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Hindustan Times

Made for $65M, earned $120K, Hollywood's biggest box office bomb ended careers, was called 'worst movie of 21st century'

Imagine crowdfunding a film, hiring some of the biggest names in Hollywood, taking 10 years to make it, and then not even being able to finish it because you defaulted on some loans and the film was auctioned off. In the end, it makes only 0.2% of its investment back, ending up as Hollywood's biggest box office bomb. To add a cherry to this disgusting cake, critics still consider it one of the worst films ever made. In 2002, first-time director Lawrence Kasanoff announced an ambitious animated feature film called Foodfight! Top stars such as Charlie Sheen, Hilary Duff, and Eva Longoria were cast to do the voices for the protagonists, alongside well-known character artists Wayne Brady, Larry Miller, and Christopher Lloyd. Kasanoff had no experience in filmmaking, yet he came on board as director-producer. A $25 million joint investment in the project was made by Threshold, his company, and the Korean investment company Natural Image. The remainder was raised in crowdfunding efforts and secured through loans. But, the film ran into production delays right from the get-go. Kasanoff first claimed that hard drives containing unfinished assets were stolen. The film's crew denied that it ever happened. Then, the animation style was changed mid-production from Looney Tunes-esque 'squash and stretch' to stop motion. As production stretched on, many brands that had initially come on board as investors, including Cheetos and M&M's, backed out. The film missed two release deadlines in 2003 and 2005. Another distribution deal with Lionsgate in 2007 also failed. In 2011, the film was finally auctioned for $2.5 million after the makers defaulted on the loans they took for its production. StoryArk investors auctioned it to Fireman's Fund Insurance Company, which finished the film 'as inexpensively and quickly as possible'. It was released in a very limited manner in 2012 and then given for home media release. As a result, after spending 10 years and $65 million in production, Foodfight! earned just $120,000 at the box office. The 99.8% net loss is the highest in Hollywood history. The release only worsened the matters for Foodfight! When it was reviewed, critics found it abysmal. Mental Floss included it in its list of "10 Really Bad Movies that Define 'Bad Movies'". The Daily Telegraph described Foodfight! as "the worst animated children's film ever made". Collider went one step ahead and not only named it the worst fantasy movie of the 2010s, but the "absolute worst [movie] of the 21st century, without any real competition." In her review for Hollywood News, Kate Valentine called it "by far the crappiest piece of crap I have ever had the misfortune to watch". It has frequently found a place in several lists of the worst films ever made.