2025’s biggest box office bomb was loved by critics, but caused studio $100 million loss, forced OTT release in 18 days | Hollywood

The biggest box office bomb of 2025 is arriving on streaming in less than three weeks of its theatrical release. What is amazing is that the film was praised by critics but just could not connect with the audiences. (Also read: Salman Khan’s biggest box office bomb made just ₹2 cr, director quit filmmaking, actress never worked in Bollywood again)

The biggest box office bomb of 2025

By next week, Parasite director Bong Joon Ho’s sci-fi thriller Mickey 17 will be streaming on all major platforms worldwide. This may come as a shock to many since the film was released in theatres only last week. But its disappointing performance at the box office has meant that Warner Bros Discovery, the studio bankrolling it, has been forced to an early streaming release to cut its losses.

Mickey 17 digital release

On Sunday, When To Stream reported that Mickey 17 is set to release on digital streaming via premium video on demand on March 25. This means that the Robert Pattinson film will be available on major platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home for $24.99. Given that the film hit the screens only on March 7, this is a very early pivot to OTT, meaning that the studio has lost faith in the film’s ability to earn at the box office. The film’s India streaming release remains unclear. However, Warner Bros is yet to confirm the early digital release of the film.

How Mickey 17 cost Warner Bros $100 million

Mickey 17 was made on a production budget of $118 million with $80 million spent on top of that for publicity and marketing. Industry insiders have said the $198 million landing cost implies the film needs to earn over $300 million just to break even. However, at the end of 9 days, Mickey 17 has earned only $90.5 million worldwide, and its daily haul has diminished to low single-digit numbers. It may just scrape past $100 million but not go much further. World of Reel quotes sources saying the film is set to cause Warner Bros a loss of over $100 million, making it the most unprofitable film of 2025 so far.

All this has come after the critics seemed to enjoy the film. Mickey 17 has a favourable 78% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average rating of 7.2/10. On Metacritic, the film has a healthy 72/100 score, with many critics giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Mickey 17, based on Edward Ashton’s novel Mickey7, stars Robert Pattinson, along with Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, and Mark Ruffalo.