The 10 biggest box office flops of all time – in pictures

Stealth (2005): Rob Cohen's gung-ho military romp found itself dismissed as 'a dumbed-down Top Gun' by the critic Roger Ebert before promptly imploding on its way to the multiplex. Fresh from his Oscar as Ray, intrepid star Jamie Foxx was later dragged, insensible, from the wreckage. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $111.7m (£70m). • Read Peter Bradshaw's review Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Heaven's Gate (1980): Michael Cimino's langorous Wyoming epic sent the Hollywood western clip-clopping into the sunset and brought the curtain down on the golden age of the American auteur. These days, the film has been re-assessed as a flawed masterpiece. Back then, it was pilloried and ignored, recouping just $1.3m of its $44m budget. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $114.3m (£72m) • Geoffrey Macnab on Heaven's Gate Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Speed Racer (2008): Not even a zippy title, a tried-and-tested pedigree (the film was based on a successful Japanese anime series) and the combined efforts of the Wachowski brothers could prevent Speed Racer from hitting the buffers. But is it time to take this for another spin? Just last year, Time magazine named Speed Racer one of the greatest sports movies of all time. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $114.5m (£72m) • Read Peter Bradshaw's review Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Town & Country (2001): Town & Country was a dog of a movie, a cash-stuffed turkey of a rom-com and a veritable bonfire of vanities. Its high-profile stars (Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn) have looked singed and shell-shocked ever since. Legend has it that the hounds in this picture later fired their agent. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $124.2m (£78m) • Read Peter Bradshaw's review Photograph: PR

The 13th Warrior (1999): Originally entitled Eaters of the Dead, this galumphing sword-and-sandals romp found itself re-christened The 13th Warrior and sent off to an unlucky fate. Antonio Banderas' co-star Omar Sharif was so dispirited by the experience that he promptly announced his retirement from acting. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $137.1m (£86m) • Read Philip French's review of The 13th Warrior Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

Mars Needs Moms (2011): The backers fondly imagined it would be one of the biggest hits of last year. The public, though, had other ideas. Simon Well's mo-cap calamity sent a small boy on a mission to rescue mom from space aliens, and squandered millions along the way. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $140.5m (£88.5m) • Read Peter Bradshaw's review of Mars Needs Moms Photograph: Allstar/DISNEY

Sahara (2005): Oh, the hilarity. Here we see Matthew McConaughey and Steve Zahn up to their necks in trouble in Breck Eisner's idiotic caper. But the film sank into the sand, dragged down by a combination of burgeoning production costs, legal disputes and dismal box-office returns. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $144.9m (£91m) • Read Peter Bradshaw's review of Sahara Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive

The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002): Eddie Murphy starred as a roustabout spaceman in a notorious DayGlo folly that sat on the shelf for two years before being sheepishly dumped on an unimpressed public. The Adventures of Pluto Nash made just $7m. 'I know the two or three people who liked that movie,' Murphy would later quip – though he may have been exaggerating. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $145.9m (£91.8m) • Read Peter Bradshaw's review of The Adventures of Pluto Nash Photograph: Reuters

The Alamo (2004): First there was the Battle of the Alamo, an American tragedy that saw the valliant Texian defenders massacred by the advancing Mexican army. Then there was the film of the Battle of the Alamo, which cast Billy Bob Thornton as Davy Crockett and died a ghastly, lonesome death at US cinemas, bowing out with barely a dent in its reported $145m budget. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $146.6m (£92m) • Phelim O'Neill on Dennis Quaid in The Alamo Photograph: Deana Newcomb/AP

Cutthroat Island (1995): Cutthroat Island is the pirate movie that lost its treasure and walked the plank, sinking its backer (Carolco Pictures) along the way. Squandering a reported $115m in costs qualifies it as history's biggest box-office bomb. In this notorious picture from the set, stars Matthew Modine and Geena Davis are just preparing to cut their own throats. Net loss (adjusted for inflation): $147.2m (£92.7m) Figures taken from: filmsite.org Photograph: Ronald Grant Archive