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These movies deserved all the commercial success.
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00:00So, there's no denying that the theatrical movie landscape is in a major state of flux
00:04right now. The pandemic dealt a major blow to the box office revenues around the globe,
00:08and though the ongoing recovery is encouraging, it seems unlikely that we're ever going to
00:13return to the normality of 2019. These 10 films, each of them largely acclaimed by critics,
00:20all failed to make a dent with the mainstream, for a multitude of reasons. And while they may
00:24fare better on streaming, it is a damn shame that so few people showed out to watch them
00:29on the big screen, because you know what? They absolutely deserve to do so, so much better.
00:34So, let's take a look at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com,
00:37and these are 10 awesome recent movies that didn't deserve to bomb.
00:4110. The Last Duel
00:43Ridley Scott's historical action drama The Last Duel received predominantly positive reviews from
00:48critics, with much praise for its cast, and the nuanced means through which it examined its
00:53delicate subject matter. Despite a first-rate director and an A-list cast, the film ended up
00:58tanking catastrophically at the box office, grossing less than half of initial projections on its opening
01:03weekend, and going on to nab a total of $30.6 million, a mere fraction of its hefty $100 million
01:10price tag. The Last Duel was a great movie, caught in a perfect storm of bad circumstances. Old
01:16cinemographers were still staying away from cinemas, and at a time where cinema audiences were largely
01:21craving escapist spectacle, a two-and-a-half-hour drama about sexual assault wasn't going to get many out of
01:27the house. But The Last Duel has reportedly been a solid performer on streaming, though,
01:31seemingly ensuring it's enjoying something of a second life at home.
01:359. Ambulance
01:36Michael Bay might have a reputation as one of the most prolific and commercially successful
01:41filmmakers working today, but he actually hasn't had a box office hit since 2014.
01:46Bay's new project, Ambulance, seemed like a sure thing on paper. A high-concept genre film filled
01:52with explosions, high-octane chase sequences, and awesome drone shots, and was going to be led by
01:57the beloved Jake Gyllenhaal. Hell, even with Bay's reputation for commanding massive budgets,
02:02Ambulance was made for an impressive $40 million, and in a marketplace dominated by CGI-heavy tentpoles,
02:09the presence of a more robust mid-budget action flick seemed pretty refreshing. The irony is that
02:14despite being Bay's best-reviewed film in over 25 years, Ambulance sank like a stone at the box office.
02:21In a theatrical landscape dominated by $200 million blockbusters, audiences may have taken
02:26one look at this film and decided to wait it out for streaming. Don't be shocked if it does become
02:31a big performer on video on demand, though. 8. The Suicide Squad
02:34James Gunn's The Suicide Squad was basically a big, bombastic apology for 2016's David Ayer-directed
02:41Suicide Squad, which, despite negative reviews, grossed a mammoth $746.8 million worldwide.
02:47Sadly, the vitriolic response to that film seemed to help poison this soft reboot of sorts,
02:52despite the fact it received rave reviews from critics and fans alike. With a colossal $185 million
02:58budget, The Suicide Squad realistically needed to make around $450 million to make the film
03:03day and date on HBO Max in the US, so Warner Bros. clearly sacrificed a portion of its box office
03:11to bolster their streaming service. Yet even accepting this simultaneous release,
03:15The Suicide Squad still performed horribly, making just $167.4 million globally. Now,
03:21compare that to Godzilla vs. Kong, which also released day and date on HBO Max and still made
03:26$468.2 million worldwide. One oft-cited reason is, again, that the 2016 Suicide Squad simply soured
03:35people on the property. And given that 2020's Birds of Prey also tanked, the interest just wasn't
03:40there. The film was a strong performer on streaming, though, and thankfully Gunn had already shot the
03:45John Cena starring Peacemaker spin-off series before The Suicide Squad even hit cinemas. With
03:50Peacemaker proving a strong ratings hit on HBO Max, it seems highly likely that the squad's future
03:55will remain on the small screen. 7. Licorice Pizza
03:59Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza is, true to form for the director, an impeccably crafted piece
04:04of work, a deliriously entertaining coming-of-age dramedy which received three Oscar nominations for
04:09Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. But, despite rave reviews, the film
04:15didn't get anywhere close to turning a profit theatrically, ultimately failing to recoup even its
04:20modest $40 million budget. This speaks once again to adult and arthouse films largely struggling to
04:26find larger audiences at the box office. Yet, this admittedly isn't something new for Anderson,
04:30who has in fact only had two of his nine movies to date turn a profit in cinemas,
04:35Bookie Nights, and There Will Be Blood. In the case of Licorice Pizza, the budget was undoubtedly
04:39bloated out by its period setting, which always adds millions onto any film's price tag, ensuring its
04:44chances of immediate profitability in the pandemic landscape were always going to be extremely slim.
04:50Despite Anderson's poor commercial track record, though, studios evidently continue to work with
04:54him because the prestige and potential for Oscar nominations is definitely there.
04:596. Nightmare Alley
05:01Guillermo del Toro's new period psychological thriller Nightmare Alley was one of 2021's most
05:06unforgettable genre films, a sumptuously shot and brilliantly acted effort that received four
05:11Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. Nightmare Alley's Oscar recognition is all the more
05:16surprising given the film's atrocious box office performance, barely clawing back half its $60
05:21million budget. The reasons for its failure are myriad, though. Older viewers' reluctance to return
05:27to cinemas, a vague marketing campaign which didn't sell the movie well, and surely worst of all,
05:32deciding to release it on the same day as Spider-Man No Way Home. Counter-programming can work
05:37sometimes, but not against a film as enormously hyped as No Way Home that basically everybody
05:42and their grandma wanted to see. 5. The Green Knight
05:46Unlike most films on this list, David Lowery's surreal fantasy epic The Green Knight didn't have
05:51a hefty budget to recoup at the box office, having been made for an impressively svelte $15 million.
05:57Yet, despite receiving rave reviews for its writing, direction, performances, and jaw-dropping
06:01production quality, the film sadly failed to break out as a larger hit. A24 boldly decided to give The
06:07Green Knight a wide theatrical release, dropping it in 2,790 North American cinemas last summer.
06:13Yet, it only barely made back its budget and ultimately failed to turn a profit on the big
06:18screen. Given the director's artsy approach to well-trod subject matter that would surely alienate
06:23more casual audiences, it's little surprised that the film netted a dismal C-plus cinema score
06:28and quickly fell off the cliff at the box office. It also didn't help that The Green Knight ended up
06:33skipping a major theatrical release in some prominent markets, such as the UK, where it went direct
06:37to Amazon Prime the same day it hit cinemas.
06:404. West Side Story
06:42Bets don't come much surer than Steven Spielberg, who over the last 20 years has produced just
06:47two box office underperformers, Munich and the BFG, and almost a dozen smash hits. A Spielberg-directed
06:54remake of West Side Story, one of the most iconic musicals ever, must have seemed like a financial
06:59slam dunk to 20th Century Studios when the project began filming back in the summer of 2019.
07:04But, with the pandemic pumping the brakes on adults skewing movies, and younger audiences
07:09having little to no nostalgia for the original 1961 film, West Side Story failed to turn a profit.
07:14With its massive $100 million budget and extensive marketing campaign, it likely needed to gross
07:19around $250 million in order to be a success, but ultimately didn't even crack one-third of that
07:25figure. Even with rave reviews and a mighty A cinema score, leading to seven Oscar nominations,
07:31including Best Picture, this was a film that categorically failed to entice general audiences.
07:36Though West Side Story has been another strong performer on streaming, it's a shame that arguably
07:40Spielberg's best movie in 20 or so years was largely ignored on the big screen.
07:453. The Outfit
07:46Quietly dropped in cinemas earlier this year with minimal marketing, The Outfit is one of 2022's
07:52most entertaining movies to date, a low-key crime drama starring Mark Rylance as a tailor who finds
07:57himself caught in a battle of wits with a group of gangsters. The film was largely praised by critics
08:01for its smart screenplay, fun plot twists, and great performances, though this sadly failed to
08:06translate into box office gravy. Even with the film clearly being made on a relatively low budget,
08:11taking place primarily in just one location with just a few actors, the low worldwide total of just
08:16$3.6 million wasn't enough for it to turn a profit. Between the film targeting older audiences,
08:22Focus features rather lackluster marketing push, and many viewers now just preferring to wait for
08:27streaming for lower budget films that they perceive as less cinematic, it unfortunately
08:31never really stood a chance. 2. The Northman
08:33Robert Eggers' historical epic The Northman may have only recently hit cinemas, but its opening
08:38weekend box office in the US confirms that it's going to be a commercial failure. No matter how
08:43warmly received the film was by critics, and that it scored a surprisingly not bad B-cinema score
08:48despite its surreal nature, it was always going to face an uphill struggle theatrically. With a stonking
08:53$70 million budget, or if some sources can be believed $90 million, the Northmen would need to
08:59cross the $150 million mark to get anywhere close to profitability, which even with pop culture's
09:04current obsession with Vikings had zero chance of doing. As brilliant as the film is, Universal was
09:10mightily optimistic here, or some might say delusional to think that a big-budget Eggers-directed
09:15film would catch on with the mainstream. Given that his previous film The Lighthouse failed to turn a
09:20profit on a mere $11 million budget, it was undeniably wishful thinking that The Northman would be a
09:24breakout hit, even with its more accessible subject matter.
09:281. The Nighthouse
09:30Horror is one of those genres that's continued to thrive throughout the pandemic, largely because
09:34their budgets tend to be relatively low, and they typically skew towards younger audiences. Yet more
09:39artsy horror has still faced an uphill struggle, as evidenced by the brilliant Rebecca Hall starring The
09:45Nighthouse, which was dumped in 2,240 North American cinemas with minimal marketing last
09:50audiences. Despite rave reviews for Hall's superb, award-worthy performance and Dave Bruckner's tense,
09:56restrained direction, it failed to become a wider word-of-mouth hitter searchlight pictures clearly
10:00hoped, finishing at a paltry $15.5 million worldwide. Even though the film's undisclosed budget wasn't
10:07massive, it clearly wasn't super low either, and so there's no chance of it turning a profit
10:11theatrically. It also didn't help that the trailers largely sold the film as a more conventional
10:15horror flick, when it was in fact a quiet, restrained, weird type of genre offering,
10:20as surely led to it receiving a dire C-minus cinema score from audiences who felt deceived.
10:26This likely killed its word-of-mouth and ensured that a lot of potential customers just waited
10:30to watch it on streaming instead.
10:32And there we go, my friends. Those were 10 awesome recent movies that didn't deserve to bomb. I hope
10:36that you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the comments section below.
10:40As always, I've been Jules. You can go follow me over on Twitter at RetroJay with a zero,
10:44or you can swing by Live and Let's Dice, where I do all of my streaming outside of work,
10:48and it'd be great to see you over there, my friends. But before I go, I hope you're treating
10:51yourself with love and respect, my friend, because you deserve all of the best things in life,
10:55like love, happiness, and success. And don't let anyone or anything else tell you otherwise,
10:59alright? You're not gonna bomb, my friend. You're gonna go out there to big box office success,
11:04you massive star. As always, I've been Jules. You have been awesome.
11:07Never forget that, and I'll speak to you soon. Bye.
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