Highly Anticipated Sci-Fi Movies That Bombed At The Box Office

So-called "Hollywood accounting" is a tricky business, one with a long history going back to the days of John Wayne. Studios love to shuffle their money around, playing around with their financial ledgers until some movies seem profitable, while others appear to put them in the red. When all is said and done, a movie's profitability — at least, as far as shareholders are concerned — may or may not have any correlation to the film's actual box office stats. Then there's the fact that profitability and box office stats don't necessarily have anything to do with a film's overall cultural impact; plenty of movies have garnered massive fanbases slowly over time, rather than raking in enough money by some deadline to appear as a positive line item on a studio's yearly report. Especially in the COVID-19 era, where massive-budget movies end up on streaming while they are still in theaters, it's tough to measure what films are actually impacting audiences.

This can be especially tricky for science fiction movies because the genre often requires a large budget to pull off special effects. Sci-fi movies face this uphill battle when seeking profitability, meaning that some surprising titles, no matter how popular or impactful, failed to hit that marker. Read on for a look back at 12 sci-fi movies that everyone seemed excited about until they bombed at the box office. (Oh, and one more thing for film fans to keep in mind when assessing a film's success: Financial impact often has nothing to do with a film's quality.)

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

The "Terminator" franchise is ... shall we say, inconsistent. The first two films in the series are almost universally-beloved; the original has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while the sequel sits at an impressive 93% Fresh. After that, things got convoluted; after all, when your series sets the date for the end of the world in 1997, any "Terminator" movies made after that point tend to tie themselves in knots to explain why we're all still kicking.

Enter "Terminator: Dark Fate," a 2019 sequel that was supposed to right the ship. James Cameron, who directed the first two movies and returned to produce this sequel, told Deadline that he had such confidence in the film that he felt it could launch a whole new trilogy. "When we got a handle on something we looked at it as a three-film arc," he said, "so there is a greater story there to be told. If we get fortunate enough to make some money with 'Dark Fate' we know exactly where we can go with the subsequent films." The film also saw the return of Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner, an iconic character, after almost 30 years away from the franchise. Fans, understandably, were excited.

Unfortunately, despite decent reviews, "Dark Fate" was not successful enough to reignite the series. According to Deadline, the film's opening weekend box office fell far short of expectations, drawing only $29 million. Ultimately, the film was estimated to represent a loss of $122.6 million. 

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

Sci-fi fans had a lot of reasons to look forward to Luc Besson's "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets." After all, Besson is responsible for "The Fifth Element," a cult-classic sci-fi film, and "Valerian" represented his return to the genre after spending the intervening years making action movies. An adaptation of the long-running Belgian comic strip "Valerian and Laureline," the film was teased at San Diego Comic-Con more than a year before its release. Oh, and one more thing: The film also marked Rihanna's return to acting, playing a shape-shifting alien named Bubble. What's not to get excited about?

So confident in the film was Besson that he showed unfinished scenes to journalists long before the movie was ready. "Just enjoy it, remember everything is temp," he cautioned before the screening, according to Polygon. "I can't even watch it. But in five months it will be good," he promised.

Unfortunately, not even the power of the Rihanna Navy could make "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" a hit. Marred by middling reviews – many of which pointed to model-turned-actor Cara Delevingne as a particular weakness — the film flopped at the box office. Vanity Fair noted, however, that the stars were forced to continue on the film's press tour, already knowing the film had bombed. Against a $209 million budget, the magazine noted, the sci-fi epic debuted with a mere $23 million worldwide. Yikes.

Tomorrowland (2015)

In the past, Disney has had good luck turning their theme park attractions into films. After all, according to CNBC, the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series is one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time. It makes sense, then, that Disney was excited about "Tomorrowland," a film that attempted to create a mythology for the section of the parks that goes by the same name. "Tomorrowland" was directed by Brad Bird, who helmed "The Incredibles" and "The Iron Giant," and it starred George Clooney. A recipe for success, right?

Disney certainly thought so. The film received an aggressive marketing push from the Mouse House, extensively advertising "Tomorrowland" to the point where a six-minute extended peek at the film premiered in IMAX screenings of "Avengers: Age of Ultron." Audiences even reacted positively to the teaser; one fan even wrote on Twitter, "The best part of Avengers: Age of Ultron in IMAX is the extended preview of Tomorrowland."

Despite the hype, mainstream audiences simply didn't show up for "Tomorrowland" in theaters. Reviews were lukewarm, and the film failed to capture the same buzz as "Pirates of the Caribbean." According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film cost $190 million to produce, but by several months after its release, it had barely crawled past $200 million globally. All told, the movie lost Disney somewhere north of $150 million. The blockbuster of tomorrow, this wasn't.

A Wrinkle in Time (2018)

The announcement that "Selma" director Ava DuVernay would be adapting Madeleine L'Engle's beloved children's book "A Wrinkle In Time" brought much attention to the project. According to Vanity Fair, DuVernay's selection was historic; no Black woman had ever before directed a film with a budget over $100 million, so DuVernay would be the first. 

In building the film, DuVernay insisted on a diverse cast that included Reese Witherspoon and Oprah Winfrey, a move that sent anticipation levels skyrocketing. A cover story in Time praising the film's diversity was headlined "Why the 'A Wrinkle in Time' Movie Will Change Hollywood." No pressure, or anything. Even the American Library Association got in on the hype, reporting, "Librarians haven't seen this kind of advanced attention for a kidlit adaptation since the last 'Harry Potter' movie."

The movie was finally released in the winter of 2018, and ... it bombed. Despite everything the movie had going for it, audiences simply didn't turn up, perhaps scared off by less-than-stellar reviews. Deadline called it one of the "biggest box office bombs of 2018," noting that the film represented a loss of more than $130 million for Disney. Although "A Wrinkle in Time" is the first book in a series, no further films have been planned.

Mortal Engines (2018)

Advertising for 2018's cities-on-wheels epic "Mortal Engines" pushed hard on the fact that Peter Jackson was involved; the film's trailers described the movie as "from the filmmakers behind 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit.'" Like those fantasy classics, "Mortal Engines" is a big-screen adaptation of a beloved book series, written by Philip Reeve. Nearly a year before the movie's release, book publisher Scholastic got the promotional engines rolling. Publisher's Weekly reported that the company was planning new covers for the series as well as a new volume of short stories set in the film's world, a post-apocalyptic landscape where mega-cities have gone mobile. The film was even given a prime release date in December, suggesting that this was an event film not to be missed.

People missed it. The book series may have had its fans, but the series lacks the cultural cachet of "The Lord of the Rings," and the film version of "Mortal Engines" didn't come close to matching Jackson's earlier box office dominance. Deadline reported the production budget at $110 million and further advertising spend above $120 million, and yet, according to Vanity Fair, it made a mere $7.5 million in its opening weekend.

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

When "Solo: A Star Wars Story" was announced, sci-fi fans were excited to see a prequel centered on wisecracking ruffian Han Solo. The trades and various film sites breathlessly followed casting announcements to see who would play the younger version of the character made famous by Harrison Ford. According to The Hollywood Reporter, famous names such as Miles Teller, Taron Egerton, and Ansel Elgort were in contention for the part; it ultimately went to "Hail, Caesar!" breakout Alden Ehrenreich.

Unfortunately, the hype for the movie began to falter when there were much-publicized creative difficulties on set. Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired and replaced by Ron Howard, according to Variety, who noted that there were mere weeks left of shooting when the "Apollo 13" director stepped in to finish the film.

When "Solo" finally hit theaters, reviews were decent; the movie sits at 69% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. However, by that point — about six months after the controversial "The Last Jedi" evoked passionate backlash — audiences just didn't seem to care anymore. Box Office Mojo estimated that the film's budget had ballooned to $275 million, but "Solo" merely crawled to $213 million domestically ... a far cry from the haul that would have been necessary to turn a profit.

Speed Racer (2008)

After Lana and Lily Wachowski changed the action-movie game with 1999's "The Matrix," all of Hollywood wanted to know what they'd do next. Initially, the answer was two more "Matrix" movies, successively less well-received than the first. After that, though, they announced that they were turning their attention to a live-action adaptation of the iconic cartoon "Speed Racer," about a guy who lives in a world where auto racers are the biggest celebrities on the planet and are also crimefighters. More than a year before the movie's release, Joel Silver got the hype train rolling and told Empire Magazine that the film would be unlike anything in the history of cinema, adding, "The Wachowskis brought a tremendous sense of wonder and magic to that story."

The film was set to star John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Christina Ricci, and Emile Hirsch, a solid cast. Sarandon went into more detail about just what was so revolutionary about the Wachowskis' approach, telling Collider (via FirstShowing) that they had developed a new technique for keeping both the foreground and background in focus. "Everything is very, very saturated with some new kind of film ..." she teased. "So it's every color that wasn't in 'The Matrix' is seriously in this film."

The movie received a paltry 41% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes – though it has since experienced a critical re-evaluation. Audiences weren't too interested either. According to Bomb Report, the movie made under $44 million domestically against a budget of $120 million.

Cloud Atlas (2012)

In 2012, the Wachowskis teamed with German director Tom Tykwer to adapt "Cloud Atlas," David Mitchell's critically-acclaimed novel. The book spans locations, genres, and centuries, telling stories set on a 19th-century slave ship and on a post-apocalyptic island, moving between contemporary London and the far-future Neo-Seoul. To craft the uncategorizable film, the directors assembled an all-star cast that included Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, and more, enlisting their actors to take on multiple roles across each story. (Regrettably, this led to some race-swapping ... never a great idea).

Before the movie's release, Warner Bros.' President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman hyped the film up while speaking with The Hollywood Reporter. "Audiences who have seen an early screening of 'Cloud Atlas' have been elated by its powerful and inspiring story, as well as its breathtaking visuals," he said, and the corresponding article noted that the film might be an awards player. Entertainment sites rushed to help viewers decode the film's multiple, enmeshed storylines and repeat cast members, positioning the movie as an event.

Then, "Cloud Atlas" was actually released, and it failed to connect. E! News reported that the sci-fi epic cost $100 million to make, but in its opening weekend, it only managed to scrounge up $9.6 million. "We'll see how it plays out," Fellman told the outlet, suggesting that the movie might have staying power. That doesn't seem to have been the case; according to Box Office Mojo, the movie topped out at $27 million domestically.

Titan A.E. (2000)

Animation World Network reported that "Titan A.E." — then called "Planet Ice" — had been greenlit by Fox's fledgling animation studio in 1997. The film, about a far-future scenario where Earth is destroyed by aliens and humanity's remnants live aboard a spaceship, took several years to actually reach theaters. Along the way, it underwent numerous changes in the run-up to release, including having the production taken over by beloved animator Don Bluth. The director of "The Land Before Time" and "All Dogs Go to Heaven" was fresh from the success of "Anastasia," meaning audiences were excited about the director's leap into sci-fi and CGI with "Titan A.E."

However, ahead of the film's release, co-director Gary Goldman seemed to already be hedging expectations in an interview with AWN. "We had only 19 months to complete the whole thing," he reasoned. "People who have seen the picture — even the color timer at Disney — have said that they can't believe that it was done in such a short time."

When it was finally released, "Titan A.E." lost the studio a ton of money. According to Box Office Mojo, the space epic made a disappointing $9,376,845 in its opening weekend against a production budget of $75 million. That's such a loss that it led to the closure of Fox's entire animation studio, according to Variety. Perhaps underselling it a bit, President of Fox Animation Chris Meledandri told the outlet, "It clearly is a tough marketplace."

FANT4STIC (2015)

In the years after "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer," the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched, dominating the box office. By the time 20th Century Fox rebooted the property in 2015 — before Disney bought Fox and thereby brought the Fantastic Four rights back to (Disney-owned) Marvel — fans were eager for a new take on the characters. The film was directed by "Chronicle" helmer Josh Trank, who cast Michael B. Jordan, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell as the super-powered team, in addition to tapping Toby Kebbel to play the villainous Dr. Doom.

The hype was high, but it all started to go wrong with news of extensive reshoots. Years later, Trank would describe the studio-mandated process to Polygon as akin to being "castrated," recalling, "You're standing there, and you're basically watching producers blocking out scenes, five minutes ahead of when you get there, having [editors hired] by the studio deciding the sequence of shots that are going to construct whatever is going on." He decided to kneecap his own film, tweeting and deleting the night before release, "A year ago I had a fantastic version of this. And it would've received great reviews. You'll probably never see it."

Predictably, the film failed to find its audience. Critics weren't kind, either; unlike the hypothetical version of the film Trank claimed to have delivered, the actual movie currently sits at a disappointing 9% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the movie lost upwards of $100 million.

Tron: Legacy (2010)

Press coverage for "Tron: Legacy" began more than a year before the release. The sequel to a cult classic 1980s film where Jeff Bridges gets stuck inside a video game, "Tron: Legacy" promised updated visuals that would reflect the staggering advancements that had been made in the field of CGI. Though the film wouldn't hit theaters for 16 months, Disney brought Flynn's Arcade to life at San Diego Comic-Con 2009, ensuring that anticipation for the new film would have plenty of time to build among the target audience. Star Olivia Wilde began her press tour that same summer, more than a year in advance, telling Wired, "This is a revolution in filmmaking, and I have to be a part of it." Computer Graphics World even hyped it up as the successor to the previous year's "Avatar."

Despite everything "Tron: Legacy" had going for it, the film failed to turn a profit. All that digital de-aging technology used to make Bridges young again didn't come cheap; according to The Numbers, the movie cost $200 million to make. Per Box Office Mojo, the film only took in $44 million in its opening weekend. Plans for a sequel were put on hold for over a decade; in 2023, Disney finally announced that a third film called "Tron: Ares" was in development (per Deadline).

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

In 1982, Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" failed to light up the box office, thanks in part to Steven Spielberg's "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" still dominating theaters. The film, which starred Harrison Ford, was a gritty neo-noir about a bounty hunter chasing after synthetic humans, called Replicants; the story simply didn't resonate in the era where extra-terrestrials had lovable appetites for Reese's Pieces. However, the movie became a bit of a home-video marvel. Ultimately, seven different cuts of the film have been released, rescuing the film from obscurity and cementing it as a classic.

When it was announced that Denis Villeneuve would be directing a sequel, fans were excited. The new installment, titled "Blade Runner 2049," would pair returning star Ford with a young upstart in the form of Ryan Gosling. "I've never done something so shrouded in secrecy or where there's so much anticipation," Gosling told GQ almost a year before the film came out, claiming he was "cautiously optimistic" about the movie. Early reviews were rapturous sending anticipation into overdrive.

"Blade Runner 2049" won the weekend box office when it finally hit theaters, but the movie didn't come close to expectations. According to Entertainment Weekly, the film had been forecast to make as much as $55 million in its opening frame, but it pulled in a mere $31.5 million instead. The film's box office haul was so disappointing, in fact, that it led to layoffs at Alcon Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. More like Replican't. (Sorry.)