12 Terrible Movies That Blew Awesome Concepts
10. The Box
The Pitch
Based on a story by legendary sci-fi writer Richard Matheson, where a couple (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden) receive a box from a mysterious man (Frank Langella), who offers them $1 million if they press the button on top of it. But here's the rub - pressing the button will kill somebody they don't know.
It's an incredible "What if?" elevator pitch of a premise, and one that captured the public's imagination in the lead-up to the film's release, aided by the appealing involvement of writer-director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko).
What Went Wrong
The Box unfortunately cemented Kelly as a one-hit wonder director, for despite his film's riveting hook, he ultimately failed to make the most of it or lead his characters in a remotely satisfying direction.
Receiving a rare "F" CinemaScore from audiences, there was widespread dissatisfaction at the film's third act in particular, which seems to suggest that Kelly wrote himself into a corner and couldn't find a way out of it.
Given that Matheson's story was originally adapted into an episode of The Twilight Zone, it's painfully obvious that there wasn't enough material here for a feature film adaptation, or at least that Kelly lacked the vision to sufficiently expand it.
Tellingly, in addition to its critical and commercial failure, Kelly hasn't directed another film in the decade since.