Can Hollywood Learn from Its Biggest Bombs?

The Sam Sanders Show

Can Hollywood Learn from Its Biggest Bombs?

Clean

Published on May 16, 2025, 2:15:00 AM
Total time: 00:50:11

Episode Description

Some movies are so bad, they become iconic. Think Cats, Joker: Folie à Deux, Madame Web, and The Flash—massive flops that cost studios millions and spark endless debate. 

Sam breaks down why these high-profile films failed – and whether Hollywood is learning anything from its most embarrassing box office bombs. Lizzie Bassett and Chris Winterbauer of the What Went Wrong podcast join him to explore VFX disasters, star power misfires, and the curse of franchise fatigue. Why do these flops keep happening – can Hollywood learn anything from these box office disasters? 

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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.

More about The Sam Sanders Show

The Sam Sanders Show from KCRW is your guide to entertainment. Find out what makes your favorite artists tick, dissect the trends that shape our culture, or just make sense of that random meme you can’t stop thinking about. Join us every week to unpack the pop culture we love.

Sign up for Sam’s Newsletter to get behind the scenes stuff from every interview each week.

Sam Sanders is an award-winning podcast and radio host. He’s been named best podcast host by both The Ambies and the iHeart Podcast Awards. He was one of the founding hosts of The NPR Politics Podcast and the host who launched both It’s Been A Minute from NPR and Into It from Vulture. He currently co-hosts Vibe Check.