Box Office Bombs That Drove Studios Out of Business
Howard The Duck, 1986
It seems like ‘Howard the Duck’ was in trouble before it even went into production and spelled more trouble for the financier of the film and the founder of Lucasfilm Ltd., George Lucas.
He is best known for creating ‘Indiana Jones’ and ‘Star Wars,’ both billion-dollar franchises. It seemed like Lucas had figured out the formula for success. Even after being in debt of $50 million, Lucas bet his money on this project and hoped for the best. Releasing in 1986, the film is still famous for its disastrous run at the theaters, criticized for inconsistencies in the script, dull humor, and bad performances. The movie only managed to break even, and as a result, Lucas had to sell off some of his assets to repay his loans.
When the film tanked at the box office, Lucas was already in debt. When no money came in from different productions, he had to dispose of his animation company to Steve Jobs. The entity sold would go on to become Pixar!
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