20 Biggest Summer Box Office Bombs Of All Time

Budget: $160 million (marketing: $80 million)

Box office: $119.3 million

Loss: $105 million

In that it opened wide in early April 2005, including Sahara in a list of summer box office bombs is something of a stretch. Then again, the blockbuster season is also stretching further and further back into spring these days, and Sahara was such a notable financial disaster that it would be somewhat remiss to overlook it.

Sahara, adapted from Clive Cussler’s novels and starring Matthew McConaughey and Penelope Cruz, also offered a rare peek behind the curtain of a major Hollywood production. Cussler sued the movie’s producers for reneging on his contractually bound script approval, which led to a court case that required full disclosure of some alarming financial details.

$3.8 million was spent on writers’ fees alone, nearly $300,000 was allocated to pay for the horses and camels required for the Moroccan shoot and, most disturbing of all, courtesy payments, gratuities and local bribes (actual words used) totalling over $237,000 was spent to grease the wheels where necessary. 

 Some $20 million was at least recouped via cash incentives for basing part of the production in Europe, but Sahara remains one of the biggest flops in movie history; one that had its depressing laundry aired in public to boot.