Part of what makes the film industry so exciting is that no one knows what will happen. It’s whatdrives marketing branches of studiosnuts, trying to find the best ways to showcase a movie to get people to show up to it. There are some givens, likeTitanicbeing a huge hit or animated franchises going over well with family audiences. And of course, some movies are made with little expectation thatthey’ll be huge hits.
But for the most part, each year delivers some surprises at thebox officethat industry experts didn’t see coming. You can takeEverything Everywhere All At Once. The strange film, which did not star many major movie names, got a lot of buzz at film festivals and rode its unique word-of-mouth to Academy Award wins and $143 million at the box office. For every film with a success story like that, plenty failed even to recoup their budget.
Here are 10 of the biggest box office surprises since 2010.
10’Ted' (2012) Being a Smash Hit
Audiences couldn’t get enough of a degenerate talking Teddy Bear back in 2012.Tedcame from the mind of Seth MacFarlane, the creator ofFamily GuyandAmerican Dad!.He wrote, directed, and starred in this comedy about a boy who has a talking teddy bear growing up, and the teddy bear continues to live with him into his adulthood. People can see and hear Ted speak and can treat him like they would another human being.
Worldwide Gross of $549.4 Million Against a $50 Million Budget
Mark Wahlberg stars as John, the grown-up version of Ted’s owner and best friend. Longtime Family Guy collaborator Mila Kunis stars as John’s girlfriend, Lori, who wants John to grow up and move on from his obsession with his best friend. The film is crude, raunchy, and downright hilarious. It was such a success that it spawned a sequel, a TV series, and will soon have asecond film sequel.
9’The Meg' (2018) Being a Huge Hit
Audiences love monster movies, and they also love Jason Statham.The Megcombined the two and made a hit. Premiering in 2018,The Megstarred Statham as a rescue diver who teams up with scientists to try and survive an encounter with a Megalodon. This is a classic example of anAmerican kaiju film, where people in the U.S. have to battle a massive monster.
Worldwide Gross of $529.2 Million Against a $130 Million Budget
Costarring Li Bingbing, Rainn Wilson, Ruby Rose, Winston Chao, and Cliff Curtis, Statham helps lead this crew as they fight along the Pacific Ocean floor. The movie was met with middling reviews from critics, but fans couldn’t stay away, as it grossed $529.2M worldwide. It did well enough to warrantThe Meg 2: The Trench, which Statham starred in in 2023.
8’Lightyear' (2022) Missing the Mark
Lightyeartook the Toy Story franchise in a different direction, focusing on the character of Buzz Lightyear as a human, not as a toy. It gives the backstory to the toy as it follows Buzz through adventures with Star Command. It featured Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz Lightyear and costarred Keke Palmer, Taika Waititi, Peter Sohn, Dale Soules, James Brolin, and Uzo Aduba.
Worldwide Gross of $226.4 Million Against a $200 Million Budget
Animated movies by Pixar tend to do quite well at the box office. ButLightyearjust didn’t connect with audiences. There was alsoa controversial storylinefeaturing a same-sex kiss that could have contributed to its poor performance. Critics were split on the film, with some praising its origin story nature and others referencing how bland it was compared to the otherToy Storyfilms. While it still earned $226.4 million globally, Disney reportedly lost over $100 million on the project.
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7’Bohemian Rhapsody' (2018) Making Nearly $1 Billion
Bohemian Rhapsody
Musical biopics have done well at the Academy Awards for years.Coal Miner’s Daughter,Walk the Line,Straight Outta Compton, andA Complete Unknownare just a few movies that garnered nominations or wins at the Oscars. But these films aren’t always box office hits.Bohemian Rhapsodycompleted a rare feat of being a box office smash while also cleaning up on the awards circuit.
Worldwide Gross of $910.8 Million Against a Budget of $52 Million
It did have some things going for it. It centered around a band that many people at least know and a lot of them like. It received an excellent performance from Rami Malek as the iconic Freddie Mercury, another well-known historical figure. Plus, it had the band’s full support, making it easier to market. Thefilm was a smashing successwith fans, grossing nearly $1 billion globally. Malek went on to win Best Actor at the Oscars as well.
6’Frozen' (2013) Taking Pixar’s Crown
After the launch of Pixar Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios' traditional animated films seemed to take a backseat. While Pixar was putting out hits likeThe Incredibles,Monsters Inc., andFinding Nemo, Walt Disney Animation Studios created smaller films likeBolt,Meet the Robinsons, andBrother Bear. But in 2013,Frozenemerged as one of the biggest films ever, vaulting Disney Animation into the spotlight.
Worldwide Gross of $1.3 Billion Against a Budget of $150 Million
Starring Kristen Bell as Anna, a princess of Arendelle who must try and save her kingdom, and Idina Menzel as Elsa, Anan’s sister and queen of Arendelle withmagical powers of snow and ice,Frozenwas a global phenomenon. The musical featured some of the most memorable songs in recent memory and became a hit for kids and parents alike. It became the 18th film in history to earn a global box office return of $1 billion.
5’Get Out' (2017) Earning More than $250 Million
There aren’t many horror films that make it big at the box office, and most horror films aren’t made to do so. However, there are a few that make it big, andGet Outwas a massive boost for Universal Pictures.Get Outearned rave reviews and massive word-of-mouth promotion to get fans to keep coming to the theaters.
Worldwide Gross of $255.7 Million Against a Budget of $4.5 Million
Jordan Peele’s film starred Daniel Kaluuya as a Black man who travels to Upstate New York to meet his white girlfriend’s (Allison Williams) parents, played by Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener. What unfurls is a twisted tale of psychological horror with superb performances by the entire cast. The film’s spotlight onracial differences under a horror lensspoke to critics and fans. It earned $255 million at the box office and won Peele an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
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4’Five Nights at Freddy’s' (2023) Doing Well Enough To Warrant a Sequel
Five Nights at Freddy’s
Video game adaptationsdon’t always mean box office success. For everyThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, there are multiple films likeMax PayneandAlone in the Dark.Five Nights at Freddy’sbucked the trend, being a surprise hit in 2023. The film starred Josh Hutcherson as Mike Schmidt, a young man who takes a job as a security guard at an abandoned pizzeria. While there, he learns that the souls of murdered children possess the animatronic mascots in the pizzeria.
Worldwide Gross of $291.4 Million Against a Budget of $20 Million
The movie was a supernatural hit among horror fans while critics panned it, making it one of the more surprising success stories at the box office in recent years. It made nearly $300 million globally and spawned a sequel,Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, which is scheduled for December 2025.
3’Solo: A Star Wars Story' (2018) Flopping
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Star Wars films have been monstrous hits at the box office since the 1970s. They are some of the biggest cultural phenomena ever. The thirst for new stories from the Star Wars universe has been high for a long time, which is why Episodes VII, VIII, and IX were produced. Between Episodes VII and VIII,Rogue One: A Star Wars Storywas released. It became the third-highest-grossing film in franchise history. So, it only made sense to do another prequel story between VIII and IX.
Worldwide Gross of $392.9 Million Against a Budget of $275 Million
Solo: A Star Wars Story, the prequel about how Han Solo became one of the most famous scoundrels of all time, was released in 2018. The film experienced a rocky start, with it taking a long time to cast the lead, eventually going with Alden Ehrenreich. Then, after filming had begun, the film’s original directors, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, left the project because of creative differences with producers. Ron Howard came in and directed the film from there, but themovie didn’t wow critics or audiences. Donald Glover was lauded for his role as a young Lando Calrissian, but nothing else really stood out about the movie. It reportedly needed to make $500 million to break even after marketing and production. It woefully missed that, grossing under $400 million.
2’Joker' (2019) Becoming a Global Smash
Superhero movies are usually safe bets at the box office. They’ll typically at least hover around breaking even, even if they aren’t very good. But it’s rare for a spinoff of a superhero movie to do as well asJokerdid in 2019.Jokerwas not a film that families could get together and watch, like many superhero movies are. It was a dark and depressing character study about a mentally disturbed man who turned into a villain because he couldn’t cope with society.
Worldwide Gross of $1.07 Billion Against a Budget of $55 Million
Joaquin Phoenix is spectacularin the film, transforming into Arthur Fleck, who transforms into the Joker. The haunting score of Hildur Guðnadóttir and the great screenplay and direction from Todd Phillips made this more than a classic comic book film. It became prestige cinema, winning the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival en route to 11 Academy Award nominations. The film became a must-see for fans, even though it earned its R rating. It did so well at the box office, a sequel,Joker: Folie à Deux,was released in 2024. That film lost more money than any other film that year, losing close to $150 million for Warner Bros after only grossing $207 million globally.
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1’Cats' (2019) Being a Full-Blown Disaster
Andrew Lloyd Webber is one of the most celebrated musical theater composers of all time, with hits like ThePhantom of the Opera,Jesus Christ Superstar,Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, andEvitato name a few. His showCatswas one of the longest-running musicals in Broadway and West End history. This made it only logical that Hollywood try and adapt it for the big screen. Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper, who had massive success withLes Misérables, directed the adaptation, and it was released in 2019.
Worldwide Gross of $75.5m Against a Budget of $95M
Featuring a massive cast with the likes of Jennifer Hudson, Idris Elba, Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, James Corden, Ian McKellan, Rebel Wilson, Francesca Hayward, and Jason Derulo, the film was slated to be a big box office hit, releasing over the Christmas holiday. Yet, the film was universally hated by critics and fans alike. The movie came out simultaneously withStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalkerandmade only $6.5 Million in its opening weekend.
It earned $75.5 million at the global box office, losing nearly $114 million. The visual effects were especially criticized for looking awful, and the editing was lambasted. It remains a low point for many of the actors, and Hooper hasn’t directed a film since.
