MetaFilter posts tagged with flops

"The Worst"

ornate insect — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 21:17:45 -0800

The Worst Flop in Broadway History? First staged in 1983 for only one night, Moose Murders (wiki) is legendary as the flop-of-flops in Broadway history--and is now being revived for its kitsch value. From the NYT piece: ...Critics described “Moose Murders” as “titanically bad” and “indescribably bad,” a play that “would insult the intelligence of an audience consisting entirely of amoebas” (Brendan Gill, The New Yorker), that looked as it were staged by “a blind director repeatedly kicked in the groin” (John Simon, New York magazine).... Years later, Frank Rich, who was then the theater critic for The New York Times, would call it “the worst play I’ve ever seen on a Broadway stage.” (Mr. Rich’s writings about “Moose Murders” have become such a part of its lore that a recent production of the play in Manila credited Mr. Rich with having written the play.)... Lately, the play has been revived in unlikely places. What makes the play so bad? Perhaps this.... The mysterious moose character was a woman dressed in black holding an inflatable deer head emblazoned with the Miller High Life logo. Sidney Holloway, the mummified quadriplegic, was played by a mannequin, whose head rolled off during the first act. ...is some indication?

The Year of Flops

Iridic — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 21:34:48 -0800

On Tuesday, A.V. Club critic Nathan Rabin's reassessment of the rabidly ambitious Perfume: The Story of a Murderer marked the culmination of his Year of Flops project, a reviewing marathon of 104 commercial and critical failures. Here's the index of the films, sorted into Elizabethtown-derived categories of good but luckless movies, ordinary losers, and disasters of mythic proportions. For a bit of context, clips from some of the films in question: The Apple Batman and Robin The Wicker Man The Island of Dr. Moreau Under the Cherry Moon Billy Jack Goes to Washington Freddy Got Fingered (Not safe for work) Howard the Duck (Not safe for ducks) The Jazz Singer Toys Pennies From Heaven Return to Oz Cruising Cool World North

What happens in Vegas gets buried on Zyzzyx Road

Ljubljana — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:33:51 -0800

What if they released a movie and nobody came? The film Zyzzyx Road (sic) -- starring Tom Sizemore, Katherine Heigl and Leo Grillo -- reportedly cost $2 million to make but grossed only $30 domestic in a six-day, one-theater release. The trailer for the film that virtually no one saw is here.

Eight Biggest Tech Flops Ever

tranquileye — Tue, 30 Dec 2003 07:22:12 -0800

Jim Louderback's Eight Biggest Tech Flops Ever: IBM's PCjr, Go/Penpoint, General Magic's Magic Cap, Microsoft Bob, Iomega Clik! Drive, DataPlay, Internet Appliances, and WebTV.

Texting at the Movies

kodas — Wed, 20 Aug 2003 16:19:08 -0800

Texting blamed for summer movie flops -Oh No! The good old days of 'Buying Your Gross' are gone. "No, the executives are not blaming such bombs as The Hulk, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle or Gigli on poor quality, lack of originality, or general failure to entertain. There's absolutely nothing new about that. The problem, they say, is teenagers who instant message their friends with their verdict on new films - sometimes while they are still in the cinema watching..." What's an honest marketing executive gonna do? [Via Arstechnica]