarantino films because it is lighter than some of his better films.

No, Gogo Yubari wore the schoolgirl uniform instead.

I definitely think KB was a far better film than Sucker Punch, and that Sucker Punch was at best muddled and misguided; but I don't consider it a disaster, either. If Kill Bill was an homage to 70s chop sockey flicks, then Sucker Punch was an homage to anime. Same kind of scenarios, same kind of iconography, the usual fetishism with ass-kicking teenage girls in sexy uniforms. And since anime is muddled and misguided and frankly stupid (yes, I said it), then Sucker Punch doesn't stray far from the mark.

 

[craigdbfan]

And since anime is muddled and misguided and frankly stupid (yes, I said it)

This comment is stupid. I don't think you generalized enough.

There's fair share of stupid in all genres. Doesn't mean it all is.

 

[Rowsdower!]

I hated Cowboys & Aliens but I found True Grit to be painfully overrated. It's an okay movie, but I really didn't get the praise it received. Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and even Matt Damon just seemed to be going through the motions to me. The only character in the movie I gave a crap about was the girl. Most of all, I hated how the whole movie is this long, drawn out build-up full of tangents that often seem like they're just there to fill time, and when the "epic" confrontation finally comes it feels like it's over before it begins. Now, I haven't read the book, so they might have stuck to the source material very closely, I don't know. But if so, then I would conclude that it's not that great of a story to begin with.

If it hadn't been directed by the Coen Brothers, I don't think it would have gotten half the attention it received. This year's criminally ignored Blackthorn was a much better Western, IMO.

 

[Lasirius]

I'm surprised Scream 4 didn't make the list. Didn't the film bomb in the US?

 

[cherokeesam]

This comment is stupid. I don't think you generalized enough.

There's fair share of stupid in all genres. Doesn't mean it all is.

Anime is full of mismatched genres, absurd anachronisms (katanas vs. machine guns), robots, ninjas, samurais, Nazis, dragons, and hot teenage chicks in fetish uniforms wielding katanas and machine guns. It's what 13-year old boys dream about, all piled into one ball of confusion. So if people think Sucker Punch is stupid, then they might as well apply that to the genre as a whole. Because that's what Sucker Punch was: live-action anime.

 

[craigdbfan]

Anime is full of mismatched genres, absurd anachronisms (katanas vs. machine guns), robots, ninjas, samurais, Nazis, dragons, and hot teenage chicks in fetish uniforms wielding katanas and machine guns. It's what 13-year old boys dream about, all piled into one ball of confusion. So if people think Sucker Punch is stupid, then they might as well apply that to the genre as a whole. Because that's what Sucker Punch was: live-action anime.

And the hasty generalization continues.

 

[cherokeesam]

And the hasty generalization continues.

Yes, it's generalization.
Yes, there's plenty of anime that rises above all that.
Yes, there's plenty of anime that's high art.

But I'm simply pointing out that SP is an *homage* to anime, and it uses the same kinds of iconography and stylings of that genre. So to people who don't like anime, or who don't watch anime, all of that is over their head and they're just left thinking it's a weird, stupid movie about teenage chicks sword-fighting with ninja robots and WWI zombies.

 

[marvelman2006]

I agree flick chick. I don't think Favs IS a guy that can make plot driven blockbusters. His tendency to be witty and at times quirky doesn't fit with most blockbusters. Iron Man was lightning in a bottle.

couldnt agree more, I like him better as just an actor myself.