So let’s look at six movies from different genres that either tried to start or continue a franchise. And we will look at the various reasons why these films failed to spark enthusiasm for their brands. 

1. Dredd (Comic Book Movie)

Dredd proves that not all failed franchise starters are bad. Following Judge Dredd and rookie Judge Anderson on a mission to bring down the head of a Highrise crime syndicate, the film was a gloriously fun and violent alternative to most comic book movies of the time. Unfortunately, Judge Dredd was too obscure a character for mainstream audiences. Along with this, it had generally poor marketing which meant it didn’t make its budget back. Many critics also derided it for having a similar plot to “The Raid“. Nevertheless, Dredd gained a loyal cult following whose hopes for a franchise will never be dashed. 

2. Halloween 3: Season of The Witch (Horror)

After definitively ending Michael Myers’ story in Halloween 2 the producers decided to make the series into an anthology. With each entry telling a different Halloween-themed story. This time focusing on an evil businessman’s plans to destroy the youth of America using masks that kill the wearers when a certain advert is watched. But this attempted change failed. Audiences were confused by the lack of Michael Myers, critics saw it as generally bad and it made less than either of its predecessors. Because of this lack of success, the anthology franchise was scrapped in favour of reviving Myers. A disappointing end for an amazing idea. 

3. Batman and Robin (Superhero)

The film that killed the Batman film franchise for almost a decade. Despite being a fun romp about the ever-growing Bat-Family working together to beat Mr. Freeze and Poison Ivy, it was despised by audiences and critics. With reasons ranging from the change of tone from the darker Tim Burton films to the inclusion of aesthetics more potentially appealing to LGBTQIA audiences. This outcry and the overall poor financial reception led to the cancellation of the planned sequel “Batman Unchained“. Ending the then-current Batman series until the Batman Begins reboot 8 years later.

4. The Last Airbender (Fantasy)

Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the most beloved animated shows ever made. And Nickelodeon Movies certainly hoped its success would translate to film. A three-movie series following the tale of Airbender Aang and his companions was planned. Unfortunately, The Last Airbender underperformed in cinemas, and it displeased everyone. Fans hated the film’s handling of the show’s story. And casual viewers, as well as critics, found the film to be a poorly put-together slog. Snuffing out any hope of the live-action films continuing.

5. John Carter (Sci-fi)

Nothing quite kills a potential franchise like being one of the biggest box office flops of all time. Despite having a middling rather than a hostile reception by audiences and critics John Carter lost over £87 million during its run, which ended any hope for future adaptations of John Carter’s adventures on Mars. According to writer Michael Sellers, the marketing sank the film by not driving home connection to its book source material. Ironically saying the film would have faired better if it was more open about its intentions to start a franchise.

6. Carry On Columbus (Comedy)

The Carry On films were never high art and by today’s standards contain more than a few offensive moments and attitudes. But they always found a way to entertain audiences with their double entendres and funny performances. Until Carry On Columbus. The 31st series entry follows the fictionalised life of the eponymous coloniser. It was released 14 years after Carry On Emmanuel (itself quite poorly received). The film flopped. Additionally, it failed with audiences and was dubbed the “worst British film ever” in a 2004 British film workers’ poll. We have seen no other series entries since. It’s safe to say the series ended because the world had moved on from Carry On’s brand of comedy.

Those are just a few movies that sent their franchises to the grave. Did we miss any big franchise killers? Please let us know.

Also Read: How To Revive A Franchise After Many Years

The post Film Franchise Graveyard: Movies That Killed Off Their Own Franchise appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.

Today we’re going to look at the 10 movies that lost the most money at the worldwide box office. We will compare their expenses with their takings, according to the-numbers.com (using Google to convert the figures into pounds), to see how much they lost (as of 28/1/20). As well as getting to know a little about the movies in question. Let’s begin.

10. The Promise (2016)

Expenses: $99,886,000 (£76,399,615)

Box office: $6,230,913 (£4,765,827)

Loss: $93,655,087 (£71,633,788)

A love story set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, prior to the Armenian Genocide, The Promise‘s main financier (Kirk Kerkorian) never intended to make a profit with the film, instead, the film attempts to simply tell a narrative of the tragedy that wasn’t influenced by the Turkish government.

9. Jupiter Ascending

Expenses: $206,582,000 (£158,007,982)

Box office: $110,744,962 (£84,705,289)

Loss: $95,837,038 (£73,302,693)

The movie about a young woman who discovers her intergalactic royal heritage and fights against evil corporations wanting to destroy earth was intended to launch a new franchise that was not directly based on pre-existing work, though the Wachowski’s drew from sources like The Odyssey and The Wizard of Oz.

8. 47 Ronin

Expenses: $189,988,000 (£145,315,761)

Box office: $93,228,679 (£71,307,643)

Loss: $96,759,321 (£74,008,118)

The Hollywood retelling of the Japanese tale of 47 masterless samurai who set out to avenge their master primarily featured a cast of Japanese actors in the starring roles. However, executives chose to give Keanu Reeves more scenes to capitalize on his star power. Unfortunately, that didn’t pay off.

7. How Do You Know?

Expenses: $140,454,000 (£107,428,784)

Box office: $35,567,289 (£27,204,285)

Loss: $104,886,711 (£80,224,499)

This ensemble, romantic comedy accrued around $50 million of its expenses from paying for its cast and directors’ salaries. Reese Witherspoon received $15 million for appearing in the film, Jack Nicholson – $12 million, Owen Wilson – $10 million, Paul Rudd – $3 million and director/writer/producer James L. Brooks earned $10 million.

6. Jack the Giant Slayer

Expenses: $228,504,000 (£174,775,420)

Box office: $123,521,590 (£94,477,724)

Loss: $104,982,410 (£80,297,696)

A contemporary reimagining of Jack & the Beanstalk, Jack the Giant Slayer had much disagreement behind the scenes regarding who the movie’s audience should be. Eventually, the movie was released with a 12 rating and was considered too dark for kids but too childish for adults. Which explains why it didn’t find a bigger audience.

5. Monster Trucks

Expenses: $149,450,000 (£114,309,538)

Box office: $39,948,907 (£30,555,645)

Loss: $109,501,093 (£83,753,893)

Paramount Pictures’ tale of a young boy who befriends a monster living inside his truck was to be originally released in May 2015 but got pushed back many times, eventually releasing in January 2017 with middling to negative reception.

4. Deepwater Horizon

Expenses: $189,348,000 (£144,826,245)

Box office: $78,201,830 (£59,814,085)

Loss: $111,146,170 (£85,012,160)

Based on the real-world oil rig explosion, unlike other movies on this list, Deepwater Horizon received good reviews from audiences and critics. Many blame the film’s marketing for its failure. Which made the film look like a heroic disaster movie and didn’t attempt to address the incident’s far-reaching consequences.

3. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

Expenses: $199,580,000 (£152,652,375)

Box office: $84,928,297 (£64,958,945)

Loss: $114,651,703 (£87,693,430)

Guy Ritchie’s King Arthur adaptation at one stage in its development was pitched as the beginning of a King Arthur cinematic universe, with six films planned. Apparently, this films final script was a mash-up of several ideas from unmade King Arthur projects.

2. John Carter

Expenses: $295,824,000 (£226,266,341)

Box office: $180,857,835 (£138,332,389)

Loss: $114,966,165 (£87,933,952)

An adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom books (noted as influences for Superman and Star Wars) has been planned since the 1930s. When the film failed at the box office author Michael D. Sellers blamed it on the movie’s marketing not mentioning Mars or Edgar Rice Burroughs, therefore not alerting audiences to its source material.

1. Mars Needs Moms

Expenses: $170,166,000 (£130,154,545)

Box office: $26,754,696 (£20,463,814)

Loss: $143,411,304 (£109,690,731)

When Martians abduct a young boy’s mother he goes on a dangerous journey to get her back. This is considered the worse financial loss in history for a Disney branded film.

So ends our look at films all time 10 biggest money losers. Let’s hope the new decade doesn’t bring any financial failures as big as these movies.

Also Read: Why James Cameron’s Avatar Sequel Has Come At The Right Time

The post The Biggest Financial Film Flops appeared first on Big Picture Film Club.