When it comes to successfulanimationof the last few decades, it is impossible not to think of something produced by DreamWorks Animation, a powerhouse within the film industry that keeps breaking new ground with every step it takes. Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, and Jeffrey Katzenberg founded it as part of DreamWorks Pictures back in the 1990s, and, in 1998, the studio treated audiences toAntz, the first of many animated productions that now comprise its ever-growing portfolio.
Over the years, DreamWorks Animation has released over 40 films, some of which have even made it to the top of the list among the most popular animated film productions ever. Some of its biggest hits includeShrek,How to Train Your Dragon,andKung Fu Panda, three movies that launchedimmensely popular franchisesworldwide.
However, although DreamWorks Animation stands out for its popular and hilarious films that can be enjoyed by both children and adults, it has also had its fair share of films that failed to become box office hits, although that number is considerably lower than its blockbusters. Here are DreamWorks Animation’s 10 biggest box office flops.
10Abominable — $188.6 Million
Abominable
Abominablehit the silver screen in 2019, introducing Yi, a Chinese teenager who encounters a young Yeti hiding on her apartment rooftop. Determined to reunite this creature with his family, Yi sets out on a unique and potentially dangerous adventure, as a wealthy businessman is following in her footsteps in an attempt to capture the Yeti. This Jill Culton film earned rave reviews upon its release and grossed just over $188 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million.
Why It Flopped
Despite being one of DreamWorks Animation’s lowest-grossing films,Abominableis by no means a box office bomb, as it managed to reap more than twice its initial budget. However, its weak performance likely stems from the fact that it is not as memorable as other productions made by the company, along with it having to compete against extremely popular films such asToy Story 4andFrozen 2in its year of release.
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9Flushed Away — $179.3 Million
Flushed Away
2006’sFlushed Awaymarked Sam Fell and David Bowers' directorial debut and, at the same time, DreamWorks' third and final collaboration with Aardman Features on what would be the latter’s first CGI-animated project. It follows Roddy, a pet rat who is flushed down the toilet from his luxurious Kensington home straight to Ratropolis, a city he is unfamiliar with, but must explore if he is ever to return home.
Grossing $178 million against its $149 million budget,Flushed Awaybecame one of DreamWorks Animation’s biggest flops. Although this film has been hugely acclaimed for its clever humor, engaging characters, and, most of all, the brilliantwork of its voice cast, it was not memorable enough for audiences, and fell short compared to contemporaneous productions such as 2006’sMonster HouseorCars.
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8Antz — $152.4 Million
Antzkicked off DreamWorks Animation’s successful road in the industry, following the story of Z, a worker ant with an existential crisis, whose life is turned upside down when he falls in love with his colony’s princess. Determined to shake things up, Z opts to seize the reins of his destiny, something that ends up placing him at the forefront of a revolution aimed at saving his colony from the evil plans of General Mandible. This 1998 film marked Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson’s directorial debut, and grossed over $152 million worldwide.
This is the first film in DreamWorks Animation’s history, which in itself makes it an interesting piece to review. Moreover, it managed to get some pretty good reviews, which served to lay the groundwork for the studio’s intriguing journey. However, the film is quite similar toA Bug’s Life, which was released shortly thereafter — and by Pixar no less, who had already established itself as an animation juggernaut, something that kicked off a rivalry between the two companies. In the eyes of audiences and critics,Antzis not a bad movie, butA Bug’s Lifeis way more memorable.
Released:15 Best Movies From DreamWorks Animation, Ranked
7The Boss Baby: Family Business — $146.2 Million
The Boss Baby: Family Businessis the second installment ofThe Boss Babyfranchise, and was released in 2021 with Tom McGrath once again directing. This production features the Templeton brothers, who are now adults that don’t get along well with one another. But after discovering that Tim’s daughter has also been sent by Baby Corp on a special mission, these siblings are forced to work together once again to save the future of thousands of families.
McGrath’s film managed to reap over $146 million worldwide on a $82 million budget, which isn’t too bad considering other entries on this list. However, despite being successful enough to spur the development of other productions, this sequel didn’t hold up too well with critics, who considered it an unremarkable production that didn’t bring much to the table when compared to the original film.Rotten Tomatoescritics, in fact, called it “C-level,” granting the film a 46% rotten score.
6Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron — $106.5 Million
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarronis a 2002 film that marked Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook’s directorial debut. It is narrated by Matt Damon and follows the adventures of Spirit, an Old West mustang stallion whose life is turned upside down when he first encounters humans. Despite getting good reviews and garnering a few nominations, the film became a box office flop, grossing $106 million worldwide, a little over its $80 million budget.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarronis not a bad movie. In fact, many people praised it for its animation style and touching story. However, there is one vitally important detail that may have played a part in this production’s lackluster box office performance: it was the first film DreamWorks Animation released afterShrek, which enjoyed a hard-to-match success and raised the bar considerably. In addition,Spirithas been regarded by most of the audience as a rather predictable movie, which prevented it from standing out in comparison to other classics by the company.
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Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seasfeatures one of the greatest casts in DreamWorks Animation’s history, and it combines traditional2D animation with CGIto introduce Sinbad the Sailor, who sets out on an adventure to retrieve one of the world’s most valuable treasures in order to save an old childhood friend from execution.
This 2003 film came afterSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, and its box office performance was quite similar, with a total gross of $80 million worldwide on a $60 million budget. Although it was praised for its cast and animation style, the story was not interesting enough to capture the audience’s attention, and as a result, DreamWorks dropped the traditional animation style once and for all.
Related:Best Voice Performances in DreamWorks Animation Movies, Ranked
The Road to El Dorado
The Road to El Doradois the third film in DreamWorks Animation’s history, and it marked Bibo Bergeron and Don Paul’s directorial debut, following Tulio and Miguel, two con artists who seize the map to the legendary City of Gold, where the inhabitants mistake them for gods. Its voice cast is led by Kevin Kline and Kenneth Branagh, and also features Rosie Perez, Armand Assante, and Edward James Olmos.
This 2000 film performed very poorly at the box office, not even managing to gross as much as its initial budget of around $95 million. Much of this was due to its predictable storyline packed with cultural stereotypes and its main characters who, while appealing, are neither strong nor funny enough to engage audiences. Unlike other films of the time,The Road to El Doradobrought nothing new to the table, making it a fairly forgettable movie.
3Trolls: World Tour — $48.8 Million
Trolls: World Touris the second installment in the eponymous franchise inspired by the popular troll dolls. This production by Walt Dohrn reunites audiences with Poppy and Branch, who this time must team up with other troll tribes to prevent the Queen of the Rock tribe from extinguishing all other musical genres.
This 2020 film had rave reviews after its release, and was considered a very decent sequel, featuring a great animation style and a brilliant soundtrack. The main problem withTrolls: World Tourwas not the film per se, but the context in which it was released: it hit theaters in April 2020, amidst the height of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, which meant the majority of the world couldn’t actually see the film in theaters. This caused the production to reap just over $48 million, which was about half of its original budget.
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2Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken — $45.9 Million
Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken
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Ruby Gillman, Teenage Krakenis one of DreamWorks Animation’s latest movies, and it introduces Ruby, a teenage kraken whose only concern is fitting in at her school. But when this young girl disobeys her mother’s rules and dives into the ocean for the first time, she learns that she is the heir to the throne of her grandmother, the Warrior Queen of the Seven Seas, and is entrusted with the mission of protecting everyone from the popular yet evil mermaids.
With a total gross of just over $45 million against a budget of $70 million, this is one of the biggest flops in DreamWorks Animation’s history. Despite positive reviews for its aesthetics and voice cast performances, the film failed to achieve its full potential, and fell short in comparison to productions likeLucaandTurning Red, which introduced similar themes to considerably better audience and critical reception.
1Spirit Untamed — $42.2 Million
Spirit Untamed
Lucky Prescott’s life is changed forever when she moves from her home in the city to a small frontier town and befriends a wild mustang named Spirit.
At the top of the ranking of DreamWorks Animation’s biggest flops isSpirit Untamed, a 2021 production that served as a sequel to 2002’sSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. This Elaine Bogan film features Lucky, a Wild West girl who uncovers her mother’s legacy after forming an unbreakable bond with a wild horse named Spirit.
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarronwas not one of DreamWorks Animation’s most popular productions to begin with, soSpirit Untamed already faced an uphill battle. To make matters worse, this film was released in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite featuring interesting elements such as a female lead in a Wild West movie, it made a few moves that disappointed critics, such as changing its animation style and character design.Spirit Untamedgrossed $42.2 million worldwide, just over $10 million above its production cost.
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