Early Casualties
The Legend of Hercules: The year's first Hercules movie never stood a chance, from the direct-to-DVD vibes given off in the marketing, the early January release date, the lack of recognizable names attached and the presence of veteran journeyman Renny Harlin behind the camera. Suffering from scathing critical reactions, The Legend of Hercules opened to just $8.9m domestically, a catastrophe given the added 3D premium and reported $70m budget. At the time of writing, the movie has failed to even crack $50m at the worldwide box office.
I, Frankenstein: Another January release that was destined for failure, all of the trailers pointed to a CGI-laden bout of mediocrity, all played with a completely straight face. Which was to be expected really, given that the marketing heavily relied on the connection to the similarly tedious Underworld franchise. Aaron Eckhart is a talented actor that deserves better than this, a critical and commercial flop that grossed less than $20m domestically, with worldwide grosses just about clawing back the $65m budget.
Pompeii: Paul W.S. Anderson is a director that definitely knows his place in Hollywood. No critical darling by any means, the Englishman has carved a niche for himself by directing mid-budget genre pieces that generally turn a profit. However, this string of minor commercial successes came to an abrupt end with Pompeii, ironically his most expensive effort yet at $100m. Opening to just $10.3m domestically and bombing in the US, Pompeii has grossed almost 75% of its box office overseas, although at the time of writing it still isn't even close to recouping the nine-figure budget.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit: The fifth entry in the Jack Ryan franchise, and second reboot in 12 years, had all the necessary ingredients to become a success. Respected director Kenneth Branagh working in the spy genre with a talented cast that includes Chris Pine, Keira Knightley and Kevin Costner sounds like a recipe for financial success. However, Shadow Recruit opened to just $15.4m at the domestic box office, the lowest start yet for a franchise that began in 1990. The movie's worldwide total currently stands at a disappointing $134m, virtually ensuring that Chris Pine only gets one outing as Tom Clancy's literary creation. Let's get to the top down...