"A Return To Neverland That Should Never Have Been Made" –11 Sequels, Prequels, And Remakes That Bombed At The Box Office

"The movie failed to bring in an audience of any size.”

It seems like a lot of movies these days are remakes, sequels, and prequels, but that isn't always a recipe for success. Occasionally, adding another film to an already-loved franchise can be a big financial mistake.

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So, here are 11 prequels, sequels, and reboots, that bombed at the box office:

1. Pan (2015)

Warner Bros. Pictures

Budget: $150,000,000

Box Office: $128,388,320

There have been a number of follow-up movies to the original 1953 Disney film, but the 2015 reboot was nothing short of a massive flop. The mammoth budget led the movie to lose nearly $90m. Questionable decisions including Blackbeard and his gang singing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” contributed to the critics slamming the movie. One reviewer wrote: "A return to Neverland that should never have been made."

A Warner Bros. executive spoke about the poor performance: “It came in so much lighter than anything we could have predicted. The movie failed to bring in an audience of any size.”

Watch the trailer here:

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2. Terminator: Dark Fate

Paramount Pictures

Budget: $185,000,000
Box Office: $261,119,292

While the box office exceeded the production budget, the whole project repoortedly lost $120 million. The movie was the sixth in the series, and ultimately the last, thanks to its terrible box office performance. On why he thought it flopped, director James Cameron took some of the blame, saying: “I think the problem, and I’m going to wear this one, is that I refused to do it without Arnold.”

Bringing back Arnold meant they had to get more of the older cast, restricting the appeal to an older audience who had seen the originals. 

Take a look here:

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3. Wonder Woman 1984

Warner Brothers. Pictures

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office: $166,360,232

After the box office and critical success of Wonder Woman, a follow-up was always on the cards. With COVID affecting cinemas, the theatrical release of Wonder Woman 1984 was done in conjunction with its release on HBO Max. The simultaneous streaming and cinema release undoubtedly contributed to its poor box-office performance. While Warner suggested that the decision was a success for their streaming platform, the movie itself lost over $100m at the box office. 

Watch the trailer here:

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4. Ben-Hur (2016)

Paramount Pictures

Budget: $100,000,000

Box Office: $94,061,311

Remaking the Oscar-winning epic was never going to be easy, but performing this terribly is also pretty hard. The huge marketing spend didn't pay off, and led the film to lose as much as $120m. 

The movie's highly religious marketing also failed to attract younger and secular viewers. One box office analyst explained its commercial failure like this: "When you pull that Evangelical card, you turn off a lot of the audience.”

Take a look here:

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5. Cats

Universal Pictures

Budget: $95,000,000

Box Office: $75,558,925

The screen adaptation of the musical certainly went all in. With an all-star cast and a lot of costly animation, it's no wonder the budget was so large. However, once the initial images came out, and after the internet's less-than-friendly reactions to them went live, the film was ultimately doomed. Having been labelled 'creepy,' and with a slew of poor reviews, the film failed to garner any real interest. The studio ended up losing at least $70m thanks to its inflated, and ultimately ineffective, marketing budget.

Have a look at the trailer:

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6. Evan Almighty

Universal Pictures

Budget: $175,000,000

Box Office: $174,440,724

Bruce Almighty was an undoubted box office success, and that may have been somewhat due to the iconic and individual style of Jim Carrey. So, when making a sequel – particularly one they were willing to spend $175m on – not getting Jim back for even a small part seemed like a mistake. 

Whether it was that, or just the terrible reviews from critics, Evan Almighty was an unmitigated disaster, and lost around $100m. 

Have a look here:

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7. Fantastic Four (2016)

20th Century Studios

Budget: $120,000,000

Box Office: $167,882,881

The 2005 version of Fantastic Four managed to become a box office success despite a poor critical reception. The follow-up, The Silver Surfer didn't do as well, but still counted as a success. However, the reboot, which featured an all-new cast, failed to garner any real excitement and bombed at the box office. It lost millions and any chance of a sequel along with it.

Watch the trailer:

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8. Lightyear

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Budget: $200,000,000

Box Office: $218,768,299

Toy Story was always a real winner for Disney (perhaps that's why they made four of them). But when it came to the spin-off, Lightyear, they had no such success. The mixed-to-bad reviews may have hindered footfall, and Lightyear ended up losing over $100m. Of course, there were also restrictions on where the film could have been shown worldwide (it could not be shown in 14 countries due to its depiction of same-sex relationships). 

Have a look here:

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9. Ghostbusters (2016)

Sony Pictures Releasing

Budget: $144,000,000

Box Office: $229,147,509

Rebooting an old classic, particularly one from over 30 years ago, is a risky move. Despite the cult following of the original, the reboot didn't manage to stoke up enough hype to break even with the budget and marketing costs. In fact, the movie lost around $70m. Actor and producer Dan Aykroyd blamed the movie's inflated budget on director Paul Feig's expensive reshoots, and the uninspiring reviews can't have helped either. 

Have a look here:

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10. Son of the Mask

New Line Cinema

Budget: $84,000,000

Box Office: $59,981,548

The original film, which came out a whole 11 years before this sequel, captured audiences with its humour, spirit, and the then-rising star of Jim Carrey. These characteristics made the original a box-office success and were exactly what the sequel was missing. Without the pull of Jim, and with poor critical reviews, Son of the Mask turned out to be a financial disaster.

Watch the trailer here:

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11. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Budget: $295,000,000

Box Office: $375,441,472

Only a few franchises can boast better name recognition or a bigger fandom than Indiana Jones, but that doesn't guarantee success. While grossing close to $400m may seem like a decent return on a movie, it's estimated that, with marketing costs and the budget, the film would have needed to gross $750m to be considered profitable. 

The movie didn't go down too well with the critics, and with less than favourable reviews of the last film, The Crystal Skull, it seems that interest in the movie has dwindled. In addition, there were three significant stumbling blocks for the film's release, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning, Barbie, and Oppenheimer, which it was competing with.

Have a look:

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When has a sequel, prequel, or remake really disappointed you? Let us know in the comments below!