When a film fails at the box office, its quality or lack thereof is often used to justify its status as a flop.
There have definitely been a lot of times when the worst movies were absolutely crushed in theaters when they were ignored or shunned by fans.
However, there have been a handful of films that became generational failures despite their quality.
Watch With Us has narrowed those flicks down to four notorious box-office bombs that are actually great movies.
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‘Ali’ (2001)
About two decades before Will Smith won his Oscar for Best Actor, he was nominated for the same award for playing boxer Muhammad Ali in the biopic that shares his name. Ali underperformed in theaters, but this is widely regarded as one of Smith’s best performances as an actor. His co-star, Jon Voight, was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his turn as broadcaster Howard Cosell.
Ali doesn’t capture the entirety of the iconic boxer’s life, but it’s a snapshot of the most important decade in his development. The film chronicles his embrace of Islam and the rejection of his birth name, Cassius Clay Jr. More importantly, it dramatizes Ali’s fall from the top of the boxing world after refusing to be drafted, before chronicling his comeback up to and including the famous Rumble in the Jungle battle with George Foreman (Charles Shufford) for the World Championship. Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, even has a supporting role as Ali’s first wife, Sonji Roi.
Ali is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
‘John Carter’ (2012)
Disney had franchise-sized hopes for John Carter, since the film was based on A Princess of Mars by Tarzan creator Edgar Rice Burroughs. That novel was a seminal work of science fiction that influenced Star Wars, Flash Gordon and countless others that followed. Pixar director Andrew Stanton was given a large budget to bring that story to life in his live-action directorial debut.
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Stanton had at least two sequels in mind before John Carter‘s future was dashed by much lower-than-expected box office returns. The film should have had a much warmer response because Taylor Kitsch is engaging as John Carter, a former Confederate officer who finds himself mysteriously transported to Mars. Rather than finding a dead world, John discovers that several races are vying for dominance on the planet they call Barsoom. But John is particularly drawn to a princess, Dejah Thoris (Lynn Collins), and her desire to bring peace to her people.
John Carter is streaming on Disney+.
‘Tomorrowland’ (2015)
Much like Stanton, Brad Bird earned his reputation at Pixar with blockbuster animated hits like The Incredibles and Ratatouille. So when the time came to turn Disneyland’s Tomorrowland into a feature film, Bird was given the chance to expand the mythology behind it and create a new franchise.
Tomorrowland cast George Clooney in the lead as Frank Walker, an inventor who was recruited to join the brilliant minds of his era in another dimension that mirrors our own. In the present, Frank lives in seclusion after being banished from Tomorrowland. Casey Newton (Britt Robertson) seeks out Frank as she tries to find her own way into Tomorrowland so they can save the world together. The film’s optimistic message is inspiring, but there just weren’t enough people coming to theaters in support of it. Other Disney theme park adaptations have also failed, but this one really deserved better.
Tomorrowland is streaming on Disney+.
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‘The Last Duel’ (2021)
The Last Duel was a mega flop in theaters with only $30 million worldwide against a $100 million budget, and that’s not even counting the marketing expenses! Director Ridley Scott adapted Eric Jager‘s historical novel about a real duel that took place in the 14th century between two former friends, Sir Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and Jacques le Gris (Adam Driver).
Jodie Comer costars as Marguerite de Carrouges, Jean’s wife and the object of Jacques’ affections. She’s the one who accuses Jacques of sexually assaulting her, and the film is somewhat evasive about the truth of the matter. Events take place from the perspective of Jean, Jacques and Marguerite, and they all have very different takes on what happened. Regardless of the truth, Marguerite’s life is also on the line in the duel if her husband fails to win.
The Last Duel is streaming on Hulu.
