5. The Equalizer
Budget: $55 million Box office: $191.6 million Take one ex-CIA operative with years of specialist experience and blend with sex trafficking Russian mafia, then mix it up with the kind of bland stylized direction Antoine Fuqua is renowned for and the result is The Equalizer, another remake of a television series which bears little resemblance to its source material. Watching The Equalizer and you can't help but get the impression you've seen it all before - Denzel Washington takes on the role made famous by British actor Edward Woodward and turns it into the kind of generic action star that Liam Neeson has made his own. Indeed, this almost looks as if Washington is attempting to carve out a similar niche of mid-budget revenge flicks guaranteed to clean up at the box office despite their inherent averageness. Given the success of The Equalizer it looks as if the predictable formula still works - expect a pointless sequel to what is ultimately a pointless remake to follow some time in the future.