If you’ve been on social media recently, chances are you’ve seen calls to boycott various movies.
More often than not, these boycotts have little to no merit and are simply the work of someone with a blue checkmark on X. However, every now and then, there’s a somewhat large organization calling for the boycott of a major motion picture.
The one I remember the most was around the release of The Da Vinci Code due to the film’s controversial religious nature. The boycott did not work, though, and the film grossed over $800 million at the box office.
Every now and then, however, a boycott does work, and these are the films that prove it.
The Golden Compass
Da Vinci Code isn’t the only 2000s film to receive a boycott for religious reasons. The same happened to The Golden Compass, which was trying to cash in on the popularity of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, as well as the book series the movie was based on.
While I’m not sure if the boycotts fully worked, the film was a box office failure, and the other two planned movies never saw the light of day.
The Birth of a Nation
I’m not sure who had the bright idea to reboot one of the most controversial movies of all time, but that’s what happened in 2016.
Nate Parkers’ directorial debut was a massive flop at the box office, not just due to the film, but also Parkers past, who had past accustations against him resurfaced.
The Flash
It’s commonplace for people online to call for boycotts of comic book movies when they don’t like what’s being done with the source material. More often than not, these “boycotts” are from fans upset that their head canon isn’t true.
That wasn’t the case with The Flash, though. These boycotts came from Ezra Miller’s seemingly countless legal issues. Sure, the movie made over $200 million, but in the modern box office, that’s not where you want to be, especially when the budget is even higher than that.
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Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
It’s a shame, because Honor Among Thieves is a fantastic movie that deserved better. So what happened?
A lot of D&D fans were unhappy with Wizards of the Coast, the company that owns Dungeons & Dragons, and as a result, boycotted the film. The result was a movie that eventually became a cult classic, but will sadly never received the sequel it deserves.
Billionaire Boys Clubs
The 2018 film grossed a paltry $2.7 million on a $15 million budget despite its star-studded cast.
So what was the reason? Well, one of those cast members was Kevin Spacey, and this film came out as his misconduct allegations came to light. To make matters worse, the film was widely panned by critics. Even without a boycott, it stood no chance.
Ghost in the Shell
Whitewashing is nothing new in Hollywood, but in the modern era, people are becoming less likely to support films that follow the practice of replacing ethnic actors.
Take, for example, a film based on an iconic anime where Scarlett Johansson plays an Asian character. The (very loud) public outcry about her portrayal as Major Mira Killian was a major factor behind the film’s failure.
Lightyear
Go ahead and take your pick on the boycott that was “successful” here.
A very loud part of the internet wasn’t happy with some of the content in the film, while others were confused as to why the lead actor and beloved backstory for Buzz Lightyear were all replaced.
Ender’s Game
There was a lot of excitement that we were finally getting a big screen adaptation of Ender’s Game in 2013, but author Orson Scott Card’s personal beliefs did a lot to dampen that excitement.
Amid mixed reviews, as well as Scott Card’s personal views causing vocal boycotts, the film was a box office dud.
Silent Night Deadly Night
You could easily get away with a Christmas-based horror movie today. In the 1980s, though, that certainly wasn’t the case.
Boycotts and outrage from parents resulted in a much shorter-than-expected theatrical run. The film was eventually remade in 2025.
Jeepers Creepers 3
The first Jeepers Creepers film is a surprisingly great and clever horror film. The second wasn’t as good, but it also wasn’t completely terrible. It was entertaining enough.
However, the third film bombed, and one reason why is director Victor Salva’s past abuse allegations. There was also some highly inappropiate dialgoue that made it into the film as well.
Stonewall
Rnald Emmerich’s 2015 coming-of-age drama was supposed to highlight the importance of the 1960 Stonewall riots.
However, the film was heavily criticized for a lack of actual representation of every affected marginalized group. Emmerich would blame the film’s failure, which only grossed $292,00 at the box office, on angry voices from the internet.
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