23 Movies Everyone Thought Would Be Huge That Majorly Flopped
We're all guilty of it. We see a movie trailer. We get hyped. Then, we get let down. We all have different opinions, but sometimes, the majority shows in ratings or box office numbers. There have been numerous hyped-up films that have fallen flat among audiences.
Here are 23 movies that had MAJOR hype but flopped hard:
1. John Carter
Before Disney acquired the Star Wars franchise and before they released Guardians of the Galaxy, the big budget sci-fi vision of John Carter launched.
The film was quite popular overseas, but didn't get enough of a cult following, nor good reviews, to warrant anything beyond the lone film. It didn't help that the budget was a staggering $250 million.
3.
Warner Bros. Pictures / giphy.com
The hype was real for the follow-up to Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman. The first film made $823 million worldwide, and the sequel only made $169 million worldwide. Enough said.
There was so much that went wrong with 1984, but it's safe to say veering away from what worked in the first one was a huge factor in its shortcomings. This failed sequel totally derailed the one good thing going for the DC Universe.
4. The Lone Ranger
Walt Disney Pictures
With Jerry Bruckheimer and Johnny Depp back together after the success of the Pirates of the Caribean franchise, The Lone Ranger seemed like it would be the next funny adventure flick with a big budget.
Along with the controversial casting of Depp as Tonto, the movie just didn't get the same following as the Pirates movies. Box office numbers were fine, and it made its money back worldwide, but I'm sure Disney wasn't happy with just breaking even.
5. Speed Racer
Warner Bros. Pictures
Fast cars. Intense action. John Goodman with a mustache. This movie had fun written all over it.
With a campy story and even campier CGI, general audiences couldn't accept this as a family film, causing it to flop. That, and a lot of other flaws. It did gain a fanbase that swears by this movie, but the majority had spoken, causing a net loss of an estimated $30 million.
7. Pan
Warner Bros. Pictures
What can I say about Pan?
The movie didn't have happy thoughts and failed to take off. With a whopping $150 million budget, the film grossed only $129 million internationally. It also included an infamous rendition of the Nirvana song "Smells Like Teen Spirit," which made as much sense as making a Peter Pan origin story.
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8. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword
Warner Bros. Pictures
Ren Faire peeps...ASSEMBLE! Medieval flicks have an underrated aesthetic in cinema, so an action-packed King Arthur movie sounded like easy money for a blockbuster.
What the hell went wrong? Marketing? Perhaps the supernatural elements hurt the movie along with the unengaging story. Whatever the reasoning was, this $175 million film had a domestic opening weekend of $15million. YIKES.
9. Mulan
Walt Disney Pictures / giphy.com
Disney decided to bring the popular animated film Mulan to live-action. No way it was a cash grab, though, right?
I'll say this. It had a ton of flaws, but its worst sin (and I said this after seeing the trailers for the first time) is that Disney took a grounded character known for showing a young girl who could use her wit and passion to win the day into a supernatural crap show.
10. Dolittle
Universal Pictures
Robert Downey Jr. in the legendary role of the title character should've been enough to pull kids in to this adventure flick with talking animals. Iron Man AND talking animals? How did this not work?
Perhaps the pandemic is to blame, but I'd also blame marketing, because this film flew under the radar. The film was a bust domestically with a $175 million budget, only making $77 million. I personally forgot it existed, so I would DEF blame the pandemic.
11. Jupiter Ascending
Warner Bros. Pictures
A sci-fi love story? Sign us up. That's what people thought, at least, with the release of Jupiter Ascending, but it fell short on delivering what the trailer had promised.
Another sci-fi bomb? You bet. The film never really found legs with viewers and was a mixed bag of everything from effects, acting, and writing that left fans disappointed.
12. Ghost in the Shell
Paramount Pictures
The original 1995 animated cyberpunk film is considered one of the best Japanese animations ever. A US adaptation with a big star like Scarlett Johansson sounds like it would become the next sci-fi hit.
The film was troubled from the start, with accusations of whitewashing the lead role. Johansson's star power wasn't enough to make this a hit at the box office, making $40 million domestically on a $110 million budget. Critics and audiences alike gave the film a big thumbs down. So, like everything on this list, a movie has to deliver quality no matter how "can't miss" the concept is.
13. A Wrinkle in Time
Walt Disney StudiosMotion Pictures / giphy.com
A Wrinkle in Time is widely regarded as one of the most popular children's books ever written. So with a talented director like Ava DuVernay and an impressive cast, it should've been a hit.
It's always easier said than done when it comes to transforming pages into a talking picture. The film didn't pull enough kids in to make it one of those classic children's book adaptations. It made an embarrassing total of $33.3 million on a $103 million budget.
14. Mortal Engines
Universal Pictures
Everyone wants to stick the landing on the big-money Young Adult fiction adaptation. Mortal Engines looked very promising. It seemed to check many boxes for what works in a blockbuster.
Overall, the story and move to the big screen weren't enough to garner a legitimate fanbase for the cinematic adaptation. The movie failed to meet its budget ($100 million) at the box office, losing almost $20 millon worldwide.
15. Gemini Man
Paramount Pictures
I love a good sci-fi action movie, and Gemini Man looked very original. Ang Lee, Will Smith, and a slowed version of the song "Forever Young" in the trailer made everything about Gemini Man feel like a blockbuster waiting to happen.
The film failed to capture a domestic audience. It made $48.5 millon in the States from a $138 million budget.
16. Suicide Squad (2016)
Warner Bros. Pictures / giphy.com
The moment the trailer dropped, people were already ready to love this movie. It had all the trappings of something people would obsess over back in the "Tumblr Internet" days.
Oof. The film didn't quite stick the landing. The script was filled with memes, including a performance by Jared Leto that I would best describe as a person doing a Heath Ledger Joker impression by memory after watching Ace Ventura.
17. Napoleon
Sony Pictures / giphy.com
After the success of Joker, Academy Award-winning Actor Joaquin Phoenix was cast to play Napoleon Bonaparte, which sounded like a slam dunk and Oscar Bait 101. Oh, and Ridley Scott was at the helm.
The unofficial budget was estimated to range from $130 million to $200 million, and the film made $61 million domestically. Besides the movie not being well-received by critics and audiences, one has to wonder if international figures in an expensive epic will ever do well in the states.
18. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
20th Century Fox / giphy.com
Woo! An adaptation that honors the source material!
I'll keep this one short. The 2010 Percy Jackson movie was one of the most despised kid's books ever to hit the silver screen.
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19. Clash of the Titans
Warner Bros. Pictures
How do the Titans clash? With a sick trailer with wild visuals. The promise of a reimagined classic. Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes. What the hell could go wrong?
A lot, apparently. Perhaps it was a mix of the story and the acting, but the movie was far from critically acclaimed despite earning enough for a sequel.
20. The Losers
Warner Bros. Pictures
Action movies were HUGE at the start of the turn of the century, and the adaptation of the popular Vertigo comic book series The Losers had all the trappings of a hit. The cast was loaded with big names at the time, such as Jeffery Dean Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Idris Elba, and Chris Evans.
Despite being a cheap film to make at $25 million, it failed to make it back domestically ($23.6 million). The rag-tag-team formula worked for many other action/adventure flicks, which would truly take off with the release of Guardians of the Galaxy four years later, but this movie failed to bring in an audience.
21. The Last Airbender
Paramount Pictures
The film adaptation of the popular Nickelodeon show boasted a live-action trailer that screamed potential with impressive CGI for the time and the right vibes for the big screen.
The final product wasn't great, but much criticism could go toward cramming a season's content into one film. The casting choices also earned plenty of criticism for white-washing. Although it made its money back worldwide, the film didn't break even domestically, earning about $132 million on a $150 million budget.
22. Prometheus
20th Century Fox
You had to be there for the hype surrounding this movie trailer. It seemed to offer a bold new vision for the prequel to the Alien franchise.
Despite the film earning a sequel, the story left fans of the original franchise disappointed. Overall, the film left more questions than answers for the hardcore fans. It wasn't a box office flop worldwide but failed to meet its $130 million budget domestically (earning $126 million domestically).
23. And lastly, The Wolfman
Universal Pictures / giphy.com
This howling period piece brought impressive effects and makeup that presented the Wolfman in a terrifying new light. The film was promoted well and the hype for the classic movie monsters returned to horror circles.
For whatever reason, the movie did not connect with fans. The film pulled an abysmal $61.9 million domestically from a $150 million budget. I'll never forgive society for not getting behind this film and getting the Universal Monsters in the same style. Watch the extended edition!
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