10 Films That Risk Being 2015's Biggest Box Office Failures

8. Crimson Peak

The current trend for Hollywood horror is the 'low cost, high reward' strategy; movies made on a miniscule budget that have an opening weekend that instantly turns a huge profit, before they fade into obscurity in a matter of weeks. Bucking that trend, Guillermo del Toro's latest feature sees the Mexican director strike a balance between his Spanish-language and American fare with Crimson Peak, a lavish classical horror armed with a Hollywood budget. Despite his reputation as one of the hardest-working and well-respected filmmakers in the business, del Toro has yet to establish himself as a truly bankable name. While the director has a hugely passionate fanbase, the acclaim has yielded mixed results at the box office. His biggest hit Pacific Rim was marketed on the back of its high-concept 'giant robots vs giant aliens' pitch, but struggled at the domestic box office, with China turning out to be the movie's biggest market. The rest of del Toro's American output has also failed to land much commercial success, with Hellboy II the biggest earner with a worldwide total of $160.4m. Crimson Peak does have the benefit of a talented and popular cast, not to mention an October 16th release date; the movie's chances of success are increased by the lead-in to Halloween and relatively little competition in theaters. However, period horror movies don't have the strongest track record at the box office, with audiences seeming to prefer found footage and jump-scares at that time of year. With a budget reported to be close to $100m an original, atmospheric and old-school Gothic horror could struggle to find a wide audience, which is a damning indictment of modern Hollywood really.