7. Homophobia - Alexander
The Failure: Oliver Stone's Colin Farrell-starring historical epic scored $167.3 million against a $155 million budget, scoring 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, receiving six Razzie nominations and apparently being offensive enough that a gang of 25 Greek lawyers tried to sue Stone and Warner Bros for misrepresenting history.
The Excuse: Stone blamed the failure on the "raging fundamentalism in morality" in America, and that audiences were subject to their own homophobia, given the film's portrayal of Alexander's perceived homosexuality.
The Truth: Critics lambasted the film for lacking dramatic flair and also being bloated at 175-minutes, while not adequately indulging audiences in action. As for Stone's claim that the gay context turned audiences off, just a year later, Brokeback Mountain was released to tremendous critical acclaim and a box office cume of $178 million, which against its $14 million budget was a rousing success.