10 Surprising Box Office Failures
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Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
5. Sahara (2005) — $100 Million
Production budget of $160 million, worldwide gross of $119.2 million. Estimated Losses (includes some marketing costs) – over $100m. The story of Sahara’s financial failure is the subject of many detailed reports that outline the complexities of so-called Hollywood accounting and even some potentially illegal financial transactions between Hollywood and the Moroccan government where the film was shot. But when it comes down to it, Sahara was simply too expensive. The problem was that Sahara really had no shot at making its money back, losing $160 million despite earning over $100 million at the box office — when adjusted for inflation, Sahara’s losses rise to $100 million. In many ways, Sahara should have been a huge red flag when it comes to tentpole filmmaking, but instead the film has been largely forgotten.
