I would say a game like LOTR: war in the north would probably be okay...Not saying it will make a profit but i dont think heads will roll. despite the bad sales.
The main problem occurs when publishers have a high expectancy for a certain game to do well, and because of this expectancy they give a fairly big budget. Then the game flops and doesnt meet the expected sales, thats when bad stuff happens. The budget doesnt get covered and the studio ends up in a financial mess.
But i cant imagine anybody involved in LOTR: war in the north having high expectations, which would result in a suitable budget, with lower sales expectations and much easier targets to meet to break even or make a profit.