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Despite record-breaking highs, the 2016 box office also will be remembered for devastating lows that left top filmmakers (Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee) and A-list stars (Brad Pitt, Will Smith) badly bruised.
Below are some of the movies — from big-budget players to more reasonably priced fare — that lost Hollywood studios and independent distributors major bucks in 2016. Not even Disney, which set a new industry record with more than $7 billion in worldwide ticket sales, was immune.
The Hollywood Reporter consulted with several box-office experts in calculating losses, factoring in production budgets and marketing spends, which can vary wildly, and ancillary revenue, including home entertainment. In some cases, losses are given as a range. THR also calculated how much of a film's production budget was covered by worldwide box-office returns. Studios get back only about 50 percent of the box office total, known as "rentals."
