Box Office Poison: Hollywood’s Story in a Century of Flops

From grand follies to misunderstood masterpieces, disastrous sequels to catastrophic literary adaptations, Tim Robey’s hugely entertaining Box Office Poison tells an alternative history of Hollywood, through a century of its most notable flops.

Freaks, Land of the Pharaohs, Dune, Speed 2, Catwoman, Cats: what can these films tell us about the Hollywood system, the public’s appetite – or lack of it – and the circumstances that saw such box office disasters actually made? Away from the canon, here is the definitive take on these ill-fated, but essential celluloid failures.

‘Hugely entertaining.’ Prospect
‘An instant classic.’ Andrew O’Hagan, author of Caledonian Road
‘Expertly researched.’ Sight & Sound
‘A rollicking, gossipy triumph.’ Daily Telegraph *****
‘Wildly enjoyable.’ Guardian

‘Failure fascinates, for all the reasons that success is a drag . . .’

Format: Hardback
Pages: 352
Imprint: Faber & Faber
Publication date: 04/02/2025