The Lowest-Grossing Movie Ever Made Is Streaming Free Right Now
It takes a special kind of failure to become infamous for earning less than the price of a single IMAX ticket. But in 2006, Zyzzyx Road did exactly that.
Starring Katherine Heigl (just before her Grey's Anatomy breakout), Tom Sizemore, and Leo Grillo, the micro-budget thriller made headlines not for what it was — but for what it wasn't: a movie anyone actually saw.
Zyzzyx Road officially holds the title for lowest-grossing theatrical release of all time — and now, thanks to streaming, you too can watch this $1.2 million disaster for free.
Here's how bad it got:
- Theatrical gross: $30
- After refunds: $20
- Tickets sold: 6
- Tickets refunded: 2 (to the film's own makeup artist and her friend)
- Showtimes: 1 per day, for 7 days
- Location: Highland Park Village Theatre, Dallas, Texas
- Reason for release: Avoid paying SAG's non-theatrical rate
Yes, the entire theatrical run was a contractual loophole. Director John Penney spent $1,000 of his own money to rent a theater (a practice known as "four-walling") just to technically qualify as a theatrical release and dodge union pay increases. The goal wasn't box office glory — it was paperwork.
But that technicality backfired. Once sites like CHUD.com and Variety caught wind of the numbers, Zyzzyx Road was branded with the scarlet $20. Even though Penney made back over $300,000 in European DVD sales, nobody cared. The movie's legacy was sealed.
As for the actual production:
- It was shot in 10 days in the Mojave Desert, near the real Zzyzx Road.
- Tom Sizemore, on probation at the time, got busted for drug possession during filming.
- Katherine Heigl was 28, playing a teenager, and did 10 takes of a fall scene onto cactus spines in 110-degree heat.
The movie also had rattlesnakes on set (they had to hire a wrangler), and Penney himself had never directed before — though he'd written cult horror titles like Return of the Living Dead 3 and The Kindred.
The film finally got a North American DVD release in 2010, and became available digitally in 2012. It may have clawed its way to breaking even by now — but that $30 box office still follows it like a curse.
And in case you're wondering: yes, it still lost less money than Disney's Snow White remake probably will.
Zyzzyx Road is now streaming for free, if you're morbidly curious. Just remember — five bucks says you'll be person number seven.