The trade paper today published its annual lists of most and least profitable flicks--and guess which survey Sheen's Shadow Conspiracy, Arnold's McHale's Navy and O'Neal's Steel ranked 1-2-3 on?
The films were assessed on the basis of budget versus global box-office earnings. A tough standard for the overshadowed Shadow Conspiracy ($45 million budget; $5.4 million take), the dry-docked McHale's Navy ($42 million; $5.5 million) and the limp Steel ($16 million; $2.2 million).
Rounding out the top five in the hall of shame: the animated musical, Cats Don't Dance ($32 million; $5.2 million take); and the romantic comedy, 'Til There Was You ($23 million; $4.8 million).
Other notables cracking the top (bottom?) 20:
Robin Williams and Billy Crystal's orphaned misfire, Fathers' Day (No. 20) ($65 million; $36.2 million) Oliver Stone's U-Turn (No. 19) ($19 million; $10.2 million) Jack Nicholson's Blood and Wine (No. 8) ($26 million; $7.3 million). On the flip side is The Full Monty, the plucky British stripper comedy (and now Best Picture Oscar nominee), that was the year's best investment.
The movie with the no-name cast was shot with a lean $3.5 million budget. So far, it's earned a fat $205.4 million.
Other top-five success stories: the boy-meets-lesbian comedy, Chasing Amy ($400,000; $14.7 million); the French comedy Chacun Cherche Son Chat (When the Cat's Away) ($300,000; $7.6 million); the boys-will-be-mean-boys drama In the Company of Men ($200,000; $4.2 million) and late-1996 effort, Shine ($5.5 million; $89.1 million).
High-profile, big-budget winners include:
Jurassic Park: The Lost World (No. 9) ($70 million; $614.4 million); Men in Black (No. 13) ($85 million; $586.2 million); Liar Liar (No. 14) ($45 million; $300 million) Jerry Maguire (No. 15) ($43 million; $270.6 million) My Best Friend's Wedding (No. 16) ($46 million; $286.9 million)