It is often said that the modern age has too many forms of entertainment (streaming services, Youtube, etc.) fighting for everyone’s limited free time. There is some truth to this, but one thing to consider is that it is not necessarily a new problem, especially when it comes to cinema. History is littered with movies that are fondly remembered, but bombarded at the box office.
While it would be nice to think that every great movie has made a fair amount of money for its troubles, the truth is not that simple. There are a variety of reasons why a movie can be a financial failure, but most of the time it’s because these movies have to share release windows with absolutely overwhelming competition.
10 Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Struggles to Stand Out
Given that the movie was made from scratch to be a love letter to geek culture, full of inside video game jokes and deadpan, awkward humor, one could argue that Scott Pilgrim vs. the world it was always destined for cult status. Regardless, he deserved a lot more than the box office showing he made, earning just $ 30 million on a $ 60 million budget.
Its poor performance was due, in large part, to its premiere in the summer of 2010, a time when other much more anticipated releases such as Toy Story 3, Shrek Forever After, Despicable Me, Y Start he had already taken the world by storm.
9 Atlantis: the Lost Empire failed to capture its core audience
2001 was a time of change in the animation industry. The Disney Renaissance of the 90s had passed, the audience of that time was greater and companies wanted to recover that audience with more mature stories. Atlantis: the lost empire it was a creative gamble on Disney’s part, an abrupt departure from the fairy tales and magical stories for which they were known.
It wasn’t worth it, as the movie only made $ 186 million against its $ 120 million budget. The movie was well reviewed and may have ended up being a hit if it weren’t for Shrek released just a couple of weeks earlier, complete with gross humor, CGI animation, the exciting new animation technique at the time, and, unlike Atlantis the ability to take direct photos of the same fairy tale aesthetic that Disney had popularized.
8 The big Lebowski drowns
Released in 1998, very shortly after the release of the wildly successful Fargo, The big lebowski it was set to be another big hit for the Coen brothers. In the end, however, the film ended its box office streak with $ 18 million, just barely topping its reported $ 15 million budget.
Critics at the time enjoyed the film, and it was released in the spring, a relatively quiet time of year in terms of movie releases. However, many attribute the previous year Titanic, which had established itself as a cultural touchstone and was still going strong at the time, from the disappointing performance of this film.
7 Kubo & The Two Strings is overwhelmed by their competition
Kubo and the two strings is a tale full of magic, monsters and mythology from LAIKA, known for making Coraline, Corpse Bride, ParaNorman and other critically acclaimed films. Kubo it got its fair share of publicity ahead of its release, with audiences praising its unique art style, original music, and grander premise than previous LAIKA films.
Unfortunately, this movie would be out in the summer of 2016, a very busy time, especially for animation. This movie had to deal with a number of major releases, including Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets, Zootopia and, the movie everyone had to see that summer, Captain America: Civil War. For a time, it was LAIKA’s worst-performing movie, earning just $ 77.5 million against a budget of $ 60 million.
6 The iron giant can’t find an audience
Often considered one of the best animated films of all time, The iron Giant offered a quieter version of the narration in animation. Released in 1999, the end of the Disney Renaissance, a time when animated films were more or less expected to have some radical magical elements, Iron Giant offered a calmer story about friendship and the nature of humanity. In many ways, it went against the grain by the standards of the time, and if it had found a more open release date, more people might have been willing to check it out.
Unfortunately, 1999 also saw the release of Disney Tarzan which made almost $ 450 million, completely overwhelming The iron Giant, which only made $ 31 million on a budget of $ 50 million.
5 Annihilation is destroyed by the MCU
Screenwriter and director Alex Garland is known right now for making great movies that are difficult to sell to a wide audience. From 2014 Ex machina is another good example of this. However, 2018 Annihilation He had a really bad time at the box office. Based on a 2014 novel of the same name, Annihilation he was extremely intelligent, but also difficult to follow.
Aside from an inscrutable premise and poorly received test screening, the film would open at a particularly bad time, sandwiched between premieres of Black Panther and the next Avengers: Infinity War. At the end of your career, Annihilation it only made $ 43 million against a reported budget of $ 55 million.
4 Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping is eclipsed
Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping was released in the summer of 2016 and was an R-rated comedy with a fair amount of genuine laughs to its name. However, it flopped at the box office, earning just $ 9.5 million against a budget of $ 20 million.
The reason for this is because, again, 2016 was a time filled with major movie premieres, including highly anticipated superhero movies like X-Men: Apocalypse Y Suicide squad. In terms of raunchy comedies, audiences had their eyes on Seth Rogen, who would release the long-awaited movies. Neighbors 2: rise of sorority Y Sausage party this year.
3 The lost link has the absolute worst time
LAIKA’s latest movie, Link lost, he was predictably funny, sincere, and beautifully animated, as the studio is known. The 2019 film ended up becoming the worst performing film in the studio’s history. The reason for this is that Missing link he was released at the worst moment; spring 2019.
It stood squarely in the middle Captain Marvel Y Avengers Endgame, with Spider-Man: Far From Home launching shortly after that. The MCU was an untouchable film franchise during the 2010s, and The missing link was released when fans were too busy preparing for the climax of Marvel’s 10+ year history.
two Rise of the Guardians is late for the party
From 2012 rise of the Guardians It was a film about a group of super-powerful beings who came together to face a cosmic and evil threat. It was a lovely and fun movie, with some brilliantly animated action moments. Unfortunately, it was released in late 2012, when the world was already in love with another movie that featured super-powerful beings coming together to face an evil cosmic threat, namely The Avengers.
Weather rise of the Guardians It was not a failure, earning $ 306.9 million against a budget of $ 145 million, most of that was done overseas. In the USA, rise of the Guardians it just couldn’t get the public’s interest.
1 Shawshank’s redemption is unimpressive
Widely regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, it may come as a surprise to learn that Life imprisonment was considered a financial failure, earning just $ 58 million against a budget of $ 25 million. Many have speculated how a critically beloved film might have been a flop at the box office, with Morgan Freeman blaming the fact that the film’s title was difficult to pronounce.
There may be some truth in there, however, 1994 was a great time for movies. Shawshank redemption released in the fall of 1994, which means it had to compete with big hits like Speed, Forrest Gump, and the next Pulp Fiction.
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Reference-www.cbr.com
