20 Recent Box Office Flops Everyone Saw Coming
6. I Love Boosters
Even though Boots Riley's 2018 debut Sorry to Bother You grossed an impressive $18.3 million against its tiny $3 million budget, Riley's singular, oddball filmmaking style is a tough commercial nut to crack.
All the more so in a post-pandemic landscape where his follow-up feature, crime caper I Love Boosters, cost a far higher $20 million, meaning it needed to gross around $40 million to turn a profit.
But even with strong reviews, Riley's film was a tricky sell beyond the most hardcore fans of left-field, out-there cinema, what with its vague title and marketing that failed to successfully convey the movie's narrative.
I Love Boosters ended its run with a gross of just $9.7 million, which even Riley himself noted was a disappointment, all while mentioning that it was in the company of other acclaimed flops such as The Wizard Of Oz, Citizen Kane, It's A Wonderful Life, The Wiz, Blade Runner, and Fight Club.