Mounting any big budget production comes with its own set of risks, but few have fell into as many traps and suffered as many high-profile setbacks as The 13th Warrior, which still reigns as one of the biggest box office bombs of all-time more than a quarter of a century on from its release.
Shooting kicked off in the summer of 1997 with Die Hard and Predator John McTiernan at the helm and an $85 million budget in place to tell the story of Antonia Banderas’ exiled ambassador falling in with a company of rogue Vikings, who then end up drawn into a conflict with enemies they only believed were the stuff of legend.
However, The 13th Warrior wouldn’t arrive in theaters until August of 1999, by which time it was virtually recognizable. McTiernan was dumped and replaced by Michael Crichton, who authored source novel Eaters of the Dead. The latter title was also changed in favor of the former, before extensive reshoots and re-edits saw the budget swell to an estimated $160 million.
A new score was also required after Graeme Revell was swapped out for Jerry Goldsmith, only for the end result to tank horrendously and earn a measly $61 million at the global box office, with The 13th Warrior‘s losses proving to be over twice as much at an eye-watering $129 million.
It does at least live on in infamy, though, and it’s even made a comeback on streaming to boot. Per FlixPatrol, the all-timer of a disaster has snaffled a spot on the Top 10 of the OSN platform, which is remarkable given its reputation.