Biggest flops in sci-fi movies that looked epic

Unfortunately science fiction was not a genre that attracted millions to cinemas, at least not the more traditional stories, because back then Marvel and Star Wars were a success, despite being a genre. These sci-fi films turned out to be one of the biggest flops in cinematic history, even though it looked like they were going to be pretty epic upon release.

We’ll start with a science fiction film which was one of the biggest flops, not only of the history of the genre, but of cinema in general. This is David Lynch’s “Dune,” a 1984 film that would have been the largest adaptation of Frank Herbert’s work to date, but the $42 million it had as a budget only raised $30. Available at Amazon Prime Video.

Treasure Planet

One of sci-fi movies that felt more epic, and which their studios wanted to become a future franchise, is ‘Treasure Planet’, an animated piece that has become a cult and many fans have claimed over the years. However, this was one of many flops for Disney, only managing to raise $109 million dollars, out of the 140 it had in its budget. Available on Disney+.

John Carter

One of science fiction’s greatest flops was put into ‘John Carter’, by the creator of ‘Tarzan’. It seemed like an epic project, impressive in scale and one that, no doubt, its production values ​​were too high, for its own good, since the film had an impressive budget of $263 million dollars, which it could have narrowly exceeded the $284 million, but it was of no use to the company. Available on Disney+.

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Although ‘Dune’ was considered the novel that would never be adapted to the big screen, Luc Besson wanted to have his own science fiction epic-scale adventure, based on a great legion comic under his belt. The result, a very colorful ribbon brimming with imagination, that Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne have all but forgotten. Available on HBO Max.

Power Rangers

For many years, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise has been televised, and to great acclaim. But, on its way to the big screen, 2017’s ‘Power Rangers’ was a flop that only stayed in one film, despite hinting at a future franchise. Its $142 million gross was over budget, but not enough to convince Lionsgate to move forward with anything else.

Reminiscence

Finally, one of the most recent sci-fi films that has been a flop is ‘Reminiscence’, by Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, which even having Hugh Jackman as the protagonist, could not be saved. This ‘Blade Runner’-inspired sci-fi, neo-noir thriller barely raised $15 million, out of the $54 Warners awarded it.