Think Waterworld was a massive box office bomb?

That John Carter and The Lone Ranger were ‘turkeys’?

If you say something often enough, the theory runs, then it becomes fact.

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 2

What did it gross?$702m and counting.

And it sort of did.

Thing is,Spider-Manis seen as a disappointment,X-Menas a big hit.

TheAmazing Spider-Man 2, however, has seen a stagnation of interest inSpider-Manmovies.

So did it flop?No.

It might have disappointed, and might not have grown the series in the way Sony would have wanted.

But a $700m return on a $200-250m movie is a flop in nobodys book.

Questions may arise over whetherThe Amazing Spider-Man 2could and should have been a better film, of course.

But its done more than ample business to keep the Spidey juggernaut running.

What did it gross?$362m.

What happened?Tim Burton didnt have a nice time makingPlanet Of The Apes.

As such, it had sequels in mind.

BecausePlanet Of The Apesis a surprisingly uninteresting film.

A decade on,Risewould take $481m worldwide and be deemed a big hit.

Inflation adjusted, Burtons film nearly matched that.

Yet the majority felt Burtons film was a crashing bore, and Wyatts wasnt.

The sequel never materialised to the former.Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apesmeanwhile is released next month.

So did it flop?The label flop shouldnt necessarily be mixed up with temporary franchise killer.

BurtonsPlanet Of The Apeswas not the former.

It was the latter.

What did it gross?$391m.

What happened?Warner Bros thought it had the formula sorted when Christopher Nolan rejuvenated theBatmanseries with 2005sBatman Begins.

And certainly, Warner Bros was hoping for, and expecting, much more.

But, again, it was a temporary franchise killer.

So did it flop?It disappointed.

It did not flop.

What did it gross?$284m.

That in itself is part and parcel of the modern way movies are accounted for.

Thus, if you have to file a report now, yes,John Carterprobably flopped.

Ten years down the line?

What did it gross?$260m.

What happened?Ah, you know.

It would be fair to say thatThe Lone Rangerlost that particular battle.

That said, Disney was still looking at another write-down on the project.

So did it flop?As Robbie Collin of The Telegraph Tweeted at the time: Bad business decision?

A financial disappointment, certainly.

What happened?This one was all set to be a sure fire summer 2013 hit.

The originalHangoverhad taken $467m worldwide.

It upped the financial ante to $586m.

So by the timeThe Hangover Part IIIcame around, something north of $500m was the expected total.

But something went wrong.

So much so that the early negative reviews forThe Hangover Part IIIstarted to have an impact.

As it turned out, the movie fell short of the previous film by a good $200m.

Theres no other way to spin it, though:The Hangover Part IIIby most measures was a hit.

What did it gross?$306m.

But outside of America, the film found some legs, and eventually banked over $300m.

It cost around $145m to make.

You canread more of Ramseys post-release thoughts here, incidentally.

It also made a profit.

What did it gross?$264m.

In this case, though, that conclusion was drawn before the films release, rather than after it.

We were reliably told thatWaterworldcouldnt make money.

It was beset by problems.

People has decided it was going to be a flop before the movie was even released.

What a disappointment it must have been then whenWaterworldcame out to decent reviews.

But beyond American shores,Waterworlddid good business.

In short,Waterworldmade a profit.

So did it flop?No.

But that doesnt make as compelling a headline.