Even with 2026 shaping up to be a huge year for cinemas, not every high-profile project is expected to find success at the box office. A wave of upcoming Hollywood movies is already facing red flags that could lead to underwhelming financial performances. While some are tracking toward outright flops, others may simply fall short of lofty budget and audience expectations, turning what were meant to be tentpole hits into costly disappointments.
The global box office is still in the middle of a long recovery following the 2020 pandemic, which nearly wiped out theatrical exhibition altogether.
While the 2020s have produced a mix of massive hits and high-profile disappointments, the industry has also come to accept that audience habits and the economics of blockbuster filmmaking have fundamentally changed.
Ongoing industry shakeups, including Netflix's potential merger with Warner Bros., have only added to the uncertainty for theater chains, even as 2026 shapes up to be packed with major releases.
Unfortunately, not every film can be a locked success like Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Toy Story 5, or The Odyssey, meaning several big-budget projects are almost guaranteed to underperform as the year unfolds.
9 Movies Expected to Flop In 2026
SoulM8te
Release Date: N/A
The single biggest indicator that a film will flop is when its own studio decides not to release it. Originally slated for January 9, Universal unceremoniously pulled the M3GAN spin-off from the calendar just weeks before its debut.
The film is currently homeless and being shopped to other distributors; if it does manage to secure a theatrical release, it's not likely to get major marketing support. None of this can be too surprising after M3GAN 2.0 earned just $39 million globally... $141 million less than its 2022 predecessor.
The Bride!
Release Date: March 6
While director Maggie Gyllenhaal's punk-rock take on the classic Bride of Frankenstein monster tale has generated some arthouse buzz, its commercial prospects remain shaky.
The Bride! is currently tracking for as little as $15 million during its opening weekend, which would instantly make it an uphill battle to turn a profit with its reported $80 million budget.
The Bride! benefits from a high-profile cast (Christian Bale and Jessie Buckley), but with recent March horror comps opening to pretty low ceilings and competition from potential Mary Shelley fatigue after Netflix's Frankenstein, it's more likely to land as a modest performer than a breakout hit.
Animal Farm
Release Date: May 1
Andy Serkis' long-gestating adaptation of George Orwell's novella faces one of the year's toughest marketing hurdles: selling a grim, politically charged allegory as an animated feature.
Distributor Angel Studios is taking a massive risk with a reported budget hovering around $35 million, a high number for a film whose target audience is unclear.
Critics have also taken issue with the lighter tone and humor in the new film, arguing it undermines the story's grim allegory and turns it into a more conventional kids' movie.
Mortal Kombat 2
Release Date: May 8
The 2021 Mortal Kombat reboot found moderate success largely due to its simultaneous release on HBO Max during the pandemic, but as a pure theatrical proposition in 2026, the sequel is a risky bet.
The novelty of finally seeing the video game's notorious gore in live-action has potentially worn off, not to mention the film is now sandwiched in a brutal release window after being moved out of October 2025.
Unless the sequel delivers spectacular word-of-mouth, and Karl Urban as Johnny Cage is a real scene stealer, this could be a stinker video game adaptation for Warner Bros., just one year after the massive success of A Minecraft Movie.
The Mandalorian & Grogu
Release Date: May 22
While betting against Star Wars is usually foolish, the franchise's first theatrical outing in seven years is essentially a glorified TV movie, spinning off of three prior seasons.
There's also been great disappointment so far with how Disney has been marketing The Mandalorian & Grogu. All hope isn't lost, as this is still a widely known franchise, and could still be a massive hit, but anything around or below $400 million will put the new Star Wars film in "flop" territory.
For Lucasfilm to turn this starship around, it needs to prove to fans why they should see this film in theaters. The Memorial Day weekend release should be lucrative, so it's disappointing that it's currently tracking to underperform (with relatively high expectations).
Masters of the Universe
Release Date: June 5
After decades rotting in development hell across multiple studios, this latest attempt to revive He-Man feels like it has arrived twenty years too late.
The property holds very little nostalgia for audiences under 40, and the sword-and-sorcery genre has been notoriously difficult to launch successfully in the modern era.
It was also reported that its budget is pushing $200 million, which basically means that Masters of the Universe has lost the race before it's even begun. It'd be surprising if its huge cast and vast CGI-enchanced characters make this film a summer blockbuster hit.
Coyote vs. Acme
Release Date: August 28
While the internet famously rallied to save this film after Warner Bros. originally tried to delete it for a tax write-off, social media outrage rarely translates into actual box office dollars.
The film was eventually salvaged by a much smaller distributor, Ketchup Entertainment, and its lack of major studio marketing could hurt its chances at turning a profit. Some odd amalgamation of John Cena and Looney Tunes fans would have to show up in droves later this summer in order to make this nearly lost film a hit.
Street Fighter
Release Date: October 16
Legendary Pictures is hoping to break the curse of this IP, which most recently produced Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, which earned a miserable $12.7 million worldwide in 2009.
Even Noah Centineo's buff look as Ken Masters may not be enough to save this film. In a new age of video game movie adaptations, this seems like one that will not hit with wide audiences.
To give Street Fighter some hope, it's very early in terms of marketing, with no trailers yet released for the film, giving time to build up anticipation among gamers and moviegoers.
The Angry Birds Movie 3
Release Date: December 23
This franchise is a prime example of diminishing returns, with the second film earning significantly less ($152.2 million) than the first ($352.2 million) as the mobile game craze faded years ago.
This franchise doesn't have the generation interest like The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and it seems out of tough for the studio to greenlight this movie.
To make matters worse, it faces immense competition in the crowded Christmas corridor; it is hard to imagine families prioritizing these dated birds over fresher, more relevant family entertainment options.
