Bros & 9 Other Comedy Flops That Deserved To Be Hits

Billy Eichner’s sharply written romantic comedy Bros is now streaming on Peacock after being universally acclaimed by critics but failing to turn a profit at the box office. Bros has been named as one of the funniest comedies in recent memory, but audiences were more interested in being frightened than amused in the Halloween season. It’s the latest in a long line of laugh-out-loud comedies that deserved to be seen by bigger crowds in their theatrical run.

From Office Space to The Nice Guys to Big Trouble in Little China, some of the most hilarious comedies ever made have bombed at the box office.

10/10 Bros (2022)

According to The Numbers, in spite of its positive critical reception, Bros grossed just $14.7 million. There are a few reasons for Bros’ disappointment at the box office: Billy Eichner isn’t a huge star, audiences are burned out with the romcom genre in general, and the marketing focused more on its historic place as the first studio comedy about a same-sex romance than the actual laughs.

Now that Bros is available to stream, it’s only a matter of time before it catches on with audiences and becomes the cult classic it’s destined to be.

9/10 Ghostbusters (2016)

According to Box Office Mojo, the female-led 2016 Ghostbusters reboot netted $229.1 million at the worldwide box office. That wouldn’t normally be considered a disappointing figure for a comedy, but the reboot had a whopping blockbuster budget of $144 million, plus about the same amount in marketing costs.

2016’s Ghostbusters is one of the most controversial franchise reboots of all time. With dazzling visual effects and a cast featuring some of the funniest performers in Hollywood, this movie deserved to at least break even.

8/10 Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny (2006)

Jack Black and Kyle Gass brought their Grammy-winning brand of rock comedy to the big screen with their absurdist musical extravaganza Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny. According to Box Office Mojo, Tenacious D’s debut movie grossed less than $14 million.

With a star-studded roster of cameos and a quick succession of hilarious gags to back it up – not to mention the unmatched camaraderie of real-life bandmates – The Pick of Destiny should’ve been a bigger hit.

7/10 Top Secret! (1984)

According to Box Office Mojo, the underrated gem Top Secret! grossed over $20 million on a budget of less than $10 million. But since it was the follow-up to Airplane!, it’s still considered a box office bomb; it was described as a flop by the Los Angeles Times.

Unlike Airplane!, a clear-cut parody of disaster movies, Top Secret! is one of the Zucker brothers’ most obscure spoofs, mixing war movies, spy movies, and Elvis Presley movies into one big, absurd comedy cocktail.

6/10 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016)

Per Box Office Mojo, the Lonely Island’s Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping grossed just $9.6 million in its theatrical run. Critical acclaim and the star power of Andy Samberg at the height of Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s popularity couldn’t save the movie from a lackluster marketing campaign.

In spite of its commercial shortcomings, Popstar is one of the funniest mockumentaries ever made – it’s a new version of Spinal Tap for the current generation of pop music.

5/10 Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World (2010)

The worldwide gross of Edgar Wright’s first big-budget Hollywood movie, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, is reported by The Numbers to be just shy of $50 million. Since its budget was reported to be somewhere between $60 million and $85 million, Scott Pilgrim is considered to be a box office disappointment.

In the years since it bombed on its initial release, the dazzling visual storytelling of Scott Pilgrim has garnered the impressive cult following it deserves.

4/10 Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

According to Box Office Mojo, Jake Kasdan’s music biopic spoof Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story grossed $20.6 million on a budget of $35 million. The movie’s spot-on spoofing of the way musician biopics deify their subjects deserved a lot more attention from audiences.

As more and more musician biopics have come along, the satire of Walk Hard has only gotten more relevant.

3/10 Big Trouble In Little China (1986)

According to John Kenneth Muir’s book The Films of John Carpenter, Carpenter’s fantasy martial arts comedy Big Trouble in Little China cost an estimated $19-25 million to produce. Box Office Mojo reports that the movie grossed just $11 million on its initial release. On the DVD commentary, Carpenter and star Kurt Russell mentioned the hype surrounding James Cameron’s Aliens as a possible reason for the film’s commercial failure.

Now, Big Trouble in Little China is a widely adored cult classic, famous for subverting Russell’s on-screen persona with a goofy, comedic role and a bunch of slapstick humor.

2/10 Office Space (1999)

Mike Judge perfectly captured the mundanity and tedium of corporate culture and mindless office work in his incisive satire Office Space. Unfortunately, he captured that tedium just a little too perfectly, so audiences didn’t turn up to enjoy it in a movie theater. According to The Numbers, it grossed just $12.2 million at the time it lampooned the occupational zeitgeist.

Now, Office Space is a beloved cult classic renowned for its spot-on depiction of workplace frustrations and Bill Lumbergh, one of the best comedy movie villains of the 1990s.

1/10 The Nice Guys (2016)

Shane Black, the creator of the Lethal Weapon series, seemed to have another hit “buddy cop” franchise on his hands with The Nice Guys, an action-packed neo-noir comedy thriller starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as a pair of mismatched private eyes solving seedy crimes in the 1970s.

But sadly, according to Box Office Mojo, it grossed just $62.8 million on a budget of $50 million, so the much-needed sequels reteaming Gosling and Crowe were never made.

NEXT: The 10 Best Comedies Ever Made (According To The AFI)