List by Joe
Movies That Were Supposed To Be Big Hits But Weren't
Last night I saw Dark City and it got me thinking about big studio movies that were engineered as blockbusters but for whatever reason they just didn't work out. It's sort of fun to imagine the alternate universes where these are hits - imagine Dark City spawning two sequels and countless rip-offs instead of The Matrix.
Off the top of my head, I'd suggest Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, as well as the Street Fighter and Super Mario Brothers films from the mid-90s.
What exactly is the criteria for this? I mean don't most studios hope ANY big movie becomes a hit? I notice most of these got decent ratings from you - is that a factor. Because this list could include Santa Claus: The Movie, Return to Oz, Treasure Planet, 1941, Snakes on a Plane, Blair Witch 2, Watchmen, The Golden Compass, Waterworld, and on and on. Is there some discerning factor besides it wasn't a hit despite some expectation? My head is now making an endless list. Help.
I don't know
Cool.
I guess I meant movies that clearly had more-than-usual commercial expectations pinned to them? And you're right, I sort of like most of these.
They're also mostly superhero movies so this was an inadvertently telling glimpse into my psyche.
I really liked "John Carter", so I'm kind of sad it wasn't more of a 'hit'.