Released: May 12, 2000 Estimated Budget: $73 million Domestic Opening Weekend: $11,548,898 Domestic Gross:$21,471,685
Aspiring auteurs beware: a labor of love does not an automatic blockbuster make. Roger Christian’s 2000 Battlefield Earth, an adaptation of the science-fiction novel by Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, was partially funded by its star, John Travolta — a longtime Scientologist. The film, in which hairy aliens have enslaved humanity in the year 3000, was made with a $73 million budget, but grossed only $21 million in the U.S. Roger Ebert called it one of the “ugliest, most incomprehensible movies” he had ever seen. Forest Whitaker, one of its co-stars, later expressed his dismay at having participated in the project.
Released: Aug. 1, 2003 Estimated Budget: $54 million Domestic Opening Weekend: $3,753,518 Domestic Gross:$6,068,735
Lesson one in entertainment marketing: When people can’t pronounce your film’s name, it’s not a good sign. And not only was Gigli (pronounced Geely) an awkward title to say, it was an awkward movie to see. Ben Affleck plays the eponymous mobster hired to kidnap the mentally handicapped brother of a politician. Jennifer Lopez, who at the time was romantically linked with Affleck, plays the lesbian mob enforcer sent to make sure Gigli doesn’t screw up. Somehow, against all odds (did we mention she’s a lesbian?) they fall in love. With a budget of approximately $54 million, it managed an overall U.S. gross of about $6 million. After just three weeks of disastrous reviews and tepid box-office returns, the movie was pulled — but not before entering the lexicon as an unpronounceable synonym for “trainwreck.”
Richard Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom “Hogan’s Heroes” and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show “Family Feud” has died. He was 79.
As we prepare for the Game of Thrones finale, we recognize Joffrey and nine other baddies who showed us that terrible, horrible things can come in small packages
