12 Blockbuster Films That Flopped In America (But Were Loved Overseas)

12. Escape Plan (2013) - $137.3 Million Worldwide

Budget: $50m Domestic Box Office: $25.1m International Box Office: $112.2m Two of the biggest movie stars in the world during the 1980's, the box office clout of Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger has dropped significantly in the intervening decades, evidenced by the string of recent flops that both actors have endured since mounting their respective comebacks. The aging action icons finally teamed up onscreen outside of the latter's cameos in The Expendables franchise in director Mikael Hafstrom's mildly entertaining if predictable B-movie, a throwback actioner that seemed to arrive 20 years too late for domestic audiences to really care. The synopsis for the movie positively drips 1980's cheese; Sly makes his living escaping maximum security prisons but finds himself locked up in the world's most secure facility, with Arnie the wily old con that can get them both out. However, Escape Plan tanked at the domestic box office, opening in fourth place with a debut of less than $10m and dropped out of the top ten completely in just two weeks. China unsurprisingly turned out to be Escape Plan's biggest market, with the movie's $40.9m gross there providing over a third of the entire worldwide total. Over 80% of the movie's box office came from overseas markets, demonstrating that the two geriatric ass-kickers remain popular with international audiences, turning a potential flop into a commercial success.