Most Expensive Indie Movie Ever? This Forgotten Luc Besson Flop

Summary:

• Valerian and Laureline is a comic book series popular in France, which was adapted into the 2017 film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets by Luc Besson.
• The movie was a commercial failure, grossing $225 million worldwide on a $200 million budget, most likely because Valerian is largely unknown outside of France.
• However, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is still one of the most impressive works from the director.
• It follows the Fifth Element formula – fantastic settings, an independent and strong female character, and exciting space adventures.

For the French, Valerian and Laureline comics hold the same significance as Doctor Who does for the British. Like countless of his countrymen, Luc Besson grew up with Valerian.

He even invited Jean-Claude Mézières, one of the comic's authors, to work as an artist during The Fifth Element's filming. And only two decades later, in 2017, Luc finally adapted the comic which turned out to be the most expensive indie movie ever made, magnificent, and epic.

Valerian Was a Huge Box Office Flop

The budget for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets was $200 million, with an additional $60 million spent on marketing. At the same time, the fantasy movie only grossed $225 million worldwide, which didn't even cover its costs.

Most likely, the main reason for such a commercial failure was that almost no one outside of France had heard of Valerian comic books. And this is the case when you shouldn't judge a movie by more than modest box office receipts.

Valerian Repeats The Fifth Element Formula

Everything that happens on screen is accompanied by the rapid development of relations between the agents. At the same time, Laureline still adheres to the principles of Besson's early works: she goes into battle herself rather than asking to be rescued, like most of the director's female characters.

Otherwise, Besson repeats what worked brilliantly twenty years ago in The Fifth Element. Every scene is built around unusual creatures and gadgets, which impress with their thoughtfulness and attention to detail.

Valerian constantly piques the viewer's curiosity about what has barely happened on screen, and immediately satisfies it -–but does not go into detail, lest it ruin the magic.

This is not the kind of sci-fi movie where everything is explained to the viewer so that no questions are left unanswered. Valerian is the kind of project that makes you want to go back and see it a few more times to get a better look at everything.

It Is One of Besson’s Most Spectacular Works

The movie disappointed many of the director's fans, who wanted to see the new The Fifth Element. In fact, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is Luc Besson at his finest. Here you find an unusual couple in a strange relationship, childish naivety, and the French spirit of the country's most popular comic book.

Valerian became another dream come true for the French director. As a child, he imagined how he would explore the ocean – and made The Big Blue.

Throughout his childhood, he read his favorite comic book about space agents – and called its authors to invent the world of The Fifth Element for him.

And he still had to wait 20 years for the technology to develop enough to bring his childhood dream to life on an intergalactic scale.