Thursday Movie Picks: Blockbuster Flops
1) Poseidon
This remake of The Poseidon Adventure ate a 77 million lose. I don't think it's good by any means, but it was entertaining enough.
2) Blade Runner 2049
Blade Runner may have a bit of a cult following but apparently the masses were not ready for a nearly 3 hour sequel. That's a shame, because 2049 was really good and beautifully shot.
3) Peter Pan (2003)
So Peter Pan has been done....a lot. But 2003's live action version is a lot better than it gets credit for and it lost 70 million.
Blade Runner 2049 was really good but it's kinda amazing they got this much money for it. I hope Dune does well. I may not like Villeneuve's movies like everyone else but at least he does fairly original and daring stuff
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point, they had a hell of a budget for it. Dune in general doesn't interest me at all, but I want it to do well for Villeneuve and the rest of the cast.
DeleteI haven’t seen Poseidon in such a long time but I remember it was entertaining. So much so that I watched it several times.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't remember a lot from it either only that I didn't hate it.
DeleteI'm guilty of skipping the new Blade Runner because of the length! I'll get round to it eventually, I promise.
ReplyDeletelol no judgement here, I always take run time into account when I'm going to a movie that I'm not dying to see.
DeleteI have to see Blade Runner because I heard it is excellent. I saw Poseidon and thought it was ok but love the original one much better. I have seen pieces of this Peter Pan which didn't look too bad at all but I have not seen the whole thing which i want to do one day
ReplyDeleteBlade Runner is great, highly recommend!
DeleteI love love Peter Pan. It is such a magical charming movie.
ReplyDeleteBlade Runner 2049 - The movie looks gorgeous but storywise I was disappointed. I definitely prefer the original.
I prefer 2049 but probably because it's gorgeous.
DeleteI've seen all of these. Poseidon sucked ass though Peter Pan was OK. Blade Runner 2049 is fucking great though it's not much of a surprise that it didn't do well financially.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think that length definitely didn't mesh well with the original crowd.
DeleteGreat list! I also liked the 2003 version of Peter Pan and it didn't deserve to be a bomb.
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Thursday Movie Picks!
Ronyell @ The Surreal Movies and TV Blog
I'm glad someone else appreciates it too lol
DeleteI hate, loathe and despise this version of Poseidon. It has such an ugly spirit totally corrupting the original's feeling that though the survivors might squabble they were all in the struggle to make it out together. That was the what made the film stand out. I could have not cared less if those hateful animals in the remake lived or died.
ReplyDeleteI thought this version of Peter Pan had nice imagery but just didn't capture the audience's wonder as the tale should.
I wasn't crazy about the first Blade Runner so never felt a pull to see this new one.
This was a fun week since many catastrophic titles came to mind but I was pleased (though I'm sure the makers weren't) to discover that my first is the record holder for the biggest money loser ever!
Cutthroat Island (1995)-Morgan Adams (Geena Davis) inherits her late buccaneer father's galleon and one-third of a map to buried treasure located on Cutthroat Island. The map had been tattooed on her father's scalp, and to find the treasure, she must locate and scalp his two brothers. But Morgan's swashbuckling uncle, Dawg Brown (Frank Langella), wants the treasure for himself, and does battle with his headstrong niece and her unwilling accomplice, Latin-speaking physician William Shaw (Matthew Modine). Really not a bad film, it’s no masterpiece but an okay action flick but its production was deeply troubled and delayed ending up costing somewhere in the vicinity of 115 million 1995 dollars and grossing merely 10 million in the States. Adjusted for inflation it is in the Guinness Book of World Records as the biggest money loser of all-time with a loss of $148 million. Star Geena Davis was married (not for long) to the film’s director Renny Harlin.
Heaven’s Gate (1980)-In 1870 Jackson County, Wyoming a battle erupts between the area's poverty-stricken immigrants and its wealthy cattle farmers. Sheriff James Averill (Kris Kristofferson), tries to strike a balance but the politically connected ranch owners fight the immigrants with the help of mercenary Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken). While the battle rages Champion competes with Averill for the love of local madam Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). It’s nearly four hour runtime is a trial even though it has some beautiful images. Michael Cimino’s infamous follow up to The Deer Hunter was plagued by his ego run amok and cost overruns. Originally budgeted for 11 million (48 million today) its eventual cost of 44 million ($190 mill in current dollars) and box office take of only 3 million (12 million) caused the collapse of United Artists studio.
Supernova (2000)-When Nightingale 229, a deep space hospital ship, answers an emergency distress signal from a distant galaxy, the crew (including James Spader, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster and Lou Diamond Phillips) soon finds itself in danger from the mysterious young man (Peter Facinelli) they rescue, the alien artifact he smuggled aboard and the gravitational pull of a giant star about to go supernova. Once again an extremely troubled production period (three directors came and went, the original director twice!) the film’s budget was 90 million (135 million today) and tanked on release taking in a little under 15 million (22 million) worldwide.
I don't remember the Poseidon character being particularly hateful but it's been so long since I've seen it. I haven't seen any of your picks this week, though I've read about Cutthroat Island.
ReplyDeleteBlade Runner 2049 almost made my list too if I hadn't thought about the "made less than its budget" factor. I think it made a bit more, but still, flopped. Which is a shame. It's a beautiful looking movie, and even tho it does drag A LOT it doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. I mean BlackKklansman almost put me to sleep and critics LOVED it. What's that about!?
ReplyDeleteI loved Blackklansman lol. Gotta love how diverse we all are in our tastes.
DeleteNice picks! Poseidon isn't a great remake, but I prefer it more than the original. Mostly because the cast is all in on the bad script and make it really entertaining.
ReplyDelete*insert awesome baby meme* If Ryan doesn't announce a new movie soon, I'm not gonna make it. lol He was so beautiful in Blade Runner 2049.
That's how I feel about JGL. WHERE ARE MY NEW MOVIES?!
DeleteI've been rewatching 3rd Rock from the Sun recently and can't believe how far he's retired from making more movies. He seems like an old soul who doesn't fit the Hollywood scene.
DeleteHe's got some things coming out next year but most of his focus is on hitRECord and I just miss him.
DeleteThe Blade Runner sequel really blew me away and it's a shame it didn't do better. I think a lot can be attributed to them not catering to modern day big budget demands. Interestingly the original Blade Runner didn't fare well either.
ReplyDeleteThat's true, that one got popular on VHS, it seems like.
DeleteTotally with you on the Blade Runner remake, its a pity it flopped as I freakin loved it. Perhaps (GASP!) better than the original? In certain ways I think, in other way though no - the original is much much darker, and I like dark. Plus that replicant with the blonde hair was brilliant and super creepy =D
ReplyDeleteI think it's far better than the original too, but I didn't grow up loving that one like a lot of people did.
DeleteWas Blade Runner 2049 a flop? When it came out a lot of people were talking about it....I saw it, too, although it definitely could have been shorter. Maybe that's why not a lot of people rushed to see it
ReplyDeleteI think you can add the 2015 Pan film to the list, too, it had bad reviews and I don't think it had a huge box office
Technically 2049 didn't make any money back, so it was a flop. None of these films on my list made money.
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