It’s tough right now to be a movie. Streaming has revolutionized the way we watch movies and, for better or worse, has ushered in the digital age of Hollywood. Blu-rays and DVDs have become obsolete — and for some people, so has going to the movies. Unless there’s a major movie event, most people don’t feel the need to spend the money or time to go to the theater. They’d rather wait a couple of months for that movie to be available to stream or rent, and then watch it from the comfort of their home. Or, because there’s a surplus of content vying for their attention, maybe they’ll never get around to watching that movie at all.
These factors have led to underwhelming box office numbers, even commercial bombs. Sure, some of those bombs are legitimately bad movies. But these days, even well-done, well-reviewed movies end up tanking at the box office. Yet despite their abysmal numbers, some of 2024’s biggest flops have found new life on streaming, among people who never intended to buy a movie ticket but were at least interested enough to check out the movie at home. Maybe these 7 movies weren’t a hit at the box office, but they’ve at least found success on streaming.
7 Lisa Frankenstein
- Release Date
- February 9, 2024
- Director
- Zelda Williams
Lisa Frankenstein is a horror comedy that spoofs the classic tale of Frankenstein. Set in the 1980s, a misunderstood teenage girl falls for a Frankenstein-like monster, who’s really a reanimated Victorian-era corpse. It was the feature-length directorial debut of Zelda Williams, the daughter of beloved comedy legend Robin Williams. Lisa Frankenstein is set in the same universe as Jennifer’s Body. But it seems like this cinematic universe just doesn’t perform well in theaters.
Like Jennifer’s Body, Lisa Frankenstein was a commercial failure. It grossed $9.9 million, unable to even make back its small production budget of $13 million. These numbers might have been better if this movie was released during the 2024 Halloween season, at a time when it might have actually gained traction and attracted more viewers looking for spooky flicks.
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Its February 2024 release seemed like a death sentence. But Lisa Frankenstein was brought back to life on streaming, where it became a hit. It achieved streaming success on Max, making it into the top 10 in almost 20 countries worldwide.
6 If
- Release Date
- May 8, 2024
- Cast
- Ryan Reynolds , Cailey Fleming , John Krasinski , Fiona Shaw , Steve Carell , Phoebe Waller-Bridge , Louis Gossett Jr. , Alan Kim , Liza Colón-Zayas , Bobby Moynihan , Catharine Daddario , Laquet Sharnell Pringle , Ed Herbstman , Barbara Andres , Shauna Pinkett , Awkwafina , Emily Blunt , George Clooney , Bradley Cooper , Matt Damon , Bill Hader , Richard Jenkins , keegan-michael key , Blake Lively , Sebastian Maniscalco
IF was a unique, imaginative film. Literally. It reveals that our world is filled with imaginary friends who have been left behind by their growing and maturing real-world children. IF had a lot of the right pieces, including John Krasinski as director and an all-star cast that included Ryan Reynolds, Steve Carell, and Krasinski himself. And yet, it grossed $190.3 million worldwide.
Sounds pretty good, right? Wrong. According to Variety, IF estimated that the film had to gross $275 million worldwide in order to break-even, making this a box office bomb. But IF did eventually find its real-world friends. It cracked the top ten of the most popular movies on streaming for the week of July 4, 2024. It claimed the top spot the following week, becoming the most streamed release in the US.
5 Horizon: An American Saga
Horizon centers around fictional characters and takes place in pre- and post-Civil War America, and details the exploration of the American West. Depicting a twelve-year span, the movies feature an ensemble cast portraying various characters and their experiences pioneering into new territory from their homes.
- Release Date
- June 28, 2024
- Runtime
- 3h 1m
Horizon: An American Saga is the first installment in what’s meant to be a series of Western epics by actor and filmmaker Kevin Costner. Set during the American Civil War, this film and its forthcoming sequels follow several characters who are navigating life in the Midwest. Costner conceived the idea for this series back in 1988, and it’s been stuck in developmental hell ever since. And perhaps it should’ve stayed there. Horizon: An American Saga finally saw the light of day in 2024, but it underperformed at the box office, grossing $38 million worldwide against a budget of $50 million.
Westerns just don’t rope in audiences like they used to. At least, not to the movie theater. Horizon: An American Saga was a streaming hit on Max, becoming the tenth most popular movie on streaming the week of August 29, 2924. Three more sequels are currently in production. Chapter 2 premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, though it hasn’t yet been given a theatrical release date. Chapter 3 began production in May 2024, and Chapter 4 is in development.
4 The Fall Guy
The Fall Guy is an action thriller from Bullet Train and Deadpool 2 director David Leitch. Ryan Gosling stars as a stuntman who is forced to find a missing movie star, investigate a conspiracy, and repair his relationship with the love of his life. The film was written by Drew Pearce and inspired by the 1980s TV series of the same name.
- Release Date
- May 3, 2024
- Runtime
- 126 Minutes
There was so much media hype around The Fall Guy that it almost felt destined to fail. And it did. The Fall Guy follows a stuntman who finds himself involved in a conspiracy while working on his ex-girlfriend’s directorial debut action film. It focuses on an overlooked aspect of filmmaking and gives stunt performers the recognition they deserve. The Fall Guy was led by an all-star cast that includes Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, both of whom had seen tremendous success the previous year with Barbenheimer (Barbie for Gosling and Oppenheimer for Blunt). It was even co-directed by David Leitch, who’s directed action hits like John Wick and Deadpool 2. But none of them could repeat the success they’ve seen in the past.
Despite stellar reviews, The Fall Guy fell flat at the box office, grossing $181 million worldwide against a $125–150 million production budget. In layman’s terms, this movie lost producers about $50 million. The Fall Guy debuted on streaming via Peacock later in the year. And to everyone’s surprise, it broke Oppenheimer’s all-time streaming record and became Peacock’s most streamed movie. This is a wild statistic, given Oppenheimer’s extreme success and popularity. It just goes to show that people were interested in seeing this movie. Just not at a movie theater, an issue that studios and producers will need to contend with.
3 Argylle
- Release Date
- February 2, 2024
Argylle was another movie that came with tremendous hype but left theaters with a whimper. A standalone spin-off from the Kingsman franchise, Argylle follows a reclusive author who gets sucked into the world of espionage when her new spy novel eerily mirrors real-world events. Apple TV+ bought the movie rights for a whopping $200 million. Argylle was given a massive $200 million budget — but this negatively reviewed film only grossed a lowly $96 million worldwide. Woof. But there is a small silver lining here for Apple. Argylle was a hit on AppleTV+, becoming the second most popular title on streaming in the U.S. back in April 2024. Argylle was intended to be a movie franchise. Perhaps its streaming success will keep those plans in place.
2 Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
A prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, Furiosa is an action-adventure film that tells the origin story of the headstrong and fearless Furiosa. Set shortly after the beginning of the “end of the world,” Furiosa is kidnapped and brought before a powerful warlord, now forced to work for him. To find her way back home, Furiosa will adapt to the new harsh and arid world as she grows into the Furiosa she becomes known to be.
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road was a huge hit. Warner Bros. was hoping to repeat that success with a spin-off prequel, 2024’s Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. But despite stellar reviews and a stacked cast that includes Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa bombed at the box office. It grossed $173 million worldwide against its budget of $168 million.
But Furiosa hit streaming platforms with a vengeful fury and led the home viewing charts. The film came in at #1 on iTunes and Fandango at Home and was one of the most popular movies streaming on Max.
1 Madame Web
- Release Date
- February 14, 2024
Madame Web has gone down as one of the worst movies of 2024, garnering a pathetic 11% on Rotten Tomatoes. It tells the origin story of Madame Webb (Johnson), who must save three future Spider-Women from being hunted down and killed by a time-traveling, evil-looking Spider-Man. It’s another uninspired superhero origin story. Another unnecessary Spider-Man adjacent film from Sony, who’s desperate to get something going with this Marvel property. Not even A-listers like Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney could spare this movie from tanking at the box office.
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Madame Web grossed an abysmal $100 million worldwide (that’s very, very low for a superhero movie) against a production budget of $80 million. But believe it or not, this box office bomb was rescued from the depths of despair by streaming giant Netflix, the real superhero in this story. Madame Web debuted at number one on Netflix’s Top 10 Movies list, clocking in a total of 1.16 billion minutes watched during its first week. Sure, most viewers are probably hate-watching it, intrigued to see just how bad this movie really is. But that doesn’t stop Madame Web from going from 2024’s most publicized bomb to the year’s biggest streaming hit.