Entertainment and Gaming: Records and Anti-records

🌟🎮 100 Records & Marvels in Entertainment and Gaming: The Ultimate Scoreboard!

Welcome, aiwa-ai.com fans, to a spectacular showcase of the biggest, best, and most groundbreaking achievements in entertainment and gaming! From blockbuster films and chart-topping albums to legendary video games and unforgettable live performances, these records highlight the creativity, popularity, and sheer scale of what entertains us. Get ready for some mind-blowing numbers!

🎬 Film & Cinema Records

The magic of the silver screen, quantified!

1. Highest-Grossing Film (Worldwide, Unadjusted): Avatar (2009) with over $2.923 billion at the worldwide box office (including re-releases).

2. Most Academy Awards Won by a Single Film: Three films tie with 11 Oscar wins: Ben-Hur (1959), Titanic (1997), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

3. Most Academy Awards Won by an Individual: Walt Disney, who won 26 Oscars, including 4 honorary awards.

4. Most Prolific Film Director (Feature Films): D. W. Griffith directed over 450 films (mostly shorts) in his career. For feature films, Indian director Dasari Narayana Rao directed around 151 films.

5. Most Prolific Film Actor (Credited Roles): Indian actor Brahmanandam holds the Guinness World Record for the most screen credits for a living actor, with over 1,000 films (primarily in Telugu cinema).

6. Largest Film Studio Complex (by area): Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India, covers over 2,000 acres (8.1 km²).

7. Longest Commercially Released Film: The Cure for Insomnia (1987), directed by L.D. Groban, is 85 hours (5,220 minutes) long.

8. Highest Budget Film (Estimated, Net): Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011) had an estimated net production budget of around $379 million (though some claim Avatar: The Way of Water might be higher before tax credits).

9. Most Expensive Film Prop Sold at Auction: The Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964) sold for $6.4 million in 2019. Robby the Robot from Forbidden Planet sold for $5.375 million in 2017.

10. Largest Movie Premiere Attendance: The premiere of Bill & Ted Face the Music (2020) had an online premiere event with over 500,000 virtual attendees due to pandemic restrictions. For physical attendance, some Bollywood premieres in India have seen tens of thousands.

11. Fastest Film to Gross $1 Billion Worldwide: Avengers: Endgame (2019) reached $1 billion in just 5 days.

12. Most Oscars Won by a Foreign Language Film: Parasite (2019, South Korea) won 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture (a first for a non-English language film).

13. Oldest Person to Win an Acting Oscar: Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor for The Father in 2021 at the age of 83 years and 115 days.

14. Youngest Person to Win an Acting Oscar: Tatum O'Neal won Best Supporting Actress for Paper Moon in 1974 at the age of 10 years and 148 days.

15. Highest-Grossing Animated Film: The Lion King (2019 remake) grossed over $1.663 billion worldwide. The original The Lion King (1994) is the highest-grossing traditionally animated film with $968.5 million. Inside Out 2 (2024) had the biggest global animated opening ever with $295M.

📺 Television Records

The power of the small screen and its biggest hits.

16. Longest-Running Scripted Primetime TV Series (U.S.): The Simpsons, which premiered in 1989 and has aired over 750 episodes across more than 35 seasons.

17. Most-Watched Scripted Television Episode (U.S.): The final episode of M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen" (February 28, 1983), was watched by an estimated 105.9 million viewers in the U.S.

18. Most Emmy Awards Won by a Scripted Series: Game of Thrones won a total of 59 Primetime Emmy Awards over its 8 seasons.

19. Most Emmy Awards Won by an Individual: Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus are tied for the most Primetime Emmy acting awards with 8 wins each. Sheila Nevins has the most Primetime Emmys overall with 32 wins (mostly as a producer).

20. Highest-Rated TV Series (IMDb, min 25k votes): Breaking Bad (2008-2013) and Chernobyl (2019) often top lists with average user ratings of 9.5/10 or higher. Band of Brothers (2001) also has a 9.4.

21. Most Expensive TV Series Per Episode (Estimated): Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022) reportedly had a budget of around $58 million per episode for its first season (factoring in rights and initial setup costs). Some seasons of Stranger Things also reportedly cost $30 million per episode.

22. Longest-Running TV Talk Show Host (Same Show): Oprah Winfrey hosted The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 seasons (1986-2011). Johnny Carson hosted The Tonight Show for nearly 30 years (1962-1992).

23. Most-Viewed Livestream Event (Non-Gaming): Major global events like the FIFA World Cup Final or Olympic opening ceremonies attract hundreds of millions, potentially billions, of live and near-live viewers across all platforms. The funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 was watched by an estimated 4 billion+ people globally across various platforms and broadcasts over several days, though single event figures are harder to verify.

24. Largest TV Advertising Audience (Super Bowl): Super Bowl broadcasts in the U.S. regularly attract over 100 million viewers (e.g., Super Bowl XLIX in 2015 had an average of 114.4 million viewers).

25. Most Prolific Television Producer: Aaron Spelling produced over 200 TV series and telefilms, totaling more than 5,000 hours of television.

26. Most Successful TV Crowdfunding Campaign: Mystery Science Theater 3000 revival campaigns on Kickstarter raised $5.7 million (2015) and $6.5 million (2021). Critical Role (a web series) raised over $11.3 million for an animated special.

27. Longest Uninterrupted Live TV Broadcast (Single Event): Election night coverages or major breaking news events can run for 24-48 hours or more continuously on news channels. Specific GWR for this varies.

28. Most Popular Streaming Service (Subscribers): Netflix leads with over 270 million paid subscribers globally as of early 2024.

29. Most Watched Netflix Original Series (First 28 days, by hours viewed): Squid Game (Season 1, 2021) amassed 1.65 billion hours viewed in its first 28 days.

30. Highest Number of TV Sets Per Capita (Country): The United States has historically had one of the highest rates, with an average of over 2 TV sets per household, though this is changing with streaming on other devices.

🎶 Music Records

The soundtrack of our lives, with record-breaking stats.

31. Best-Selling Album of All Time: Michael Jackson's Thriller (1982) with estimated worldwide sales of over 70 million copies (some claims go up to 100 million). Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the best-selling in the US with 38 million certified units.

32. Best-Selling Single of All Time (Physical): Bing Crosby's "White Christmas" (1942) with estimated sales of over 50 million copies worldwide.

33. Most Grammy Awards Won by an Individual Artist: Beyoncé holds the record with 32 Grammy Awards as of 2023. Conductor Georg Solti previously held it with 31.

34. Most Grammy Awards Won by a Group: U2 holds the record for a group with 22 Grammy Awards.

35. Largest Concert Attendance (Single Artist/Group, Ticketed): Rod Stewart's concert at Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, on December 31, 1994, reportedly attracted an audience of 3.5 to 4.2 million people (many free, making verification complex). Vasco Rossi (Italy) holds the record for largest paying audience for a single artist concert with 225,173 tickets sold for his Modena Park concert in 2017.

36. Most Streamed Artist on Spotify (All Time): Drake, with over 90 billion total streams as of early 2025. Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny are also consistently among the top.

37. Most Streamed Song on Spotify (All Time): The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" is the most streamed song, with over 4.2 billion streams as of early 2025.

38. Highest-Grossing Concert Tour (All Time): Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" (2023-2024) became the first tour to surpass $1 billion in revenue, with projections to exceed $2 billion by its end.

39. Longest Concert by a Group: The Kuraybers, a Filipino band, played for 24 hours and 15 minutes in February 2024 in Pampanga, Philippines. For an individual, Kuzhalmannam Ramakrishnan (India) played a mridangam (drum) for 501 hours in 2008.

40. Most Music Videos Watched in 24 Hours (YouTube): BTS's "Dynamite" (2020) achieved 101.1 million views in its first 24 hours. Taylor Swift's "ME!" (2019) had 65.2 million. Records change frequently.

41. Most Valuable Musical Instrument Sold at Auction: The "Lady Blunt" Stradivarius violin sold for $15.9 million in 2011. A viola by Gasparo da Salò, the "Macdonald," was valued at $45 million in 2014 but didn't sell at auction.

42. Artist with Most #1 Hits on Billboard Hot 100: The Beatles, with 20 #1 singles. Mariah Carey has 19.

43. Longest Charting Album on Billboard 200: Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) spent 990 weeks (over 19 years) on the Billboard 200 chart.

44. Fastest Selling Album (U.S., First Week): Adele's 25 (2015) sold 3.38 million copies in its first week in the U.S.

45. Most Expensive Music Video Ever Made: Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson's "Scream" (1995) reportedly cost $7 million to produce (approx. $13 million today).

🎮 Video Gaming Records

The ever-expanding universe of interactive entertainment.

46. Best-Selling Video Game of All Time: Minecraft (released 2011) has sold over 300 million copies across all platforms as of late 2023. Grand Theft Auto V (2013) is second with over 195 million.

47. Best-Selling Video Game Console of All Time: Sony's PlayStation 2 (released 2000) sold over 155 million units worldwide. The Nintendo DS family sold over 154 million.

48. Highest-Grossing Video Game (Single Title, including microtransactions): Games like Honor of Kings / Arena of Valor (Tencent) and PUBG Mobile have generated over $10-15 billion each in lifetime revenue. Grand Theft Auto V has generated over $8 billion from sales and online.

49. Largest Esports Prize Pool: The International 2021 (Dota 2) featured a prize pool of $40,018,195. The Gamers8 festival in 2023 had a total prize pool of $45 million across multiple titles.

50. Most Concurrent Players for a Game on Steam: PUBG: Battlegrounds reached over 3.25 million concurrent players in January 2018. Palworld hit over 2.1 million in January 2024.

51. Longest Video Game Marathon (Single Game): Carrie Swidecki played Just Dance for 138 hours and 34 seconds in 2015. For other genres, records often exceed 100 hours for various games.

52. Most Subscribed Gaming Channel on YouTube: PewDiePie (Felix Kjellberg) was a long-time record holder; MrBeast (who does extensive gaming) has over 270 million subscribers as of May 2025. Fernanfloo also has over 47 million.

53. First Widely Recognized Video Game: Pong, released by Atari in 1972. Spacewar! (1962) predates it but was not commercial.

54. Most Critically Acclaimed Video Game (Metacritic Score, All Time): The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998) holds a Metascore of 99/100. Several games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, and SoulCalibur also achieved 98.

55. Largest In-Game Virtual Concert Attendance: Travis Scott's "Astronomical" concert series in Fortnite (April 2020) attracted 12.3 million concurrent live participants in its first showing, and 27.7 million unique players over 5 shows.

56. Most Expensive Video Game Ever Developed (Estimated): Grand Theft Auto V (2013) and Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) had estimated development and marketing budgets exceeding $265-316 million each. Star Citizen's ongoing development has crowdfunded over $700 million.

57. Most eSports Wins by an Individual Player: Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok (League of Legends) has won 4 League of Legends World Championships and numerous other titles. Johan "N0tail" Sundstein (Dota 2) has won The International twice, earning over $7 million.

58. Fastest Selling Video Game Console at Launch: Sony PlayStation 4 sold over 1 million units in North America within its first 24 hours in November 2013. Nintendo Switch also had a very strong launch.

59. Oldest Competitive eSports Player (Professional): Abbe "DieHardBirdie" Borg (Sweden), a Counter-Strike player, was competing at age 78 in 2019 with the Silver Snipers team.

60. Highest Twitch Peak Concurrent Viewers (Single Streamer): Spanish streamer TheGrefg reached over 2.47 million concurrent viewers during a Fortnite skin reveal in January 2021.

🎲 Tabletop & Traditional Gaming Records

The enduring appeal of non-digital games.

61. Oldest Board Game Discovered: Senet, an ancient Egyptian board game, with boards found dating back to c. 3100 BCE. The Royal Game of Ur dates to c. 2600 BCE.

62. Best-Selling Proprietary Board Game: Monopoly (first marketed by Parker Brothers in 1935) has sold an estimated 275 million+ sets worldwide in over 47 languages.

63. Most Complex Commercially Available Board Game (Often Cited): The Campaign for North Africa (1979) is notorious for its complexity, with a rulebook over 100 pages long and an estimated playtime of 1,500 hours.

64. Largest Trading Card Game Tournament: The Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship often brings together hundreds of qualified players. A 2013 Yu-Gi-Oh! event in Long Beach, California had 4,364 participants for a GWR.

65. Most Expensive Playing Card Sold: A "Pikachu Illustrator" Pokémon card sold for $5.275 million in a private sale brokered in 2021/2022. A "Black Lotus" Magic: The Gathering card (Alpha printing, PSA 10 Gem Mint) sold for $800,000 in 2023.

66. Longest Game of Monopoly: A GWR record involved a game lasting 70 straight days. Underwater and inverted games have also been recorded.

67. Most Participants in a Simultaneous Chess Exhibition: Grandmaster Susan Polgar played against 326 opponents simultaneously in 2005, winning 309, drawing 14, and losing 3.

68. Largest Collection of Board Games (Individual): While hard to verify globally, many collectors own thousands of unique board games. Jeff Bauspies (USA) was reported to have over 3,000 in 2011.

69. Most Successful Board Game Crowdfunding Campaign (Kickstarter): Frosthaven (2020) raised $12,969,608 from over 83,000 backers. Avatar Legends: The Roleplaying Game raised $9.53M.

70. Oldest Continuously Published Role-Playing Game: Dungeons & Dragons, first published in 1974, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024.

🎭 Live Performance & Attractions Records

The thrill of live shows and the allure of themed entertainment.

71. Longest-Running Broadway Show: The Phantom of the Opera, which ran for 35 years from 1988 to April 16, 2023, with 13,981 performances.

72. Longest-Running West End (London) Show: Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, which opened in 1952 and has had over 29,500 performances (still running, with a break for COVID).

73. Highest-Grossing Broadway Show (All Time): The Lion King has grossed over $1.8 billion on Broadway alone since its opening in 1997 (total global gross for stage show is over $8 billion).

74. Largest Amusement Park (by number of attractions/area): Walt Disney World in Florida covers 43 square miles (111 km²) and features 4 major theme parks and 2 water parks. Six Flags Magic Mountain has the most roller coasters (20 as of 2023).

75. Most Visited Theme Park Worldwide (Annual): Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Florida, consistently attracts the most visitors, with around 17-20 million guests in pre-pandemic years (e.g., 20.96 million in 2019).

76. Most Circus Performers in a Single Act: The Moscow State Circus has featured acts with over 100 performers simultaneously (e.g., large acrobatics or ensemble pieces).

77. Tallest Roller Coaster: Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure (New Jersey, USA) is 456 feet (139 meters) tall.

78. Fastest Roller Coaster: Formula Rossa at Ferrari World Abu Dhabi reaches a top speed of 149.1 mph (240 km/h).

79. Most Expensive Stage Production (Broadway): Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2011) reportedly cost around $75 million to produce.

80. Largest Performing Arts Festival (by number of performances): The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland) typically hosts over 50,000 performances of more than 3,000 different shows in a typical year.

🏆 Industry Milestones & Achievements

Pioneering moments and significant overall accomplishments.

81. First Animated Feature Film (Traditional Cel Animation): Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). Lotte Reiniger's The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926, silhouette animation) and Quirino Cristiani's El Apóstol (1917, Argentina, now lost) predate it using other animation techniques.

82. First Commercially Successful Video Arcade Game: Pong (1972) is widely credited, though Computer Space (1971) came earlier with less success.

83. First Music Video Aired on MTV: "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles, aired on August 1, 1981, when MTV launched.

84. Highest Amount Raised by a Crowdfunding Campaign for an Entertainment Product: The Star Citizen video game has raised over $700 million in crowdfunding and sales of in-game ships since 2012 (ongoing).

85. First Feature Film with Synchronized Dialogue: The Jazz Singer (1927), though mostly a silent film, featured synchronized singing and some spoken dialogue.

86. First Full-Length CGI Feature Film: Toy Story (1995) by Pixar Animation Studios.

87. Most People Playing Quidditch (Muggle Quidditch): International Quidditch Association (IQA) World Cups have featured teams from over 30 countries with hundreds of players. A GWR for largest Quidditch game involved 646 participants in 2017.

88. Largest Online Film Festival: The "We Are One: A Global Film Festival" streamed on YouTube in May-June 2020, featuring content from 21 major international film festivals, reaching millions.

89. Most Digital Effects Shots in a Film: Avengers: Endgame (2019) reportedly had over 2,500 visual effects shots. Some Bollywood films also feature very high numbers.

90. First Billion Dollar Entertainment Company: Walt Disney Productions was valued at over $1 billion in the 1980s. Apple and Amazon, heavily involved in entertainment, are now trillion-dollar companies.

91. Most Successful Independent Film (Return on Investment): The Blair Witch Project (1999) was made for an estimated $60,000 and grossed nearly $250 million worldwide. Paranormal Activity (2007) cost ~$15,000 and grossed over $190 million.

92. Largest Simultaneous Global Music Release: Artists like Beyoncé or Taylor Swift have released albums globally on streaming platforms at the exact same moment, reaching tens of millions of listeners within hours. For example, Taylor Swift's "Midnights" (2022) broke Spotify's record for most single-day album streams with 184.6 million.

93. Most Successful Theatrical Magic Show (Box Office): David Copperfield's shows have grossed over $4 billion over his career, selling more tickets than any other solo entertainer.

94. Most Video Game Voice-Over Roles by One Actor: Nolan North is highly prolific, voicing hundreds of characters, including Nathan Drake in Uncharted. Steve Blum holds a GWR for most prolific video game voice actor with over 800 credited roles as of 2023.

95. First Major Film Released Directly to Streaming (Bypassing Theaters due to specific circumstances): Disney's Mulan (2020) was released on Disney+ Premier Access in many markets due to the COVID-19 pandemic for an additional fee of ~$30.

96. Most Awards Won by a Single Video Game: The Last of Us Part II (2020) received over 320 Game of the Year awards from various publications and bodies. Elden Ring (2022) also won over 300.

97. First Esports Athlete to Earn Over $1 Million in Prize Money: Saahil "UNiVeRsE" Arora (Dota 2) was one of the first to surpass this milestone around 2015. Johan "N0tail" Sundstein now has over $7 million.

98. Most Expensive Domain Name for an Entertainment/Gaming Website: Voice.com sold for $30 million in 2019, though broader entertainment/gaming specific top sales are usually lower (e.g., Slots.com $5.5M, Casino.com $5.5M).

99. First TV Show Filmed Entirely in Space: A Russian film crew shot scenes for the movie The Challenge aboard the International Space Station for 12 days in October 2021.

100. Largest Global Entertainment Market by Revenue: The United States remains the largest single market, with total entertainment and media revenues exceeding $800 billion annually. China is second.

This is just a snapshot of the incredible records set in entertainment and gaming. The numbers are always changing as new stars rise and new technologies emerge!

🚧📉 100 Anti-Records & Challenges in Entertainment and Gaming: When the Applause Fades

Welcome, aiwa-ai.com community. While we celebrate the highs of entertainment and gaming, it's also insightful to examine the "anti-records"—the notable failures, controversies, financial disasters, and challenges that mark these industries. These aren't achievements but rather cautionary tales and indicators of issues that creators, companies, and consumers face.

🎬 Cinematic & TV Flops

When the magic misfires on screen.

1. Biggest Box Office Bomb (Largest Estimated Loss, Adjusted for Inflation): Cutthroat Island (1995) is often cited, losing an estimated $147 million (adjusted). Mars Needs Moms (2011) lost around $130-140 million. Mortal Engines (2018) lost an estimated $175 million for Universal.

2. Most Razzie Awards Won by a Single Film: Battlefield Earth (2000) won 7 Razzies at the 2001 ceremony, and later "Worst Drama of Our First 25 Years" and "Worst Picture of the Decade" (2010). Jack and Jill (2011) swept all 10 categories it was nominated for.

3. Most Razzie Nominations for an Actor in a Single Year: Eddie Murphy received 5 Razzie nominations in 2008 for his multiple roles in Norbit.

4. Lowest-Rated Film on IMDb (min. 10,000 votes): Films like Disaster Movie (2008) with a rating of 2.0/10, or Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966) with 1.6/10 (though fewer votes for Manos usually), frequently appear at the bottom. Saving Christmas (2014) also has a 1.5.

5. Shortest-Lived Major Network TV Show (U.S.): Shows like Emily's Reasons Why Not (2006, ABC) or Co-Ed Fever (1979, CBS) were cancelled after just 1 episode aired.

6. Most Expensive Film to Never Be Completed (Significant Production): Superman Lives (late 1990s) had over $30-50 million spent in pre-production before being cancelled. Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote had a famously troubled production for decades, with one attempt in 2000 collapsing after millions spent (though it was eventually made in 2018).

7. Most Complaints to a Regulator About a Single TV Broadcast: The controversial interview with Prince Andrew on BBC Newsnight (2019) received thousands of complaints. Ofcom in the UK often receives tens of thousands of complaints for specific controversial broadcasts (e.g., related to reality TV or news segments). A Celebrity Big Brother incident in 2007 received over 44,500.

8. Largest Opening Weekend Drop-Off for a Major Film (Percentage): Films that are heavily front-loaded or poorly received can drop 70-80% in their second weekend. Collide (2017) dropped 88.5% from an already poor opening.

9. Most Times an Actor Has "Killed" Sean Bean On-Screen: Sean Bean is famous for his characters dying; he has died on screen over 20 times in film and television.

10. Lowest Rotten Tomatoes Score for a Widely Released Film: Many films receive a 0% "Rotten" score (e.g., Gotti (2018), A Thousand Words (2012), Jaws: The Revenge (1987)).

11. Most Expensive Pilot for a TV Series That Wasn't Picked Up: HBO's first Game of Thrones pilot (2009) reportedly cost $10 million and was almost entirely reshot. Other unaired pilots for major networks have cost $5-15 million.

12. Film with Most Continuity Errors Reported: Films like Commando (1985) or older epics are often cited by fans for having dozens or even hundreds of noticeable continuity errors.

13. Shortest Theatrical Run for a Major Studio Film: Some films have been pulled from theaters after only 1 week due to extremely poor performance.

14. Most Overused Movie Trope/Cliche: The "Wilhelm Scream" (a stock sound effect) has been used in over 400 films and TV shows. Other tropes like "the chosen one" or "the mentor dies" appear in thousands of stories.

15. Lowest Box Office Gross for a Film Playing in Over 2,000 Theaters (Opening Weekend): Delgo (2008), an animated film, grossed only $511,920 from 2,160 theaters on its opening weekend. The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure (2012) grossed just $443,901 from 2,160 theaters.

🎶 Musical Misses & Misfortunes

When the rhythm goes wrong.

16. Album with the Biggest Second-Week Sales Drop (from #1 debut, U.S.): Some albums by major artists have experienced 80-90% drops in sales after a heavily hyped first week. For example, Madonna's MDNA (2012) dropped 86.7%.

17. Most Panned Major Concert/Performance: Milli Vanilli's infamous lip-syncing exposure during a live MTV performance in 1989 was a career-ending disaster. Ashlee Simpson's 2004 Saturday Night Live lip-sync gaffe was also widely ridiculed.

18. Artist with Most Grammy Nominations Without a Win in a Single Night: Artists like India.Arie (7 nominations in 2002, 0 wins) or Kendrick Lamar (7 wins out of 11 nominations in 2016, but went 0 for 7 in main categories in 2014) have had tough nights. Brian McKnight holds a record for most nominations (17) without ever winning.

19. Shortest Major Music Festival (Due to Disaster/Cancellation): Fyre Festival (2017) famously collapsed on its opening day due to gross mismanagement, fraud, and inadequate facilities, despite months of hype and thousands of tickets sold (prices ranged from $500 to $12,000 for packages).

20. Most Notorious Lip-Syncing Scandal: Milli Vanilli had their 1990 Grammy for Best New Artist revoked after it was revealed they didn't sing on their records. This involved millions of album sales (Girl You Know It's True sold over 7 million in the US).

21. Lowest Selling Album by a Major Established Artist: While hard to quantify "major," some highly anticipated follow-up albums by previously multi-platinum artists have sold fewer than 50,000-100,000 copies.

22. Most Expensive Failed Musical (Broadway/West End): Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark ($75M budget) struggled immensely but eventually recouped some losses. Dance of the Vampires (2002) reportedly lost its entire $12 million investment in under 2 months on Broadway.

23. Longest Time an Album Was #1 Before Being Knocked Off by Its Artist's Own Newer Album: Guns N' Roses' Use Your Illusion II debuted at #1 knocking Use Your Illusion I (which debuted at #2) in September 1991. Taylor Swift has also achieved similar feats, replacing herself at #1 on various charts multiple times.

24. Most Delayed Album Release (Major Artist, Announced): Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy (2008) was in development for over 14 years with reported production costs exceeding $13 million. The Beach Boys' Smile was famously delayed for decades.

25. Most Infamous Onstage Equipment Malfunction during a Major Performance: During a 1992 Metallica/Guns N' Roses concert in Montreal, James Hetfield (Metallica) suffered severe burns from a pyrotechnic mishap, leading to a riot after GNR cut their set short; damages exceeded $400,000.

26. Highest Fee Paid for a Cancelled Music Festival Headliner: Last-minute cancellations by major headliners can cost festivals millions of dollars in non-refundable fees and lost ticket sales.

27. Most Negative Critical Reviews for a Major Artist's Album: While subjective, albums like Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music (1975) or Kevin Rowland's My Beauty (1999) received overwhelmingly negative reviews upon release, though some later gained cult status.

28. Shortest Time Between a #1 Hit and Career Decline (Major Pop Artist): The music industry is littered with "one-hit wonders" who topped charts once and then faded quickly. Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" (1990) was a massive #1, but his follow-up success was minimal.

29. Most Contentious Artist-Label Dispute Publicized: Prince's dispute with Warner Bros. in the 1990s, during which he changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and wrote "slave" on his face, was highly publicized and lasted for several years.

30. Smallest Crowd for a Major Touring Act (Mistake/Misfortune): The band Spinal Tap (a fictional band, but based on real experiences) famously played to a tiny crowd at an amphitheater due to a booking error in the film This Is Spinal Tap. Real-life examples occur but are less publicized.

🎮 Gaming Gaffes & Failures

When the game just isn't fun, or even playable.

31. Worst-Rated Video Game (Metacritic, All Time, Multiple Platforms): Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (2003) for PC has a Metascore of 8/100. Ride to Hell: Retribution (2013) has a 16/100.

32. Buggiest Major Game Launch: Cyberpunk 2077 (2020) launched with significant performance issues and bugs, especially on older consoles, leading to its temporary removal from the PlayStation Store and refunds being offered; its development cost over $300 million. Fallout 76 (2018) also had a notoriously buggy launch.

33. Longest Game "Development Hell": Duke Nukem Forever was officially in development for 15 years (1996-2011). Beyond Good and Evil 2 was announced in 2008 and is still unreleased as of 2025.

34. Most Expensive Failed Video Game Console: The Atari Jaguar (1993) sold poorly (estimated under 250,000 units) despite a $250 launch price and significant marketing. The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer (1993, $699 launch) also failed to gain traction. The Virtual Boy (1995) sold only around 770,000 units.

35. Biggest Esports Cheating Scandal: The "iBUYPOWER scandal" (2015) in Counter-Strike involved several professional players banned for match-fixing, throwing a match for thousands of dollars in skins. Numerous other scandals involving hacking or doping have occurred.

36. Most Criticized Video Game Monetization Scheme: Star Wars Battlefront II (2017) faced massive backlash for its initial loot box system, which was perceived as "pay-to-win," leading to EA temporarily removing microtransactions and a reported $3 billion+ drop in stock value at one point (though other factors contributed).

37. Largest Financial Loss on a Single Video Game (Estimated): While hard to confirm definitively, games like Shenmue (1999, Dreamcast), which cost an estimated $47-70 million and sold around 1.2 million copies, were considered commercial failures relative to budget. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) cost Atari millions and contributed to the 1983 video game crash.

38. Most Hyped Game That Failed to Deliver (Critical/Commercial Disappointment): No Man's Sky (2016) launched with many promised features missing, leading to widespread disappointment, though it later redeemed itself with numerous updates. Anthem (2019) also failed to meet high expectations.

39. Shortest Lifespan for a Major Online Game Server (Shut Down): Some MMOs or live service games have shut down their servers in under 1-2 years due to low player counts (e.g., Babylon's Fall shut down less than a year after launch in 2023).

40. Most Overpowered/Broken Character on Release (Competitive Game): Numerous characters in games like League of Legends, Overwatch, or fighting games have been released in a "broken" state, dominating gameplay until patched, sometimes for weeks. (e.g., Xin Zhao or Kassadin in early LoL).

41. Largest Number of Game Cartridges Buried in a Landfill: Atari famously buried hundreds of thousands (estimated 728,000) of unsold E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and other game cartridges in a New Mexico landfill in 1983.

42. Worst Peripheral/Accessory for a Console: The Nintendo Virtual Boy (a console itself but a sort of peripheral) with its red monochrome display and reported eye strain is a classic example. The Sega Activator (1993), an octagonal motion controller, was also notoriously unresponsive.

43. Most Clones of a Successful Mobile Game: Hit games like Flappy Bird (2013) or Temple Run (2011) spawned hundreds, if not thousands, of clone apps on mobile stores shortly after their success.

44. Video Game with Most Cut Content Discovered by Fans: Games like Dark Souls or Bloodborne have dedicated communities that unearth large amounts of unused assets, characters, and levels, sometimes amounting to 20-30% of potential content.

45. Lowest User Score for a Major Game on Metacritic (Min. Votes): World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade Classic (2021) received a user score of 0.5/10 from over 4,000 ratings due to server issues and microtransaction controversies at one point. Diablo Immortal (2022) also received very low user scores (e.g., 0.2/10 on PC) due to its monetization.

🎭 Performance Pitfalls & Attraction Issues

When the show doesn't go on, or the ride breaks down.

46. Shortest Run for a Major Broadway Musical (Big Budget, Quick Closure): Moose Murders (1983) famously closed after 1 performance. Carrie: The Musical (1988) closed after only 5 performances on Broadway after a disastrous out-of-town run, losing an estimated $8 million.

47. Most Accidents/Injuries at a Single Amusement Park (Historically, before modern safety standards): Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey (1978-1996), was nicknamed "Class Action Park" and "Traction Park" due to its poorly designed rides and numerous injuries, including 6 reported fatalities over its history.

48. Lowest Attendance for a Major Established Arts Festival (Due to Crisis): Many festivals experienced 90-100% drops in attendance or outright cancellations during the 2020-2021 COVID-19 pandemic.

49. Most Infamous Theatrical Wardrobe Malfunction (Major Event): Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction during the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show in 2004 led to widespread controversy and FCC fines (though the fines were later rescinded).

50. Longest Delay for a Major Theme Park Attraction Opening (After Announcement): Some complex attractions have faced delays of 2-3 years or more beyond their originally announced opening dates due to technical issues or construction problems. Tron Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom was announced in 2017 and opened in 2023.

51. Most Expensive Failed Theme Park: Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, opened in 2008 at a cost of $400 million but closed after just one season due to low attendance and financial issues. It briefly reopened as Freestyle Music Park in 2009 before closing again.

52. Most Technical Difficulties in a Live Awards Show Broadcast: The Oscars and Grammys have had numerous instances of presenters announcing the wrong winner, microphone failures, or teleprompter issues, sometimes for several minutes. The La La Land / Moonlight Best Picture mix-up at the 2017 Oscars was a major example, lasting about 2 minutes 23 seconds before correction.

53. Highest Number of Performer Injuries During a Single Theatrical Production Run: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway was plagued by multiple performer injuries during previews and its run, including 5 major incidents requiring hospitalization, due to its complex aerial stunts.

54. Worst Reviewed Major Theatrical Play/Musical (Modern Era): While subjective, some productions close very quickly after universally scathing reviews, receiving average critic ratings below 20/100. Moose Murders is a classic example.

55. Largest Financial Loss from a Cancelled International Concert Tour: Major tours by global superstars can have insurance policies covering tens of millions, but cancellations due to illness or unforeseen circumstances can still lead to $50-$100 million+ in lost revenue and non-recoupable expenses. Michael Jackson's "This Is It" tour cancellation in 2009 due to his death involved hundreds of millions in potential revenue.

📉 Industry Setbacks & Controversies

Wider issues impacting the entertainment and gaming worlds.

56. Most Pirated Film/TV Series: Game of Thrones was notoriously the most pirated TV show for several years, with some episodes in its later seasons being illegally downloaded over 1 billion times according to some estimates. Major blockbuster films often see tens of millions of illegal downloads within weeks of release.

57. Largest Fine for Copyright Infringement by an Entertainment Company (or related): While individual file-sharers faced large statutory damages (e.g., Jammie Thomas-Rasset ordered to pay $1.92 million, later reduced), large companies have also faced significant settlements. The record industry sued Napster out of its original existence in the early 2000s, a case worth billions in terms of industry impact. Cox Communications was ordered to pay $1 billion to record labels in 2019 (later settled).

58. Longest Hollywood Strike: The Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in 1988 lasted 153 days (5 months). The 2023 WGA strike lasted 148 days. The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike lasted 118 days.

59. Most Significant "Crunch Culture" Exposé in Game Development: Numerous studios like Rockstar Games (for Red Dead Redemption 2), CD Projekt Red (Cyberpunk 2077), and Naughty Dog (The Last of Us Part II) have faced reports of employees working 80-100 hour weeks for extended periods.

60. Largest Data Breach Affecting an Entertainment/Gaming Company: Sony PlayStation Network hack in 2011 compromised personal data of approximately 77 million users and led to a 23-day outage. Twitch had a major data breach in 2021 exposing source code and creator payout data.

61. Most Controversial Depiction of Historical/Social Issues in a Game/Film (Leading to Bans/Protests): Games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ("No Russian" mission) or films like The Birth of a Nation (1915) have sparked immense controversy and calls for censorship due to their content, sometimes for decades.

62. Highest Number of Layoffs in the Gaming Industry in a Single Year: 2023 saw over 10,000 reported layoffs across various game studios and publishers. Early 2024 continued this trend with thousands more.

63. Most Significant Backlash Against an Entertainment Award Show Decision: The Oscars have faced numerous controversies, such as #OscarsSoWhite (2015/2016) for lack of diversity in nominations, leading to significant internal reforms. The 1999 Best Picture win for Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan remains highly debated.

64. Biggest Pay Gap Reported Between Male and Female Co-Stars (Major Film/TV Show): The Mark Wahlberg / Michelle Williams reshoot pay for All the Money in the World (2017) was a stark example; Wahlberg reportedly received $1.5 million while Williams received less than $1,000 (around $80 per diem) for the same 10 days of reshoots.

65. Most Expensive Unused Super Bowl Ad Slot: Companies pay millions for Super Bowl ad time (e.g., $7 million for 30 seconds in recent years). If an ad is pulled last minute or a company goes bankrupt before airing, that slot value is lost.

66. Largest Consumer Boycott of an Entertainment Product (Based on Social/Political Stance): Various films, games, or artists have faced boycott calls impacting sales or viewership by hundreds of thousands or millions of potential consumers (e.g., calls to boycott Disney over specific policies or content).

67. Highest Number of Game Delays for a Single AAA Title: Some major games have been officially delayed 3-5 times or more before release (e.g., Skull and Bones was delayed at least 6 times).

68. Worst A.I. Implementation in a Game Leading to Poor Gameplay: Early AI in many games was rudimentary, leading to predictable enemies or non-functional friendly characters. Aliens: Colonial Marines (2013) was infamous for its poor enemy AI, partly attributed to a typo in the code.

69. Most Significant "Review Bombing" Campaign (Negative User Reviews): Games like The Last of Us Part II or films like Captain Marvel have received tens of thousands of negative user reviews on platforms like Metacritic or Rotten Tomatoes shortly after release, often for reasons unrelated to the quality of the product itself.

70. Largest Theme Park Ride Evacuation (Non-Injury): Major rides can hold hundreds of passengers; a significant technical fault requiring full evacuation can take several hours and cause major park disruption (e.g., breakdowns on large boat rides or monorails).

71. Most Misleading Movie Trailer (vs. Actual Film Content): The trailer for Drive (2011) was cut to seem like a fast-paced action film, leading to some audience members suing for misrepresentation when the film was a more art-house, character-driven neo-noir.

72. Highest Number of Remakes/Reboots of a Single Film/Franchise Considered "Unnecessary" or "Worse" by Critics/Fans: Franchises like Terminator (with 3-4 poorly received reboots/sequels) or numerous horror remakes often face this criticism.

73. Most Abrupt Cancellation of a Highly Anticipated Game/Sequel: Konami's cancellation of Silent Hills (P.T. demo) in 2015, despite immense fan anticipation and critical acclaim for its demo, was a major disappointment.

74. Most Publicized On-Set Feud Between Actors/Director (Major Production): Feuds like Werner Herzog vs. Klaus Kinski (documented in My Best Fiend), or reports of tension on sets like Mad Max: Fury Road (Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy) became Hollywood legends.

75. Worst Preservation of Early Entertainment Media (Film/TV/Games): An estimated 75% of American silent films are lost forever. Many early TV broadcasts were not archived. Early video game source code is also frequently lost.

76. Most Significant Use of Deceptive Marketing for an Entertainment Product: The Fyre Festival's marketing campaign, using supermodels and influencers to promote a luxury festival that didn't exist, involved millions of dollars and resulted in fraud convictions.

77. Largest Unsold Inventory of a Physical Media Format: When HD DVD lost the format war to Blu-ray (around 2008), Toshiba and other companies were left with millions of dollars in unsold players and discs.

78. Most Controversial Use of CGI De-aging or Resurrecting Actors: The use of CGI to bring back deceased actors (e.g., Peter Cushing in Rogue One) or de-age actors extensively (e.g., in The Irishman) has sparked ethical and aesthetic debates, sometimes with visual results costing tens of millions but criticized as falling into the "uncanny valley."

79. Biggest Backlash to a Season Finale of a Popular TV Show: The final season/episode of Game of Thrones (2019) received widespread fan criticism and petitions for a remake, signed by over 1.8 million people. Dexter's original finale (2013) was also heavily criticized.

80. Most Times a Film's Release Date Was Delayed (Major Film): The New Mutants (2020) had its release date changed at least 5 times over nearly 3 years.

81. Worst Product Placement in a Film/TV Show (Most Obtrusive/Out of Place): The film Mac and Me (1988) is infamous for its excessive and blatant McDonald's and Coca-Cola product placement.

82. Most Expensive Music Festival Ticket (General Admission, Non-VIP for a single weekend): Coachella consistently has high prices, with 3-day general admission tickets around $500-$600+ before fees in recent years. Some boutique festivals can be higher.

83. Largest Scale Impersonation/Fraud by an "Artist": The duo Milli Vanilli (Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus) were found to have not sung any of their own vocals on their hit album Girl You Know It's True, which sold over 11 million copies worldwide and won them a Grammy that was later revoked.

84. Most Game Show Scandals Involving Cheating: The quiz show scandals of the 1950s in the US (e.g., Twenty-One) revealed that popular contestants were often given answers in advance, leading to congressional hearings and new regulations; some contestants won the equivalent of millions in today's dollars.

85. Worst Adaptation of a Video Game to Film (Critical Reception): Many video game adaptations like Super Mario Bros. (1993, Rotten Tomatoes score 29%), Street Fighter (1994, 11%), or Alone in the Dark (2005, 1%) are critically panned.

86. Worst Adaptation of a Book to Film (Fan Backlash/Critical Reception): Eragon (2006), The Cat in the Hat (2003), or Percy Jackson films received significant backlash from fans of the books for deviating from the source material and poor execution, often scoring below 30-40% on Rotten Tomatoes.

87. Most Pay-to-Win Accusations in a Mobile Game: Many free-to-play mobile games with loot boxes or aggressive microtransactions face constant accusations of being "pay-to-win," where spending real money gives significant advantages (e.g., Diablo Immortal faced such criticism, with estimates that maxing a character could cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars).

88. Shortest Time a Major Theme Park Remained Open Before Permanent Closure: Hard Rock Park (Myrtle Beach) operated for only about 5 months in 2008 before its initial closure.

89. Most Recycled Plot in Hollywood Films: The "hero's journey" monomyth appears in thousands of films. Specific plots like "underdog sports team wins championship" or "cop seeking revenge for partner's death" have been reused hundreds of times.

90. Largest Discrepancy Between Marketing Budget and Production Budget for a Film: Some smaller independent films may have marketing budgets 2-3 times their production cost to compete. Conversely, some blockbusters have marketing spends of $150-200 million on top of $200-300 million production budgets.

91. Most "Glory Fades" Case of a Child Star: Numerous child actors have struggled with fame, finances, and personal issues after early success, with an estimated 30-40% facing significant difficulties in adulthood according to some industry observers.

92. Worst Special Effects in a Big-Budget Movie: Films like Cats (2019), despite a reported budget of $95 million, were widely ridiculed for their "digital fur technology" and unsettling CGI. The Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2001) is another infamous example of poor early CGI.

93. Most Expensive Copyright Lawsuit Between Entertainment Companies: Disney was sued by Perfect 10, an adult magazine, for copyright infringement; while Perfect 10 lost on many counts, legal battles between major studios (e.g., over character rights or franchise ownership) can involve potential damages and legal fees in the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars. The Disney vs. Fox lawsuit over Marvel character rights pre-acquisition was complex.

94. Lowest Safety Rating for a Major Amusement Park Ride (That Remained Operational for a Period): Rides at Action Park (USA) in the 1980s would likely qualify, given the numerous documented injuries and lack of adherence to later safety standards. Specific numerical safety ratings are usually internal or not publicized if very low.

95. Most Drastic Last-Minute Change to a Film That Negatively Impacted Reception: The theatrical cut of Justice League (2017) was significantly altered from Zack Snyder's original vision, costing an additional $25 million for reshoots under Joss Whedon, and was poorly received by many fans and critics (Metascore 45/100), leading to a years-long campaign for the "Snyder Cut" (which cost another $70M to complete).

96. Largest Number of Game-Breaking Bugs Still Present Years After a Game's Release: Some older, less supported MMOs or complex RPGs can retain significant bugs for 5-10 years or more if not patched.

97. Most Criticized Award Snub in Oscars/Grammys History: Many instances are debated, but notable Oscar snubs include Citizen Kane losing Best Picture (1941), Brokeback Mountain losing to Crash (2006). Grammy snubs include Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D City losing to Macklemore (2014). These events often generate thousands of critical articles and fan petitions.

98. Highest Ticket Price for a Standard Movie Screening (Non-Festival, Non-Premiere): In major cities like New York, London, or Tokyo, premium format (IMAX, Dolby Cinema) evening tickets can exceed $25-$35 USD.

99. Worst Case of "Whitewashing" in a Hollywood Film (Casting White Actors in Non-White Roles): Films like Ghost in the Shell (2017, Scarlett Johansson as Major Kusanagi), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014), or Aloha (2015, Emma Stone as a character of Hawaiian/Asian heritage) faced significant criticism and controversy, impacting box office by an estimated 10-20% in some analyses due to negative press.

100. Most Significant Environmental Impact by an Entertainment Production (Negative): Large film productions can have substantial carbon footprints from travel, set construction, and energy use, sometimes equivalent to thousands of tons of CO2. The filming of Apocalypse Now (1979) in the Philippines involved extensive environmental alteration, including the destruction of parts of a rainforest (though some was replanted).

This list of "anti-records" highlights that for every dazzling success in entertainment and gaming, there are also cautionary tales of missteps, failures, and challenges. These often provide valuable lessons for the industries and consumers alike.