wash its face

present singular third person washes its face · participle present washing its face · participle past washed its face · past washed its face

1. informalTo pay for itself; to make enough revenue to cover the costs of its production.

   The Axeman movie had barely washed its face at the box office, and was already expected to suffer a reboot.

   2017, Tim Walker, Smoke Over Malibu, page 115

   1 more example

   At a cost of around $130 million, the film needed to take at least $260 worldwide to wash its face at the box-office.

   2014, Mark Kermode, Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics, page 259