The end of the decade allows us to reminisce about all the movies that just didn’t work out. Hollywood embraced the fad of the reboot with mixed results. Hit films like Lion King, IT, and 21 Jump Street all showed that viewers would come to the movie theater for ones that they wanted to see. However, quite a few reboots ended in failure with the result of films that didn’t win over the audience.
We will look back at the movie reboots that couldn’t recapture the magic of the original stories. Classic films and television shows were remade on the big screen with huge plans behind them. The ones to flop clearly didn’t have the momentum to bring in enough money to make it a success. Find out just which films dropped the ball when trying to tell already established stories. These were the top ten biggest movie reboots to flop at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
The Green Hornet (2011)
Seth Rogen’s project of rebooting The Green Hornet as a film in 2011 led to huge disappointment. The hope was that the boom of the superhero genre would convince viewers to give the beloved hero a chance with a more comedic approach to the story.
The Green Hornet made $227 million off a budget of $120 million for a profit thanks to the star power of Rogen and Cameron Diaz. Unfortunately, it was still viewed as a massive flop based on the expectations. The movie only made $98 million in the United States to slow down any chatter about a sequel.
Point Break (2015)
The original Point Break movie was a smash hit in the early 90s with Keanu Reeves in one of his first noteworthy roles. A reboot of the story featuring an FBI agent trying to stop a group of criminal surfers would see Point Break released again in 2015.
This one did not receive much love from the critics and movie theater audience. Point Break made $133 million profiting very little off the $105 million budget. There was no momentum for the reboot since the original was too good to recapture the magic.
Ghostbusters (2016)
The legendary franchise of Ghostbusters tried to start a reboot with the release in 2016. Actresses Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Kate McKinnon, and Melissa McCarthy were selected to lead the new era of the franchise moving forward.
Ghostbusters unfortunately couldn’t win over the audience as it fell way below projected earnings. The film made $239 million internationally but only $128 domestically. A major movie making less domestically than the budget spent was a bad sign that canceled all future plans of a sequel.
Karate Kid (2010)
Jaden Smith scored the first massive acting gig of his career co-starring with Jackie Chan in a reboot of Karate Kid. The legendary franchise gave us a few hit films in the 80s. Executives wanted a new franchise with plans for multiple releases.
Karate Kid made a solid $359 million internationally, but that fell way below the expectations. The hope was that the film would dominate the summer of 2010 as one of the top hits. It fell lower in the rankings to stop any desire to continue the franchise on the big screen.
The Thing (2011)
Horror movie remakes are very hit or miss when executing an idea on the big screen. The Thing was rebooted in 2011 with the hopes of bringing more attention to the story about three decades after the film found box office success.
Movie fanatics did not make The Thing a priority film to watch in the theaters. It only made $27 million internationally with a budget of $38 million. Only the worst movies will have such a feat of losing money from the budget to the box office.
Total Recall (2012)
The legacy of the original Total Recall movie has a deep fan base of avid supporters. Most didn’t care about the reboot in 2012, with Colin Farrell getting the lead role. It takes a lot of creativity to deliver a successful remake, and they missed the mark here.
The 2012 release of Total Recall only made $198 million with a $125 million budget. This was a massive drop from what the studios originally expected when making such a movie. Farrell’s lack of star power here would see his role decline following the bust.
The Lone Ranger (2013)
Johnny Depp taking the lead role of The Lone Ranger made it a highly anticipated film from the start of production. The hope was that the Lone Ranger story would find a new peak of success with more star power behind it for the 2013 release.
There was no momentum for the movie once it made its way to theaters. The Lone Ranger made $260 million internationally, barely profiting from the $215 million budget. This failure made the film one of the worst box office results for Depp’s career.
Power Rangers (2017)
The legendary Power Rangers franchise hoped to reboot in 2017 with the release of a hyped movie. Years of anticipation would see the studios have expectations of a smash hit with “at least five” sequels planned in the works for the future.
Power Rangers didn’t have the results of a superhero film or even a blockbuster film in general. The movie made $142 million with a $100 million budget. A domestic gross of $85 was embarrassing enough to cancel all those future sequels ending the franchise’s plans.
Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Jason Momoa scored one of his first lead acting roles in a film when getting cast to play Conan the Barbarian in the 2011 release. The success of the past movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the role showed how captivating the character could be.
Viewers did not find the same level of entertainment when watching the trailers for this one. Conan the Barbarian’s 2011 release made just $48 million following a budget $90 to make the movie. It is almost impressive to lose that much money on a planned blockbuster film.
The Mummy (2017)
The Mummy’s release in 2017 was arguably the biggest flop of the decade. Tom Cruise was cast for the lead role in the reboot to make it a huge success. The studio had hoped that he could find the same level of success he does with the Mission Impossible movies.
Expectations for The Mummy to become one of the top attractions of the year ended with a disappointing opening weekend. The film made just $80 million domestically despite a $125 million budget. International audiences did support the movie more, about it was a massive flop.