10 Upcoming Blockbusters You Should Be Worried About

Any discerning movie fan can generally tell if something is going to be a hit or not. In a time of saturated marketing, access to behind-the-scenes information and the rising influence of social media, opinions are often formed early on during production. As King Arthur, The Dark Tower and Valerian will tell you, bad buzz is a difficult thing to overcome.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the weight of expectation can be just as damaging. How many times has a movie been hyped up beyond belief, raising anticipation to fever pitch by the time it hits theatres, only for it to be a crushing disappointment? Far too many to mention.

Hollywood has found itself in a strange position where franchises create some of the most eagerly-awaited movies in history (The Force Awakens, The Avengers, Batman V Superman etc.), but in general the big-budget output is more generic than ever. Whether the movie is any good or not, there is an audience willing to pay for it either way.

Not everything gets to be a hit with the critics and the box office, and there are an unhealthy number of studio tentpoles under pressure from both bad publicity and growing expectations. Although they will generate billions at the box office between them, there are more than a few blockbusters in development that should give fans cause for concern.

Jason Statham going one-on-one with a f**king 70-foot prehistoric shark in a $150m blockbuster is perhaps the pinnacle of B-movie awesomeness, a concept so glorious in its batsh*t insanity that it would be virtually impossible to make anything less than a fun movie, right? Don't be so sure.

Despite the brilliance of the concept, the talent assembled isn't too encouraging. Producers Lorenzo di Bonaventura and Colin Wilson are behind a worrying amount of generic blockbusters over the last few years, journeyman Jon Turteltaub is an uninspired choice of director, the characters have been described as broadly as 'kick-ass engineering genius' and 'tech billionaire' and there are no less than six production companies involved, which could lead to some disagreements behind-the-scenes.

Of course, the cynical among us will point out to the presence of Li Bingbing in a starring role, the involvement of a Hong Kong-based production company and the fact that Meg hits theaters in China six months before it reaches the United States as evidence that Warner Bros. already knows exactly what audience it is making the movie for.

If Meg embraces the ridiculousness of its concept and goes for broke, then we could have some fantastic popcorn entertainment in our hands. However, even if it takes itself the tiniest bit too seriously then the project could backfire and result in another entirely forgettable summer CGI-fest.