Why It Flopped

@CyborgGoblin ...besides this movie there was also Godzilla, Armageddon, Saving Private Ryan, Lethal Weapon 4, Mulan, etc.
I think you answered your own question by mentioning Saving Private Ryan which, like Small Soldiers, was released in July 1998.

You've got two war movies out in the same month, and Ryan took all the oxygen out of the room.

I remembered another big movie in the Summer of 1998 was The X-Files movie, which came out a few weeks before Small Soldiers but definitely had some serious hype and anticipation. Another big movie during that very competitive Summer movie season and sadly Small Soldiers seemingly just got lost in the mix.

Also looking back there's the advertising and merchandising as well, which I imagine had to be quite big for this movie. I remember the trailers and making-of specials on TV and the toys in the stores. I remember it wasn't until around Halloween time where I live the Commando figures finally started popping up after being so hard to find for months.

The movie's slightly sub-par box office performance was able to recoup the filming budget decently enough but I wonder if it also recouped the advertising and merchandising?

Is it known how much this movie made from the VHS and DVD sales/rentals as well as cable viewings? I remember HBO and Cinemax showed this very frequently back during 1999 and 2000.

Others in the thread have mentioned the marketing, but I think the title and premise were enough for people to think it was a family movie. Since it was rated PG-13, parents didn't know what to do. By the way, me and a friend just saw after having it seen many years ago. Despite seeing it twice (once as an adult), he still considers it a family movie just because he can't look pass the concept.

I remember the Summer of 1998 was very competitive, besides this movie there was also Godzilla, Armageddon, Saving Private Ryan, Lethal Weapon 4, Mulan, etc. so perhaps it inevitably got lost in the shuffle and a lot of potential moviegoers simply overlooked it.

The marketing certainly could've given the movie something of an identity crisis and thus potential moviegoers didn't know what to make of it at the time. Was it a kids' film or more suited for an older audience? Funny thing is nowadays most family films are PG-13 and the rating wouldn't be a deterrant these days. The Summer of 1998 was very competitive so sadly I think this movie had the misfortune or being up against big movies like Armageddon and Lethal Weapon 4. In the subsequent weeks there was also Saving Private Ryan and Mulan. Possibly due to the marketing it had difficulty finding a demographic at the box office.

The political climate at the time could've hurt it too, don't forget it came out during the school shooting epidemic of the late 90s and when movies, music, video games, etc. came under fire for influencing real-life violence (which I've always found to be total BS and a scapegoat). Even though the movie is tongue-in-cheek and comical with it's violence, perhaps a movie depicting children and teens in danger was something that hit too close to home at the time for some audiences. It was much like how right after 9/11 and the Iraq war films dealing with war and terrorism weren't popular at the box office for a good while, just something that's an uncomfortable reminder of something real going on.