The biggest Hollywood flop ever was filmed in Michigan

Consider yourself lucky if you’ve never heard of the Ooigieloves in Big Balloon Adventure, let alone seen them for even a minute. This stunning 2009 Michigan film was filmed over four weeks in Farmington Hills, Shelby Township, Canton, Waterford Township, and Holland.

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On paper, this looked like a “can’t-miss” box office hit with its stocky cast and the Hollywood machine behind it. Well, you made a mistake and you did it in a historic way.

Despite having marketing experts from “Teletubbies” and “Thomas the Tank Engine” working on the film, as well as Cloris Leachman, Christopher Lloyd, Cary Elwes, Chazz Palminteri, Toni Braxton, and Jimmie Pressley, the film manages to get dated. Historical. Lowest ‘wide’ opening ever.

RELATED: 10 movies about Michigan that weren’t filmed in the state

A “wide” opening or release is a film that opens in more than 2,000 theaters, and Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure set a record, grossing just $443,901 in its opening weekend of August 29, 2012.

According to MLive, they received $3.9 million in tax incentives for spending $9.8 million in Michigan while filming the movie. Unfortunately for Hollywood, The Oogieloves only grossed $1.1 million at the box office, making this a huge write-off for the studio.

Michigan made Oogieloves and The Big Balloon Adventure did well at the box office

The Oogieloves and the Big Balloon Adventure follows the three main characters, Zoozie, Goobie and Toofie, as they search for five balloons that were meant to be a gift for a friend but were lost when they popped. The friends get help from a talking vacuum cleaner and fish (no, I’m not making this up).

Their adventures take them all over the city, and occasionally a familiar Michigan location will appear. Some scenes were filmed during the Tulip Festival in the Netherlands.

Remember that if you decide to watch this movie, it is intended for children, and even they might not like it. A quartet called The Gel Caps, a singing group from Jackson, Michigan, tapped to the sounds of four of the balloons. The group, which has since disbanded, consisted of Andrew Gurney, Mike Reed, Tim Richardson and Steven Tucker.

Related: Wow! More Hollywood movies at this Michigan location than anywhere else

I reached out to Mike Reed and asked him what it was like to be part of Hollywood’s historically worst opening; Here’s what he said: “For me, there’s a blessing in not having my name in the credits. It also helped me get the six scores for Kevin Bacon.”

Mike, I checked, and your name is in the credits. Sorry to be the one to tell you.

Theaters not located at Drive-In: Burnside and Saginaw

Ten other former theaters in Michigan