A Disastrous Liam Neeson Sci-Fi Flop Was Almost Canceled

Peter Berg's 2012 would-be blockbuster "Battleship" was doomed from the start. The film was based on the popular Hasbro board game of the same name, wherein players attempt to guess the coordinates of their opponent's battleships on a hidden grid. The game boasted no characters or plot beyond that, however, making a feature film adaptation seem foolish by design; it's not so different from the idea of making a "Kool-Aid" movie, as seen in the satirical TV series "The Studio."

And it turned out to be just as disastrous as it sounded. "Battleship" was a massively expensive affair, sporting a budget of (by some reports) up to $220 million. Despite this, it was terribly unpopular, grossing $65.2 million domestically and $313.5 million overall. (By Hollywood standards, that's still a bomb.) It was also reviewed very poorly and currently boasts a decidedly "Rotten" score from hundreds of critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The film's premise is thin, and its characters are uninteresting. The movie also, bafflingly, incorporated a sci-fi element by having the titular battleship face off against marauding space aliens. It's a silly idea. Also, Taylor Kitsch didn't impress anyone as the lead, and no one cared about the underwritten roles for noteworthy names like Alexander Skarsgård, Liam Neeson, and Rihanna. No one, it seems, cared enough about the Hasbro board game to turn "Battleship" into a smash.

"Battleship" was one of those projects that Universal Pictures was determined to stubbornly push through, however, despite how misguided it was. In 2016, The New Yorker wrote an article on Adam Fogelson, the chairman of Universal at the time, and gave a few details on his involvement with "Battleship." It seems that Fogelson's time at Universal dovetailed with the notorious sale of Universal to Comcast in 2011, an event that came with a series of mandates from his new higher-ups. For a minute, it looked like "Battleship," already greenlit, would be shelved in the shuffle. It was only after a strong push — and an unwise increase in budget — that the film was revived.

Battleship was almost canceled during pre-production

According to the New Yorker profile, Universal's new overlords from Comcast immediately demanded that the studio start focusing more on blockbusters and mega-franchises. Of the six major studios in operation in 2011, Universal was in last place at the box office. Perhaps they wanted more successes like the "Fast & Furious" franchise, which had recently released its fifth movie. Other Universal sequels like "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" and "Step Up 3D" weren't cutting it. The box office mega-hit "Jurassic World" wouldn't come out until 2015.

Fogelson thought he had gold in his hands with "Battleship," and he had already greenlit the movie with a budget of $150 million. That, he felt, was going to be the blockbuster to put Universal on the map. Money started to be spent on building up the "Battleship" film, and Fogelson seemed to be getting his wish.

There are no details on the matter, but it seems that "Battleship" ran into various "production troubles" during its construction. After about $30 million had already been spent, and nothing good had been produced, Universal considered pulling the plug on the entire thing. The studio would lose that $30 million, but it seemed wise at that point to cut its losses. Fogelson argued with his bosses that the film could indeed make its money back, but only if he added more complex, expensive special effects. Universal (one might imagine reluctantly) agreed and boosted the budget of "Battleship." By the New Yorker's measure, the film ended up costing $209 million.

"Battleship" went on to lose $115 million for the studio. Perhaps canceling the film would have been a better idea.

It seems, though, that "Battleship" director Peter Berg and Fogelson became good friends in the debacle, as Berg continuously defended the exec in the aftermath. The two would go on to make the thriller "Mile 22" together. It's a small consolation prize following a turkey like "Battleship," but at least something positive came out of it.

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