10 Awesome Recent Movies That Didn't Deserve To Bomb
These movies deserved all the commercial success.
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00:00 So there's no denying that the theatrical movie landscape is in a major state of flux
00:04 right now. The pandemic dealt a major blow to the box office revenues around the globe,
00:08 and though the ongoing recovery is encouraging, it seems unlikely that we're ever going to fully
00:13 return to the "normality" of 2019. These 10 films, each of them largely acclaimed by critics,
00:19 all failed to make a dent with the mainstream, for a multitude of reasons. And while they may
00:24 fare better on streaming, it is a damn shame that so few people shelled out to watch them
00:29 on the big screen, because you know what? They absolutely deserve to do so, so much better.
00:34 So let's take a look at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:37 and these are 10 awesome recent movies that didn't deserve to bomb.
00:41 10. The Last Jewel
00:43 Ridley Scott's historical action drama The Last Jewel received predominantly positive reviews
00:48 from critics, with much praise for its cast, and the nuanced means through which it examined its
00:52 delicate subject matter. Despite a first-rate director and an A-list cast, the film ended up
00:58 tanking catastrophically at the box office, grossing less than half of initial projections
01:02 on its opening weekend and going on to nab a total of $30.6 million, a mere fraction of its
01:08 hefty $100 million price tag. The Last Jewel was a great movie caught in a perfect storm of bad
01:14 circumstances. Old cinemographers were still staying away from cinemas, and at a time where
01:19 cinema audiences were largely craving a scapist spectacle, a two-and-a-half-hour drama about
01:24 sexual assault wasn't going to get many out of the house. But The Last Jewel has reportedly been a
01:29 solid performer on streaming, though, seemingly ensuring it's enjoying something of a second life
01:34 at home.
01:35 9. Ambulance
01:36 Michael Bay might have a reputation as one of the most prolific and commercially successful
01:40 filmmakers working today, but he actually hasn't had a box office hit since 2014.
01:46 Bay's new project, Ambulance, seemed like a sure thing on paper. A high-concept genre film filled
01:52 with explosions, high-octane chase sequences, and awesome drone shots, and was going to be led by
01:57 the beloved Jake Gyllenhaal. Hell, even with Bay's reputation for commanding massive budgets,
02:02 Ambulance was made for an impressive $40 million. And in a marketplace dominated by CGI-heavy tent
02:08 poles, the presence of a more robust mid-budget action flick seemed pretty refreshing. The irony
02:13 is that despite being Bay's best-reviewed film in over 25 years, Ambulance sank like a stone at the
02:20 box office.
02:21 In a theatrical landscape dominated by $200 million blockbusters, audiences may have taken
02:26 one look at this film and decided to wait it out for streaming. Don't be shocked if it does become
02:30 a big performer on video-on-demand, though.
02:32 8. The Suicide Squad
02:34 James Gunn's The Suicide Squad was basically a big bombastic apology for 2016's David Ayer-directed
02:40 Suicide Squad, which, despite negative reviews, grossed a mammoth $746.8 million worldwide.
02:47 Sadly, the vitriolic response to that film seemed to help poison this soft reboot of sorts,
02:52 despite the fact it received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. With a colossal $185
02:58 million budget, The Suicide Squad realistically needed to make around $450 million to be
03:03 profitable, though it is worth noting that the film released day and date on HBO Max in the US,
03:08 so Warner Bros. clearly sacrificed a portion of its box office to bolster their streaming service.
03:12 Yet even accepting this simultaneous release, The Suicide Squad still performed horribly,
03:17 making just $167.4 million globally. Now, compare that to Godzilla vs. Kong,
03:23 which also released day and date on HBO Max and still made $468.2 million worldwide.
03:30 One oft-cited reason is, again, that the 2016 Suicide Squad simply soured people on the property,
03:36 and given that 2020's Birds of Prey also tanked, the interest just wasn't there.
03:40 The film was a strong performer on streaming, though, and thankfully Gunn had already shot
03:44 the John Cena-starring Peacemaker spin-off series before The Suicide Squad even hit cinemas. With
03:49 Peacemaker proving a strong ratings hit on HBO Max, it seems highly likely that the squad's future
03:55 will remain on the small screen.
03:56 7. Licorice Pizza
03:59 Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza is, true to form for the director,
04:02 an impeccably crafted piece of work. A deliriously entertaining coming-of-age
04:07 dramedy which received three Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original
04:12 Screenplay. But, despite rave reviews, the film didn't get anywhere close to turning a profit
04:17 theatrically, ultimately failing to recoup even its modest $40 million budget. This speaks once
04:22 again to adults and art house films largely struggling to find larger audiences at the
04:27 box office. Yet, this admittedly isn't something new for Anderson, who has in fact only had two
04:32 of his nine movies to date turn a profit in cinemas, Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood.
04:36 In the case of Licorice Pizza, the budget was undoubtedly bloated out by its period setting,
04:41 which always adds millions onto any film's price tag, ensuring its chances of immediate
04:45 profitability in the pandemic landscape were always going to be extremely slim. Despite
04:50 Anderson's poor commercial track record, though, studios evidently continue to work with him
04:54 because the prestige and potential for Oscar nominations is definitely there.
04:59 6. Nightmare Alley
05:01 Guilmo del Toro's new period psychological thriller Nightmare Alley was one of 2021's
05:05 most unforgettable genre films, a sumptuously shot and brilliantly acted effort that received
05:10 four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Nightmare Alley's Oscar recognition is all the
05:15 more surprising given the film's atrocious box office performance, barely clawing back
05:20 half its $60 million budget. The reasons for its failure are myriad, though. Older viewers'
05:26 reluctance to return to cinemas, a vague marketing campaign which didn't sell the movie well, and
05:30 surely worst of all, deciding to release it on the same day as Spider-Man No Way Home.
05:35 Counter-programming can work sometimes, but not against a film as enormously hyped as No Way Home
05:41 that basically everybody and their grandma wanted to see.
05:44 5. The Green Knight
05:46 Unlike most films on this list, David Lowery's surreal fantasy epic The Green Knight didn't
05:50 have a hefty budget to recoup at the box office, having been made for an impressively svelte $15
05:55 million. Yet, despite receiving rave reviews for its writing, direction, performances,
06:00 and jaw-dropping production quality, the film sadly failed to break out as a larger hit.
06:05 A24 boldly decided to give The Green Knight a wide theatrical release, dropping it in 2,790
06:12 North American cinemas last summer, yet it only barely made back its budget and ultimately failed
06:16 to turn a profit on the big screen. Given the director's artsy approach to well-trod subject
06:21 matter that would surely alienate more casual audiences, it's little surprise that the film
06:25 netted a dismal C+ cinema score and quickly fell off the cliff at the box office. It also didn't
06:31 help that The Green Knight ended up skipping a major theatrical release in some prominent markets,
06:35 such as the UK, where it went direct to Amazon Prime the same day it hit cinemas.
06:40 4. West Side Story
06:42 Bets don't come much surer than Steven Spielberg, who over the last 20 years has produced just two
06:47 box office underperformers, Munich and The BFG, and almost a dozen smash hits. A Spielberg-directed
06:54 remake of West Side Story, one of the most iconic musicals ever, must have seemed like a financial
06:59 slam dunk to 20th Century Studios when the project began filming back in the summer of 2019. But,
07:05 with the pandemic pumping the brakes on adult-skewing movies and younger audiences having
07:09 little to no nostalgia for the original 1961 film, West Side Story failed to turn a profit.
07:14 With its massive $100 million budget and extensive marketing campaign, it likely needed to gross
07:19 around $250 million in order to be a success, but ultimately didn't even crack one-third of that
07:25 figure. Even with rave reviews and a mighty A cinema score, leading to seven Oscar nominations
07:30 including Best Picture, this was a film that categorically failed to entice general audiences.
07:35 Though West Side Story has been another strong performer on streaming, it's a shame that arguably
07:40 Spielberg's best movie in 20 or so years was largely ignored on the big screen.
07:44 3. The Outfit
07:46 Quietly dropped in cinemas earlier this year with minimal marketing, The Outfit is one of
07:50 2022's most entertaining movies to date. A low-key crime drama starring Mark Rylance as a tailor who
07:56 finds himself caught in a battle of wits with a group of gangsters. The film was largely praised
08:01 by critics for its smart screenplay, fun plot twists, and great performances, though this
08:05 sadly failed to translate into box office gravy. Even with the film clearly being made on a
08:10 relatively low budget, taking place primarily in just one location with just a few actors,
08:14 the low worldwide total of just $3.6 million wasn't enough for it to turn a profit.
08:20 Between the film targeting older audiences, Focus Features' rather lackluster marketing push,
08:24 and many viewers now just preferring to wait for streaming for lower budget films that they
08:28 perceive as "less cinematic", it unfortunately never really stood a chance.
08:32 2. The Northman
08:33 Robert Eggers' historical epic The Northman may have only recently hit cinemas, but its opening
08:38 weekend box office in the US confirms that it's going to be a commercial failure. No matter how
08:42 warmly received the film was by critics, and that it scored a surprisingly not-bad B Cinema score
08:48 despite its surreal nature, it was always going to face an uphill struggle theatrically. With a
08:52 stonking $70 million budget, or if some sources can be believed $90 million, The Northman would
08:58 need to cross the $150 million mark to get anywhere close to profitability, which even with pop
09:04 culture's current obsession with Vikings had zero chance of doing. As brilliant as the film is,
09:09 Universal was mightily optimistic here, or some might say delusional to think that a big-budget
09:14 Eggers-directed film would catch on with the mainstream. Given that his previous film,
09:18 The Lighthouse, failed to turn a profit on a mere $11 million budget, it was undeniably
09:22 wishful thinking that The Northman would be a breakout hit, even with its more accessible subject
09:27 matter. 1. The Night House
09:30 Horror is one of those genres that's continued to thrive throughout the pandemic, largely because
09:34 their budgets tend to be relatively low and they typically skew towards younger audiences. Yet,
09:39 more artsy horror has still faced an uphill struggle, as evidenced by the brilliant Rebecca
09:43 Hall-starring The Night House, which was dumped in 2,240 North American cinemas with minimal
09:49 marketing last audiences. Despite rave reviews for Hall's superb, award-worthy performance and
09:54 Dave Bruckner's tense, restrained direction, it failed to become a wider word-of-mouth hit as
09:59 searchlight pictures clearly hoped, finishing at a paltry $15.5 million worldwide. Even though the
10:05 film's undisclosed budget wasn't massive, it clearly wasn't super low either, and so there's
10:10 no chance of it turning a profit theatrically. It also didn't help that the trailers largely
10:14 sold the film as a more conventional horror flick, when it was in fact a quiet, restrained,
10:18 weird type of genre offering, as surely led to it receiving a dire C-minor cinema score from
10:24 audiences who felt deceived. This likely killed its word of mouth and ensured that a lot of
10:28 potential customers just waited to watch it on streaming instead.
10:31 And there we go my friends, those were 10 awesome, recent movies that didn't deserve to bomb. I hope
10:36 that you enjoyed that and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comments section
10:39 below. As always I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter @RetroJ with a zero,
10:44 or you can swing by Liv and Let's Dice where I do all of my streaming outside of work,
10:48 and it'd be great to see you over there my friends. But before I go, I hope you're treating
10:51 yourself with love and respect my friend, because you deserve all of the best things in life like
10:55 love, happiness, and success, and don't let anyone or anything else tell you otherwise,
10:59 alright? You're not gonna bomb my friend, you're gonna go out there to big box office success,
11:03 you massive star. As always I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that,
11:08 and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.