1

The Adventures Of Pluto Nash

Image: Antoine J.

Why anyone thought that a movie about a nightclub owner on the Moon with a ridiculous name was worth investing millions of dollars into remains a mystery. This science-fiction comedy , starring Eddie Murphy in the title role , proved that A-list talent alone is not enough to save a movie.

The film lost a staggering $156 million upon release, partly due to the disastrous critical reaction and the bad word of mouth from the few who actually saw it.

2

Titan A.E.

Image: Conrad Crawford

Science fiction is a tricky genre. Good sci-fi movies cost a pretty penny to produce, and if the story is compelling, they can become huge blockbusters. However, if the public does not like them, the commercial flop can be massive.

Titan A.E. tells the story of a young hero sent to save the human race after an alien species destroys Earth , blending traditional 2D animation with 3D CGI. The cast included Matt Damon, Nathan Lane, and Drew Barrymore. However, this star power was not enough to lead the movie to box office success, as it earned only $36.8 million worldwide and resulted in a $170 million loss for Fox Animation Studios.

3

The Lone Ranger

Image: Taylor Brandon

As is often the case, the problem isn’t so much the story as the budget. A decent movie can achieve a respectable box office performance as long as it was made for a reasonable price. However, when the budget is in the $225–250 million range, the film is forced to become a massive box office success just to recoup the money invested in it.

Based on the character of the same name, The Lone Ranger starred Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp in a Wild West adventure that had all the ingredients of a successful summer blockbuster. Unfortunately, its massive budget made it almost impossible to meet expectations.

4

John Carter

Image: Rod Long

The third (but not the last) science fiction movie on this list, John Carter tells the story of an American Confederate Civil War captain who accidentally transports himself to Mars and becomes entangled in the planet's internal power struggles.

With a production budget of $263 million, John Carter was one of the most expensive movies ever made, with its marketing costs adding nearly another $100 million. Despite eventually earning $284 million at the box office, the film suffered a historic $255 million loss, cementing its reputation as the biggest box office bomb of all time.

5

Mars Needs Moms

Image: Nicolas Lobos

Computer-animated movies are notoriously expensive to make , which is why any studio attempting to create a blockbuster using this technique must be absolutely confident in both the quality of the script and the effectiveness of the marketing campaign.

Mars Needs Moms suffered an estimated loss of $180–190 million, due to a combination of its high production costs, a subpar story, and an underwhelming marketing campaign.

6

Battleship

Image: John Kostyk

Despite being based on the popular board game and having an action-packed premise, Battleship didn’t achieve the commercial success its creators had hoped for. A combination of poor writing, weak direction, and an even worse plot created the disastrous mix that led the producers of the film to lose nearly $200 million.

The movie was expected to capitalize on the public's interest in big-robot CGI blockbusters, spurred by the success of the Transformers franchise. However, the poorly executed final product failed to achieve box office success.

7

Cutthroat Island

Image: Cezary Kukowka

Before Pirates of the Caribbean brought the pirate genre into the spotlight, 1995’s Cutthroat Island failed big time in these same waters due to a poorly written script . The film was marketed as a swashbuckling adventure but didn’t capture the vibrant, action-packed essence of pirate tales or create the same excitement as other blockbusters of the era.

Directed by Renny Harlin and starring Geena Davis, Cutthroat Island lost over $200 million and was universally panned by critics and audiences alike.

8

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

Image: Colton Jones

An Indiana Jones movie would have been a sure thing 30 years ago, but in 2023, it was more of a gamble—even with Harrison Ford on board. Following the lukewarm reception of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , the new adventure aimed to conclude the franchise on a high note.

The reception to Dial of Destiny was somewhat mixed, though more positive than its predecessor. However, Indiana Jones 5 became the lowest-grossing installment in the series , earning under $384 million at the box office. Due to its large budget, the film ultimately resulted in a loss of $143 million.

9

The Flash

Image: King Lip

And finally, one day, the public seemed to reach a breaking point with superhero movies. One of the most notorious failures in the genre was DC's long-awaited standalone film, The Flash . Not only was the movie intended to be this character’s first solo outing, but it also promised exciting cameos from other DCEU cast members, including Batman and Wonder Woman.

Despite its potential on paper, the movie faced an extended and tumultuous development process, with multiple directors coming and going . This all led to The Flash failing to surpass $272 million at the worldwide box office, resulting in a staggering $150 million loss.

10

The Marvels

Image: Craig McLachlan

The final item on the list further proves the point that the public has grown tired of subpar superhero movies: The Marvels . Serving as a sequel to both Captain Marvel and the Ms. Marvel television series , The Marvels marked the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

While the film grossed over $200 million worldwide, this box office revenue would have been considered a success under different circumstances. However, with a reported budget exceeding $250 million and substantial marketing costs for such a high-profile movie, The Marvels ultimately suffered a $237 million loss.

1

Virginia (1607)

Before being an established colony, the entirety of England’s territories in North America was referred to as Virginia. While it is commonly accepted that Sir Walter Raleigh named it after Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen , some historians have suggested that it is the European rendering of Wingina , the name of that region’s native ruler.

The first two English settlements (in modern-day Newfoundland and North Carolina) were not successful. The third one, Jamestown, was settled by the Virginia Company as a charter (a sovereign’s permission to establish a colony). Eventually returned to the crown’s authority, it was officially known as the Virginia Colony. After the English Civil War, Charles II conferred on it the title of "Old Dominion" as a token of gratitude, a name that survives as the state’s current nickname.

2

Massachusetts (1620)

Also established by charter, the Massachusetts Bay Colony was not only created for trading purposes, like other settlements. It was also intended as a safe haven for English Puritans who desired to escape persecution . Its charter and name changed several times due to the Civil War and political unrest. Eventually, several colonies were merged into the Dominion of New England and later into the Province of Massachusetts Bay.

The name Massachusetts was taken from the indigenous population of the region, an Algonquian tribe called the Massachusett or Muhsachuweesut . It is believed that the name means ‘by the great hills’ or ' at the range of hills’, in reference to the Blue Hills.

3

New Hampshire (1623)

The first settlements in New Hampshire were the result of land being granted to John Mason and Sir Ferdinando Gorges , neither of whom ever traveled to the region. Additional settlements in the area were established by colonists from Massachusetts Bay, who were unhappy with the strict Puritan rule of the colony.

Although John Mason had been born in Norfolk, he had ties to Hampshire County in South East England, after whom he decided to name his newly granted land . After Mason’s death, the region lacked a proper authority, and the settlers voted to be part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. After the Civil War, the Province of New Hampshire was established by Charles II.

4

Maryland (1634)

A similar situation to the Massachusetts colony, Maryland was also established as a refuge from religious persecution, this time for Roman Catholics . With this purpose in mind, George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, secured a land grant from Charles I. Despite several religious conflicts, Maryland remained one of the most tolerant colonies.

Maryland was named after Charles I’s wife, Henrietta Maria , who was a devout Catholic. Lord Baltimore had initially intended to use the name Crescentia (or ‘the land of growth’), but he decided to let the King choose the name. Charles named it Terra Mariae (Maria’s land), although the English version quickly became more widely used.

5

Connecticut (1636)

The first settlements in the area were established by Dutch explorers, but English settlers soon arrived from the Plymouth colony in Massachusetts. The colony took its name from the Connecticut River , a corrupted form of the native words quinetucket and kwinitekw , meaning ‘beside the long, tidal river’.

Connecticut's current nickname, ‘the Constitution State’, is a reference to the Colony’s constitution, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut , one of the earliest constitutions in modern history.

6

Rhode Island (1636)

Founded by a Puritan minister who had been expelled from the Massachusetts Colony, Rhode Island was initially named Providence Plantations . Committed to ensuring religious freedom, it became a refuge for religious dissenters who found it difficult to live in the strict Puritan colonies. Later on, it merged with several other settlements —among them, Aquidneck Island, also known as Rhode Island— and took the name of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.

It’s uncertain where the name Rhode Island came from, but the two most likely theories cite either a connection with the Greek island of Rhodes or the Dutch phrase "een rodlich eylande" (‘a reddish island’) . All three names (Rhode Island, Island of Rhodes, and Red Island) are used in 17th-century documents.

7

North and South Carolina (1663)

Before there was a North and a South Carolina, there was just Carolina . The land of both colonies had been granted to various nobles as a reward for their role in the restoration of the monarchy. The charter granting the lands —which included areas from present-day North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida— named them Carolina (from the Latin Carolus ) after King Charles I .

The area covered by the province of Carolina was divided into two distinct parts, and communication and transportation between the two proved difficult. A deputy governor for the northern region was initially appointed, but the noble proprietors eventually decided to divide the province into two , North Carolina and South Carolina.

8

New York (1664)

It is a widely known fact that modern-day New York was initially colonized by Dutch settlers under the name ‘New Netherland’, with ‘New Amsterdam’ as its capital city . In 1664, King Charles II and his brother, the Duke of York, gathered a fleet to seize the New Netherland territories, a conquest disputed by the Dutch West India Company, the colony administrator.

The Duke of York was made proprietor of the territory, now renamed ‘New York’. In the following decade, the ownership of the territory was disputed, and the Dutch made several attempts to recover it. Eventually, the Treaty of Westminster was signed in 1674, where the Dutch forfeited the New York territories in exchange for the Suriname colony in South America.

9

Delaware (1664)

The territory of Delaware was originally part of New Netherland, which made it part of the New York Province after British conquest, but it was never effectively controlled by the New York government. These counties had taken their name from the neighboring Delaware River , which in turn had been named after Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, governor of Virginia at the time the English gained control of that territory.

While they were never a colony of their own, the Delaware counties had an independent legislature and functioned as a de facto colony. Later included in the land granted to William Penn, they refused to merge with the Pennsylvania government and were eventually granted their own assembly. At the start of the Revolutionary War, the Delaware assembly voted for separation from Britain, thus creating the state of Delaware.

10

New Jersey (1665)

Originally part of the New Netherland territory, half of the New Jersey territory was conferred by the Duke of York to Sir George Carteret as a reward, while the other half was sold to Lord Berkeley of Stratton. The territory was named after Carteret’s homeland, the island of Jersey .

A few years later, New Jersey was divided into two provinces, East and West Jersey , with their respective governors and constitutions, which were eventually incorporated into the New England Dominion, alongside the province of New York. However, the Dominion was dissolved after a few years, and the East and West Jersey territories were unified as the Province of New Jersey.

11

Pennsylvania (1681)

Pennsylvania, alongside Carolina, is one of the two major Restoration colonies, chartered by Charles II to reward loyal subjects after the war. In this case, it was conferred on William Penn, an influential Quaker thinker, to settle a debt owed to his father. Penn and his associates had already purchased most of the New Jersey territory to establish a Quaker haven, but religious tensions in England made him propose a mass emigration of Quakers to the King.

The king conferred Penn a large territory —which made him the largest private non-royal landowner— with almost absolute rights. While Penn intended to name the colony either ‘New Wales’ or ‘Sylvania’ (Latin for ‘forests’), the king named it Pennsylvania after Penn’s father . Penn personally travelled to the territory to establish the first settlements, signed treaties with the Lenape tribes of the area, and established a proto-constitution which guaranteed freedom of religion, elections, and trials by jury.

12

Georgia (1732)

The last colony to be established, Georgia was chartered to James Oglethorpe by King George II, after whom it was named . A social reformer, Oglethorpe, wanted to establish the territory as a haven for debtors and poor people, and implemented measures such as the banning of alcohol and slavery. He also disliked the large plantation system, favoring smallholdings.

The colony was also intended to be a ‘buffer’ between the British colonies and the Spanish territories in Florida. Despite Oglethorpe’s well-intentioned designs, the colony was difficult to manage, and it was returned to the crown two decades later. Upon becoming a royal colony, Oglethorpe’s measures against slavery and the plantation system were overturned.

1

Higgledy-piggledy

Image: Peter Herrmann

Imagine a table full of random objects, all jumbled together, with no categories whatsoever. Chaotic, right? Well, that’s exactly what "higgledy-piggledy" means. Can you figure it out from context?

When things got all mixed up or disorganized , folks in the Wild West would call it "higgledy-piggledy." This playful phrase was used to describe chaos or confusion. But it’s not only about a mess of objects, a pile of papers sort of mess, it could also be a situation that got out of hand.

It’s believed to be of British origin, but it found a way to cross the pond and make its way into the American frontier lingo. The repeating sound of the words adds to the sense of disorder – kind of like a tongue-twister that reflects the state of things.

2

Bag of nails

Image: Blake Emge

Don’t take this too literally—it gets gross quickly. But when it comes to the meaning, it’s highly relatable. Ever had one of those days where nothing seems to go right ? The Wild West had a term for that: "bag of nails."

When things were in complete disarray, those personal situations that quickly escalated into chaos, they were described as a bag of nails.

Imagine spilling a bag of nails everywhere, gross at first, but then it’s also messy, frustrating, and hard to clean up.

The origin of the term is not very clear, but it paints a vivid picture of total disorder. If you are having a bag-of-nails kind of day, it’s time to take a deep breath and try again tomorrow!

3

Toad strangler

Image: Mike Kotsch

One curious thing about this phrase, originally from the South, is that in every variation it refers to the same animal in the same situation. For example, "frog choker."

In any case, when the rain came down so hard it could "drown a toad," you were in the middle of a "toad strangler."

This funny phrase (although it may not be so funny for the poor toad) was used to describe a heavy downpour , the kind that left everything soaked and muddy. In a land where the weather could change in an instant, such storms were both a blessing and a nuisance. Now, if you come to think about the mud, this wasn’t so funny for the people either!

4

Barkin' at a knot

Image: Robert Gramner

You could get the meaning of this phrase by simply picturing a dog barking at a not. What’s the first thought that crosses your mind? "What on Earth is that dog doing?" Well, that’s pretty much the gist of the expression.

In Wild West lingo, if you were "barkin' at a knot," it meant you were trying to do something impossible or wasting time on a rather pointless task .

This term comes from the image of a dog barking at a tree knot: the dog thinks the knot is a threat, but all the barking gets them nowhere.

It was used on the frontier to describe situations where people were expending effort for no reward. But it can be used today to talk, don’t you think? Time to move on, partner!

5

Leaky mouth

Image: Vitolda Klein

From the gross to the nonsensical and straight into the literal, in the Wild West, if someone had a "leaky mouth," it meant they couldn’t keep their lips sealed, that they talked too much, and, more often than not, spilled secrets. We all know someone like this!

Gossipers were everywhere back then, (and this is still the case!), and having a leaky mouth was definitely not a compliment, as you can imagine. People who shared too much information or spread rumors were seen as troublemakers, which made sense considering the number of outlaws around!

We may not have those kinds of outlaws anymore, but the leaky-mouthed ones are still around!

6

Raisin' sand

Image: Richard Lee

You may have heard the expression "to raise Cain," and if that’s the case, you can guess what this expression means!

When someone was causing trouble or creating a disturbance, they were basically "raisin' sand." You know the type—the kind of person who can’t sit still for a second, the kind that is always kicking up a storm of dust; mischief in every step they take. Well, this expression is about them.

Frontier towns had their fair share of rowdy folks, and raising sand could mean anything from a loud argument to a full-blown fight. And we’ve all seen enough Western movies to know how that usually ended!

7

High-falutin'

Image: Senya Mitin

Pretentious, fancy people have existed since the beginning of times. No society has escaped the "highfalutin’" sort of folks who are always bragging about. Can you guess what it means?

"Highfalutin" or "high-falutin’" referred to people in the Wild West who were acting overly fancy or pompous , and it was not precisely a compliment.

This term was used to poke fun at people who were full of themselves or trying too hard to appear important. The origin of the phrase is a bit hazy, but there seems to be consensus to believe the phrase is a combination of "high" and "fluting" which means having ornamental grooves. Either way, if you were labeled high-falutin’, it was time to dial it down a notch.

8

Guttersnipe

Image: Amsterdam City Archives

Kids on the street trying to survive are not just a thing of today; there have always been cases of children abandoned to their own fate. Back in the Wild West, "guttersnipe" was the term used to describe a homeless kid who was trying to make it on the streets.

These kids were scrappy survivors, navigating the rough streets much like birds picking through the gutters for food.

Dating back to the 1850s, the word became highly popular thanks to Mark Twain’s descriptions in his novels, and it stuck. Had you heard it before?

9

Four-flusher

Image: Klim Musalimov

Oh, who hasn’t had a fun game night with the family that didn’t end quite like one imagined? Suddenly, everyone is arguing over the rules of the game just because there was one four-flasher who couldn’t resist the temptation to cheat!

In the Wild West, a "four-flusher" was someone who tried to cheat their way to victory , and also someone who resorted to bluffing to win a game.

The phrase comes from poker, where a flush requires five cards of the same suit. A four-flusher, then, would be someone who tried to pass off four matching cards as a flush, hoping no one noticed. Outside of cards, the term grew to describe any liar, cheat, or fraud. If you were called a four-flusher, you were someone who couldn’t be trusted. And those were certainly not welcome in the typical Wild West saloons!

10

California widow

Image: gaspar zaldo

The term "widow" in this phrase is quite deceptive because the expression doesn’t refer to a woman whose husband has died. Instead, it referred to a woman whose husband had gone off to seek fortune, often in the California Gold Rush.

These women were left behind, sometimes for years, while their husbands pursued riches out West. Though they were still married, they were called "widows" because they were left to manage on their own.

It was a common term in the mid-1800s, as the Gold Rush drew many men away from their homes. For some women, this separation was temporary, but for others, their husbands never returned. Quite sad, huh?