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Timing is everything, no matter what the subject at hand may be. Releasing a potential blockbuster is certainly one of those fields where strategy is key, and when it comes to the movies we’re about to discuss, it just was sadly a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Watchmen
If co-writer/director Zack Snyder’s adaptation of Watchmen had been released at any point other than the start of the MCU’s boom, it might have seen better box office returns. While the movie still holds up, one has to wonder if an era with larger IMAX capacity would have done this movie better.
The Man From U.N.C.L.E.
2015 was a good year for spy movies, with Kingsman: The Secret Service and Spectre both doing rather well at the box office. So maybe Guy Ritchie’s beloved The Man from U.N.C.L.E. should have thought about releasing in early 2016 instead, as the film’s breezy antidote to Daniel Craig’s James Bond arc could have been better appreciated.
The Rocketeer
The Rocketeer is one of the classic examples of a movie that had too much competition. With summer 1991 offering the likes of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Terminator 2: Judgement Day, there was little room in people’s hearts for an underrated Disney take on comic book heroism.
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
It was almost instantaneously decided that Edgar Wright’s cinematic adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World would eventually be a cult classic. Flopping in theaters, the people who actually saw it kept the torch lit for future fans to discover. Perhaps Inception had better legs than Universal had thought.
Alita: Battle Angel
There’s still a dedicated fan base who want to see a sequel to Robert Rodriguez’s adaptation of Alita: Battle Angel. This would-be blockbuster’s debut saw it as the final 20th Century Fox movie to be released before the 2019 Disney/Fox merger’s completion; an event that would see various projects cancelled, sold off, or get lost in the shuffle.
Tron
Nobody knew just how white hot E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial was going to be in the summer of 1982. Dominating the box office for a stretch that’s unheard of in the current market, Disney’s experimental sci-fi movie Tron was a casualty during that reign. Moved from a Christmas slot staked out in that same year, the arcade game wound up making more money than this cult classic would take at the movies.
The Last Voyage Of The Demeter
If you’re trying to craft a horror hit, even if you’re uncertain about the IP, a Halloween release date is your best chance at success. While director André Øvredal’s Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark bucked that trend with its well played August 2019 release, 2023 would see his film The Last Voyage of the Demeter crash into the rocks of misfortune.
Gremlins 2: The New Batch
Six years can make a difference when you’re trying to follow the next big thing. Gremlins 2: The New Batch taught the world that lesson as it failed to capture its 1984 predecessor’s box office bonanza in 1990. Between a crowded year at the box office, and the arrival of so many imitators throughout that stretch of time, it was hard for this actually well-liked picture to last past midnight.
The Thing
Maybe a major studio with two alien-centric movies should be a bit careful in how they release them. As if John Carpenter’s The Thing wasn’t disturbing enough on its own, the fact that the movie shared cinematic air with E.T.: the Extra-terrestrial not only buried the picture, it made it look even more frightening. Lucky for the world The Thing found its feet on VHS, and all was right with the world.
Blade Runner
Sometimes a classic needs to give the world a little more time to catch up. Thanks to the meteoric rise of E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial in 1982’s box office calendar, director Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner seemed destined to obscurity. However, when the picture landed in rental stores quicker than Steven Spielberg’s cinematic phenomenon, people were ready to dive in.
The Last Action Hero
Believe it or not, heading into the theatrical release of The Last Action Hero, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s meta action/comedy was being touted as “the big ticket for ‘93!” And then a scrappy upstart student film called Jurassic Park was unleashed, just two days earlier, and the rest was history faster than you could say “Big mistake.”
Doctor Sleep
November 2019 didn’t do many movies favors when it came to cashing in on existing IP. While Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep had a good head of steam heading into its release into multiplexes, its arrival was met by the surprising box office victory of Midway. If only it had gone toe to toe with Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, perhaps the Halloween season could have booked more butts at The Overlook.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was a movie that underperformed so horribly, it closed Square Pictures’ doors not that long after they first opened. While one could debate when the right time was to release an ambitious video game tie-in flick, it certainly wasn’t in the same stretch where Legally Blonde was conquering in pink and Shrek was making its name.
Surviving Christmas
Long before the Hallmark Channel somehow convinced people it’s ok to watch Christmas movies year long, the Ben Affleck-led holiday comedy Surviving Christmas was a huge example of releasing a movie way out of season. Opening on October 22nd, 2004, the only defense this forgotten flameout has is that it was probably trying to beat The Polar Express and Christmas with the Kranks to the punch.
Black Widow
Marvel’s Black Widow should have been the massive homecoming for the MCU that the early pandemic world was looking for. Unfortunately, this was also the time that Disney+’s short-lived Premier Access program was tested, in order to entice audiences to enjoy the film at home. Scarlett Johansson’s eventual lawsuit was only the beginning of the fallout, as the film performed nowhere near the level the MCU brass expected.
Turning Red
A week after 2022’s The Batman crushed it at the early pandemic box office, Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red tried to make a savvy pivot as a Disney+ streaming original. Though the film had an eventual theatrical re-release, the picture still failed to make a proper stamp on the box office.
Tenet
Literally the first movie that reopened movie theaters after the 2020 COVID-19 shutdowns, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet became a champion of post-shutdown cinema. It also did as well as it could in the earlier, much more limited market that was available to theatrical titles; which only made it an eventual IMAX 70mm repertory favorite.
Jersey Girl
Gigli was a theatrical bomb that was so devastating that its effects weren’t only felt by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s ill-advised rom-com. With fears that Kevin Smith’s Jersey Girl would also crater as a result, the picture was tweaked to limit the appearance of Bennifer 1.0 in the film. It didn’t matter, because Smith’s heart on its sleeve family dramedy still tanked.
The Village
There’s a case to be made that M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village should have either been his first project, or a later career release. Riding the wave of “twist” laden movies like The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs, the film was marketed as a spooky, twisted movie…which hides the actually sweet nature of its cerebral drama.
Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar
In a more traditional period of release, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar could have been a surprise hit that raked in box office gold. But as a 2021 release that was eventually turned into a PVOD exclusive debut, Kristen Wiig and Anne Mumulo’s sunny fun seekers weren’t given the spotlight they truly deserved.
Crossroads
Ok, get all the jokes out now. No, Crossroads isn’t a movie that never should have been released. While it was a decent hit at the 2002 box office, this could have been a white-hot hit if it was produced and released earlier in Britney Spears’ career as a pop princess.
Haunted Mansion
20 years after the Eddie Murphy starring spin on the same Disneyland attraction arrived, Haunted Mansion was the reboot that hoped to get it right. But with a critical drubbing, and a non-Halloween release date, director Justin Simien’s new tale in an old haunt was barely a ghost by spooky season.
Tron: Legacy
When all was said and done, Tron: Legacy actually did pretty well for itself in a December 2010 release slot. However, in the era where Pirates of the Caribbean, and eventually the MCU, would become Disney’s preferred ATMs, the legacy-quel would act as a minor point of light before another franchise dark age.
Solo: A Star Wars Story
While Star Wars started as a summer-based franchise, the Sequel Trilogy era saw The Force Awakens relocate the series to its current Christmas holiday tradition. So by the time 2018’s Solo: A Star Wars Story became a reality, its attempt to return to the May release slot of its youth was seen as a massive misstep.
Star Trek: Nemesis
In 2002, Star Trek’s movies were on a bit of a roll. At least, the franchise was in a comfortable enough position that Paramount Pictures brass decided that releasing Star Trek: Nemesis against The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers was a calculated risk worth taking. It was not, even with the presence of baby Tom Hardy playing a clone of Patrick Stewart.
UHF
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Ghostbusters II, and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids all came out in the summer of 1989. Weird Al Yankovic’s UHF…also happened. That pretty much sums up how audiences reacted to the cult classic in its initial release phase, but history only went on to prove that maybe Al should have sold his bologna in another space on the calendar.
Brightburn
Points have to be awarded to Brightburn, as the James Gunn-produced mashup of The Omen and Superman not only predated superhero fatigue, it actually happened before both of those franchises would make resurgences in popular culture. If only this R-rated thrill ride had opened with a little more distance from Avengers: Endgame’s debut almost a month prior.
The Core
It was bad enough that 2003’s The Core was unceremoniously delayed from its original release date in late 2002. But when the Columbia shuttle disaster killed all seven astronauts aboard roughly a month before the movie actually made it into the world, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Between The Matrix Revolutions and Return of the King was a window that should have worked for potential 2003 blockbusters. Yet between potential Russell Crowe fatigue, and inflated production costs, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World saw the wind unjustly robbed from its sails.
The Matrix Resurrections
The Matrix Resurrections was a curious prospect from day one, as The Wachowski’s original trilogy seemed pretty open and shut. That unexpectedly meta approach, meshed with a controversial day-and-date streaming debut in 2021, marked a supposed low point in a once-dominating franchise.
West Side Story
December 2021 was a bloodbath when it came to the glut of movies released in that very month. With the Disney/Fox empire pushing a lot of movies out in this early pandemic season of cinema, Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake found itself crushed up against The King’s Man, Nightmare Alley, and Spider-Man: No Way Home…and that was just the competition from its siblings.
Steve Jobs
Part of Steve Jobs’ struggles manifested early, as a David Fincher-directed/Christian Bale-starring version of the Aaron Sorkin scripted biopic fell apart, despite holding great promise. The movie that resulted, with Danny Boyle directing an all-star cast led by Michael Fassbender, is a magnetic opus that deserves more love than it got.
Unfortunately, the ill-advised Ashton Kutcher vehicle Jobs may have played a part in sinking this beaut; along with an odd awards season release strategy…rolled out in the month of October. Which, just like a lot of the films we’ve just discussed, is prime proof that a movie at the wrong place in time can be unjustly seen as a failure.