Somemovies represent serious wasted potentialwhen they flopped at the box office but might be successful if they were remade. In a time when there are only too manyunwanted movie sequels and remakes,the possibility of movies that actually should be remade getting their day in the sun is realistic.These movies might have been derailed by a bad casting choice, one weak scene, overall sloppy book-to-movie writing, or other circumstances affecting the box office.
However,beloved movies from the 2000sthat flopped demonstrate thatmovies that bombed for external reasons probably shouldn’t be remade.The true potential here lies in bad movies based on acclaimed source material or titles that have brilliant premises but poor execution. If Hollywood is still committed to endless remakes, they should be looking to which remake ideas have demand and could redeem a previous movie’s concept.
10The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Alan Moore’s Literary Crossover Comic Deserves Another Chance
On paper,The League of Extraordinary Gentlemensounds fascinating: a team of famous literary figures, including Allan Quartermain, Mina Murray, Captain Nemo, and the like, join forces to defeat a global threat in an Avengers-like crossover.The comic book series upon which the failed movie is based is written by Alan Moore,a celebrated writer and major contributor to the grimdark genre.
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Cast
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a 2003 action-adventure film directed by Stephen Norrington. Based on the comic series by Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill, the movie features a team of legendary figures, including Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery), Captain Nemo, and Dr. Jekyll. These characters join forces to thwart a plot that threatens world stability. The ensemble cast also includes Stuart Townsend, Peta Wilson, and Tony Curran.
With Sean Connery secured as the lead member,2003’sThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemenprobably felt safe in its success.However, not even James Bond could save the movie from its lazy, rushed writing and flat world-building. The movie managed to earn back its budget, largely due to at-home rentals rather than box office revenue (viaThe Numbers).
8 Movies We Thought Were Going To Be Hits But Flopped At The Box Office
Even when a movie shows a lot of promise, it’s impossible to say if it will succeed at the box office, since even great works of cinema have failed.
With a substantial comic book series as its basis,the industry might think ofThe League of Extraordinary Gentlemenas potentially another successful TV show reboot.However, it is possible to tell a strong standalone adventure about these characters in the form of a movie, if they were more flexible with the runtime (allowing for a better-developed world) and created a more logical conflict.
9Eragon (2006)
Eragon Is Getting A TV Show When It Might Once Have Been Another LOTR-Style Movie
Eragonis heavily derivative of other famous fantasy novels, namelyThe Lord of the RingsandEarthsea. However, the dragons and characters were original enough to make The Inheritance Cycle a popular fantasy series, which should have been the next epic fantasy cinematic franchise.Instead, fans got the notoriously bad and universally hatedEragonmovie,full of low production quality, bad acting, awkward adaptation of some core concepts, and characterizations that miss the point of the original versions of Eragon, Saphira, and the rest.
Eragon
Eragonis based on the book series of the same name, part of a more extensive book series known as the Inheritance Cycle. In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy named Eragon (Ed Speelers) happens upon a dragon’s egg. This egg leads him on a journey to protect his home from tyrannical monarch Galbatorix (John Malkovitch) and a dark sorcerer named Durza (Robert Carlyle). However, Eragon discovers that the egg contains a mighty dragon named Saphira (Rachel Weisz) that he bonds with, and with the help of friends and family, Eragon will challenge the empire and do what he can to keep the dragon safe.
AnEragonTV showis in development at Disney+, sending the Eragon and Saphira down the same route asPercy Jackson and the Olympians— which worked out well for this series. However,there is still some missed potential inEragonbeing adapted as a massive cinematic event.Peter Jackson proved that it is possible to translate such a complex world into the limited runtime of a movie. If Disney changed its mind about how to adaptEragonand put some good writers on the job, it could be a return to the heights of epic fantasy of the early 2000s.
8Spawn (1997)
Spawn Is An Anti-Hero Superhero Who Needs A Better Movie
Todd McFarlane is primarily associated with two things — his work onThe Amazing Spider-Manand his creation ofSpawn. Spider-Man has gotten plenty of good adaptations, buta cinematic Spawn has been defunct since the 1990s.Luckily, McFarlane is now involved withKing Spawn, the reboot expected in 2025 but possibly facing delays as it is still in pre-production (at the time of writing). However, at least Hollywood has recognized the potential of this reboot.
A fan-favorite comic book character like Spawn deserves the treatment that he would only get after the anti-hero genre took off.
Spawn
Based on the dark comic by Todd McFarlanee,Spawnwas adapted for film in 1997, starring Michael Jai White in the lead role. Killed on a job after he’s betrayed by his boss, Al Simmons makes a deal with the devil and returns to earth as Spawn to face his new nemesis The Clown.
These days,gritty standalone comics-based movies about villains and anti-heroes are seeing a lot of success,offering fresh takes and catering to an audience that grew up with the MCU. An R-ratedSpawnwith seasoned actor Jamie Foxx in the lead role promises to be a strong competitor to theDeadpooltrilogy, or at least an improvement on the previousSpawnmovie. A fan-favorite comic book character like Spawn deserves the treatment that he would only get after the anti-hero genre took off.
7Van Helsing (2004)
The Ridiculous Take On Van Helsing Could Have Been An Intriguing Fantasy Adventure
Van Helsing is a fascinating literary character, the vampire-savvy doctor/jack of all trades who appears inDracula. Yet the 2004 movie starring Hugh Jackman as the title character turns him into a generic action hero, missing the intrigue of the original iteration. Van Helsing could have been good at fighting monsters, but his still being a doctor would have helped. Additionally,Van Helsingtries to foster intrigue with the question of his past,but it would have worked better if this mystery weren’t being forced down the audience’s throats.
Van Helsing
Van Helsing is a 2004 action-adventure film directed by Stephen Sommers, starring Hugh Jackman as the titular character, a monster hunter tasked with defeating Dracula. Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, and Shuler Hensley co-star in this gothic horror-inspired tale that explores the battle between good and evil in Transylvania.
Just about everything else in this movie is too goofy to be taken seriously, although Richard Roxburgh’s performance as Dracula is satisfyingly dramatic. The industry has proven that it can do better with the character, including through the series about his descendant at Netflix.An epic fantasy movie experience about Van Helsing could still workif it featured a more faithful adaptation of the character.
6The Scarlet Letter (1995)
The Scarlet Letter Is Difficult But Could Be A Masterful Adaptation
The Scarlet Letteris a milestone in literature that concerns women’s rights and gendered double standards. However, it is almost possible to forgive the 1995 adaptation for its failure when it is such a difficult novel to adapt. By modern standards,The Scarlet Letter’s pacing is excruciating, and too many pages are wasted on circular conversation.Additionally, the premise was groundbreaking at the time because of its taboo nature; today, it takes more for the audience to appreciate the themes than the mere fact of adultery.
The Scarlet Letter (1995)
Roland Joffé’s biggest fault concerningThe Scarlet Letteris its amended happy ending,which undoes the novel’s effect. It would take a lot of work to make a new adaptation ofThe Scarlet Letterwork, translating it into an engaging movie and revising its themes to come across to a modern audience. However, it is possible that a director like Luca Guadagnino or Greta Gerwig could make it work and dazzle everyone at that year’s Oscars.
5City Of Ember (2008)
City Of Ember Is More Complicated Than Other Dystopias
City of Emberis generally a bland movie following a predictable narrative. Given that it is only an hour and a half long, they could have spent more time on world-building. While the present timeline doesn’t need much more than what is shown, hinting at yet unseen characters from the other novels would have been ambitious. However,more characters and different perspectives on a resource crisis would have madeCity of Embera more complex movie,perhaps saving its sequel.
City of Ember
Two teenagers discover a way to escape their underground city before all its lights go out.
TheCity of Embernovel and its sequels tell a much more subtle dystopia story, worlds away and predating the action-heavy revolutions seen inThe Hunger GamesandDivergent. It is also hard to adapt, but with a skilled screenwriter, it could have been a profound socio-political discourse.With the YA dystopia days mostly in the past, there hasn’t been any talk of aCity of Emberreboot,but Hollywood producers are always hunting for strong source material. They should even consider bringing back Saoirse Ronan in a different role.
4Red Riding Hood (2011)
Little Red Riding Hood Is A Fascinating Fairy Tale That Deserves A Good Movie
Once Upon a Timestill offers the best attempt at a serious Little Red Riding Hood adaptation, while goofy versions likeHoodwinkedhave seen some success, and grim ones likeRed Riding Hoodare an utter joke. When Disney has abandoned potential Little Red Riding Hood movies multiple times,Red Riding Hoodset out to be what fans of the fairy tale wanted: an eerie, mature twist on the basic story.However,Red Riding Hoodis too much likeTwilightand too dependent on forced plot twists to work.
Adapting any fairy tale is a challenge because the story is usually much simpler than what will support a movie of a decent length.
red riding hood
The 2011 fantasy movie Red Riding Hood is a live-action adaptation of the eponymous fairy tale. Amanda Seyfried stars as Valerie, who falls in love with woodcutter Peter (Shiloh Fernandez) and receives help from Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) to hunt down a deadly werewolf.
Sadly, the pure aesthetics of the movie are spectacular while the cast is well-chosen. Adapting any fairy tale is a challenge because the story is usually much simpler than what will support a movie of a decent length;Frozensat in development for decades before Disney was satisfied with the script.Another attempt at a Little Red Riding Hood movie ironically needs some time in development hell,hopefully producing an elegant and clever script.
3Sphere (1998)
Sphere’s Adventure Misses The Philosophical Beats Of Better Movies
Spherestacked its cast with Dustin Hoffman, Samuel L. Jackson, Sharon Stone, Queen Latifah, James Pickens Jr., and more, and set off with an interesting deep-sea exploration story. It is now almost old enough to be considered a dated classic, suitable to be remade.The same year asSphere, director Barry Levison releasedWag the Dog,on which he worked as a producer with Hoffman in one of the lead roles. Apparently, most of his sophisticated creative vision was used up in this movie.
Sphere
A spacecraft is discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, presumed to be at least 300 years old and of alien origin. A crack team of scientists and experts is assembled and taken to the Habitat, a state-of-the-art underwater living environment, to investigate.
Spheremishandles the psychological drama that it advertises alongside the exploration story,missing the mark thatAlienandEx Machinahit. It is basic at best and wastes its cast because of this, who are capable of much greater things. However, there is an interestingAlien-like possibility of a psychologically driven encounter with an unknown being, which could still prompt a great movie.
2Tomorrowland (2015)
The Disneyland-Based Flop With Themes That Should Be Further Explored
Tomorrowlandtouches upon some strong themes of evolving technology and modernization, delving into the very concept Disneyland’s Tomorrowland is meant to represent. The movie’s protagonist longs for a time when the future was something to look forward to, full of inventions humanity couldn’t even imagine yet. Her feelings of being bombarded by messages that the world is only getting worse are painfully relatable, whilethe idea of Tomorrowland is a glimmer of hope.
Tomorrowland’s huge flophappened despite cast members like George Clooney and Hugh Laurie. It’s an average movie that suffered from marketing difficulties but still offers a potential reboot. If Disney correctly leverages its previous failure to get a head start on marketing, the producers might be able to better advertise an even better movie based on the same core themes.This movie could also be a prequel or sequel to 2015’sTomorrowland,serving as a soft reboot.
1Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Jupiter Ascending Is The Movie That Everyone Says Should Have Been Better
2015 was apparently the year for sci-fi movies with massive potential to dramatically flop.Jupiter Ascendingbecame a kind of martyrfor this reason, with a premise and designs that no one could deny were spectacular. Mila Kunis stars as the title character, an average cleaner on Earth who discovers that she is a genetic match for the late matriarch of a galactic dynasty and therefore its heir apparent.
Jupiter Ascending
From visionary directors the Wachowskis, Jupiter Ascending follows Mila Kunis' Jupiter Jones, a cleaning woman from Chicago who discovers that she is actually the heir to a vast intergalactic noble house. With the help of genetically modified soldier Caine Wise (Channing Tatum), Jupiter must fight to protect Earth from the greedy clutches of Balem Abrasax (Eddie Redmayne) who is intent on taking over the planet for his own means.
Other great casting choices, namely Eddie Redmayne, fill out the movie with skilled soldiers and scheming royals. However,Jupiter Ascendingdoesn’t properly explore its world or its characters.Since its release, people have been either defending it or clamoring for a better version of it.
10 Sci-Fi Movies From The Last Decade That Flopped At The Box Office
Many sci-fi adventures of the past decade that expected to be massive blockbusters flopped at the box office, losing hundreds of millions of dollars.
The Wachowskis’ career demonstrates that they work better with simple, contained concepts, whereasJupiter Ascendingneeded deeper world-building.Yet whileThe Matrixhas stood the test of time,Jupiter Ascendingstands out as a potential remake, among others, for Hollywood to consider producing in the future.
