3 Great Recent Movies That Flopped In Box Office Against All Odds

What makes a movie destined for success?

The obvious answers are a great story, compelling, well-acted characters, and perhaps renowned filmmakers and actors involved in its creation, but apparently that's not enough sometimes, because even having all three may not save the movie from being a complete box office flop.

So we present you with three movies that came out not too long ago and unfortunately served as living proof of the above.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)

Adapting a long-standing and extremely complex and evolved fantasy setting could prove to be an extremely difficult task, one that many films, such as Warcraft (2016), have failed to accomplish.

However, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves does not fall into this category, as it is a great movie that is on the one hand a great adventure with likeable characters, and on the other hand not overloaded with unnecessary (for the story) lore details and stays faithful to the original.

Honor Among Thieves is one of the best adaptations of beloved fantasy settings that has been praised by fans and critics alike.

But it made the fatal mistake of choosing the wrong release date, and was absolutely decimated by such behemoths as John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

Babylon (2022)

With its epic scale, star-studded cast and huge budget, this black comedy-drama seemed like a surefire success.

But it's own size and budget proved to be its undoing, as it completely bombed at the box office due to poor critical reviews (more on that later), the COVID pandemic, poor marketing, and the general decline in interest in such "big" movies.

While Babylon is not for everyone, as the movie contains several shocking scenes, such as an elephant "relieving itself" in the first minutes of the movie, and suddenly increasing drama in the second half, if you're not put off by these aspects, you might really enjoy it.

It is a great story that makes you nostalgic for a time you never lived in, which is even inspiring in its own way at the end. The soundtrack is also absolutely great, it fits the movie perfectly and is really memorable.

Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

Created by George Miller, known for his Mad Max movies, this story about a Djinn and the woman who freed him, starring Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba, was also a box office flop, despite the positive reviews.

It's hard to pinpoint the exact reasons for this, some blame poor marketing and release strategy, but the film is a beautiful and entertaining fantasy romantic drama with a great story and characters that might just be worth your attention.