9. Speed Racer (2008) - Budget: $120m/Total Gross: $93.9m
Five years after the conclusion of the Matrix trilogy, the Wachowskis returned to filmmaking with something radically different; a candy-coloured family film. Continuing to embrace the Japanese influences that were so apparent in the Matrix series, the duo adapted the popular manga and anime Speed Racer for the big screen. Assembling a talented cast including Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman and Susan Sarandon, the movie was shot almost entirely against greenscreen to capture the gleaming, futuristic look the directors had intended. Confident the film would appeal to all demographics, Warner Bros went all out with the marketing effort and secured lucrative merchandising deals were made with the likes of McDonalds, Target, Mattel and Lego. Oops. The film opened to a poor $18.3m at the domestic box office, and closed with only $43.9m. This was a huge disappointment given the amount spent on advertising and merchandise. Instead of appealing to all demographics, Speed Racer had inadvertently appealed to none. Any ideas of a child-friendly franchise with the Hollywood marketing machine behind it had disappeared. Speed Racer is certainly an ambitious movie, and at times visually stunning. If it had been released following the 3D boom that followed Avatar maybe results would have been different. However, the ultra-bright aesthetic grows tiresome after a while, not to mention a script that offers nothing more than cardboard characters against a neon background. Much like the original series, the movie version of Speed Racer had appealed only to a niche market.