The Biggest Sci-Fi Bombs Of 2023 So Far
The global box office has been in recovery mode for the past couple of years in the aftermath of the pandemic, and 2023 has been a bit of a mixed bag. Given the prevalence of superheroes, dinosaurs, and other types of big-tent storytelling on screen, you would think science fiction films would be a significant part of that recovery. But this year has shown us just how fickle the movie business can be, as several very high-profile sci-fi movies have underperformed in a big way at the box office.
From signs that superhero fatigue may indeed be a real thing to dinosaurs outside of the "Jurassic Park" franchise, we've seen quite a few big sci-fi movies enter the fold this year. Things have gone fairly well for movies like "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Knock at the Cabin," among others. For a handful of films though, it's been a different story, leaving studios left to pick up the pieces and figure out how to avoid similar problems in the future. As we reach the halfway point of 2023, here are the biggest sci-fi bombs of the year so far.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
What's amazing about "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" is that two things will be true at once: It will be one of the highest-grossing movies of the year, and it will also be a relative flop for Disney. The film kicked off Phase 5 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in early 2023 with a bang, delivering a huge $106 million opening weekend — by far a record for the "Ant-Man" franchise. Unfortunately, interest waned quickly, leading to a gigantic drop-off in the film's second weekend and a pretty brutal run from then on out. All told, director Peyton Reed's adventure into the Quantum Realm topped out at $476 million worldwide, the lowest of the "Ant-Man" movies, coming in well behind both 2015's "Ant-Man" ($518.8 million) and 2018's "Ant-Man and the Wasp" ($623.1 million)
Nearly $500 million worldwide probably shouldn't be an issue, but in this case, the film's reported $200 million budget is sticking out like a sore thumb, meaning that the movie most definitely did not result in a profit during its theatrical run. Over time? Maybe it gets into the black, but the quickness with which global audiences dismissed what was sold as an Avengers-level event must be considered a disappointment for Disney and Marvel Studios.
Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
There was a time when the "Transformers" franchise seemed downright unstoppable, with Michael Bay at the helm during the height of his cinematic powers. Unfortunately, the Bayhem ran out of gas with 2017's "The Last Knight" and Paramount has been trying to right the ship since 2018 when "Bumblebee" charmed moviegoers rather successfully. Though that film only earned $465 million worldwide, it was a win relative to its $102 million budget. That seemingly teed up the ball for the series to return to its former glory. We're sad to say it, but this year's "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" didn't get the job done.
Heading into theaters with mixed reviews and a '90s setting, director Steven Caple Jr.'s relaunch of the franchise has, as of this writing, earned just $341.2 million globally against a pretty hefty $195 million budget (before marketing). A best-case scenario right now would see "Rise of the Beasts" essentially matching the box office take of "Bumblebee," albeit with a budget nearly twice as high. What does that mean for the future? It's tough to say, but Paramount needs to adjust its strategy because this isn't going to get the job done.
65
For whatever reason, the "Jurassic Park" franchise has mostly had a monopoly on using dinosaurs in blockbusters for 30 years. Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, the duo behind "A Quiet Place," tried to change that trend with this year's "65." Starring Adam Driver and a bunch of CGI dinos, the film takes place 65 million years ago and sees a lost spaceman trying to get off of prehistoric Earth. Sadly, it didn't pan out. Against a budget of $45 million (which seems pretty reasonable for a big dinosaur movie), the film topped out at $60.7 million worldwide. When accounting for marketing, there's no chance Sony came close to breaking even from ticket sales alone.
The good news here is that Sony didn't overspend on this one. When accounting for VOD, Blu-ray sales, and other revenue streams, such as the studio's lucrative deal with Netflix, this one will probably break even down the line. It's just a shame that it wasn't an actual hit, paving the way for more inventive, mid-budget sci-fi from other studios. Hollywood follows the money, and the money didn't follow Adam Driver to the land of dinosaurs.
The Flash
There will be few, if any, blockbuster disasters as high-profile as "The Flash" in 2023. Warner Bros. has been trying to make a solo movie about DC's fastest hero for years now, dating back to the early 2000s. Director Andy Muschietti finally got the job done, using a trip through the DC multiverse to tell the story, with troubled star Ezra Miller front-and-center as Barry Allen. The result was a much-hyped $200 million blockbuster that audiences roundly rejected. The studio is going to lose a fortune to the tune of at least $150 million over this grave miscalculation, making matters complicated for the future of the DC Universe, and, more immediately, WB's bottom line.
While the film has yet to finish its run in theaters, as of this writing, it has earned a mere $211 million worldwide. It will probably top out at around $300 million when all's said and done. Since theaters keep about half of all money from ticket sales, you can see why WB is in bad shape. Blame it on overestimating the appeal of Michael Keaton's return as Batman all these years later, or Miller's off-screen troubles. Whatever the case, this is proof that audiences are far more choosy about which superhero movies they will turn up to see than they were even just a few years ago.
Hypnotic
Robert Rodriguez has directed some big hits in his career, including "Spy Kids" and "Sin City." Ben Affleck, meanwhile, has starred in his fair of huge movies, from "Armageddon" to "Gone Girl." With their powers combined? Rodriguez and Affleck made one of the biggest bombs we're going to see in 2023. "Hypnotic," a mind-bending sci-fi thriller that debuted at SXSW, ended up being an utter trainwreck. Against a sizable $65 million budget, the film opened to just $2.35 million back in May. From there, it went about as badly as you would expect, topping out with a total of just $6.2 million globally. Ouch.
It's downright hard to believe a movie with a big budget, as well as an A-list director and star, can put so few butts in seats. Granted, this one got away from Rodriguez a bit as the film was shut down several times by the pandemic, which ended up inflating the budget dramatically. Be that as it may, even with a budget a third that size, this would still be a pretty big flop. As it stands? A lot of people probably lost a lot of money, and this will certainly go down as a blemish on his career and Affleck's. It's not a career killer, exactly, but it sure as heck doesn't help.