wash its face

wash its face (third-person singular simple present washes its face, present participle washing its face, simple past and past participle washed its face)

1. (informal) To pay for itself; to make enough revenue to cover the costs of its production.
   • 2014, Mark Kermode, Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics, page 259:

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

   • 2017, Tim Walker, Smoke Over Malibu, page 115:

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