Historical clue formulations

• Tell jokes to total silence, say — 2026-07-07
• Fail spectacularly, as on Broadway — 2025-02-10
• Total dud — 2023-05-18
• Fail badly at the box office — 2022-08-15
• Go over terribly with an audience — 2021-07-13
• Fail spectacularly — 2021-03-19
• Fail big-time — 2016-03-22
• Box-office dud — 2015-01-14
• Flame out — 2014-12-07
• Zero-star movie — 2014-05-25
• Flop — 2012-05-30
• Crash and burn — 2011-11-29
• Fail miserably — 2010-06-28
• *Dud — 2010-03-02
• Lay an egg — 2010-01-16
• "Ishtar" or "Heaven's Gate," famously — 2008-06-18
• Complete flop — 2007-04-16
• Total flop — 2007-02-12
• 0-star movie — 2006-11-29
• Fail miserably — 2006-05-10
• Less than a one-star movie — 2005-08-24
• Turkey — 2005-08-12
• Hit's opposite — 2005-05-22
• Screen flop — 2005-04-06
• Long, high pass — 2003-07-15
• Long pass — 2002-06-05
• Long pass — 2001-03-21
• Big flop — 2000-10-10
• Fiasco — 1999-05-13
• Clunker — 1999-02-17
• Lay an egg — 1998-04-11
• Drop explosives on — 1994-10-24