5 Famously Overhyped Movies That Failed to Deliver (No, Not The Flash)
Sometimes, studios spend more on marketing than on production, and it shows. Here are five movies that were hyped up like crazy and bombed dramatically.
5. The Last Airbender (2010)
With all due respect, M. Night Shyamalan is one of the most ambiguously successful movie directors ever; the man either creates a masterpiece or a complete flop, and nothing in between. When Shyamalan took on the live-action adaptation of the iconic Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series, people were pretty excited about it.
The animated TV show is widely regarded as the best in its genre and has a large fan base, but while it should have worked out in the live-action movie’s favor, it didn’t. Fans bashed The Last Airbender for its terrible script, disregard for the source material, and many other things, and the movie was an utter disappointment.
4. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Zack Snyder’s DCEU seemingly promised what many DC fans have been dreaming about for decades: a proper face-off between the two most iconic superheroes on the roster. With Henry Cavill and Ben Affleck both being in their peak form at the time, the excitement about Dawn of Justice was understandable and palpable.
It all came down to the theater release that saw thousands of people fly like moths to the flame only to be frustrated with the result: the movie ended up being a gritty and dark cacophony of noises and lightning flashes that left next to no room for the actual character development or even somewhat enjoyable viewer experience as a whole.
3. Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Disney ’s infamous Star Wars trilogy has always been the subject of unanimous hate from the diehard fans. Even after the previous disappointment of the first two sequel movies, the company kept decisively hyping up the grand finale that was supposed to draw the line for the entire nine-movie franchise. Surely, it didn’t go as planned.
The Rise of Skywalker was perceived as the worst Star Wars entry to date by the vast majority of the fans. The movie was but an extra proof that Disney didn’t have the vision of the iconic franchise, and the audience hated every little thing about the “much-anticipated” grand finale. Now, Star Wars fans prefer to ignore its existence.
2. Eternals (2021)
“Hey, Marvel’s introducing a brand-new superhero team that would start its own franchise!” said every MCU fan when the studio broke the news of Eternals. With big names on board, including the Hollywood queen Angelina Jolie, the audience was understandably excited for the new age of Marvel the movie promised.
Unfortunately, Eternals ended up being one of the most mediocre superhero movies ever, according to both critics and viewers. The movie failed to deliver on its promises of expanding the horizons of the genre and ended up breaking the record as the MCU’s lowest-earning film, ending the studio’s years-long success streak.
1. The Matrix Resurrections (2021)
There wasn’t even much need for huge marketing for this movie: The Matrix has always been regarded as one of the best movie franchises in history. Thanks to Wachowski’s genius, the original trilogy earned its place on the global pedestal many years ago, and fans were eager to see an unexpected sequel with the OG actors.
But The Matrix Resurrections took a wide step away from everything the audience loved about the original movies. No one was impressed with its attempts to meta-comment on the current entertainment industry, and even fewer people took the hollow fan service of Resurrections for the substance it tried to come off as.