11 Incredibly Successful Movies (That Shockingly Made No Profit)

8. JFK

Frodo Coin
Warner Brothers

Based primarily on Jim Garrison's novel, On the Trail of the Assassins, Oliver Stone's JFK, which starred Kevin Costner as Garrison, made $205 million worldwide when it released in 1991, on a budget of $40 million.

Unfortunately for Garrison, who died the following year, he didn't get to see any profit.

Warner Brothers said that the film hadn't earned any money under its "net profits" accounting formula. Garrison's estate, likewise, didn't receive a dollar of net profits income, even though they were supposed to receive $1 million.

This resulted in a lawsuit against Warner Bros., which was settled in 1996.

As a result of the ruling, the possibilities of sweeping price-fixing lawsuits against the major film studios could proceed, meaning that Hollywood's accounting practices would be scrutinized in open court.

Contributor

Aaron Kirby hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.