10 Flop Movies That Somehow Got Sequels
1. G.I. Joe: The Rise Of Cobra
In 2009, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra flopped at the box office, with the tentpole adaptation taking a mediocre $302.5 million against a hefty $175 million budget.
However, with the film making almost half of its box office money domestically - ensuring greater profits for Paramount - and its release likely causing a surge in toy sales for Hasbro, the decision was made to proceed with a sequel regardless.
In 2013, G.I. Joe: Retaliation was released, which attempted to re-energise its financial potential by adding both Dwayne "Franchise Viagra" Johnson and Bruce Willis to the mix.
With its slightly lower budget of $155 million and higher box office haul of $375.7 million, the gambit sort-of paid off, even if it certainly wasn't the persuasive success Paramount was surely hoping for with Johnson involved.
Development of a third film stalled for the better part of a decade until a reboot, Snake Eyes, was finally released in 2021, which landed amid utter audience indifference, grossing a pathetic $40.1 million on a $110 million price tag. Yikes.
And with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts recently teasing a Transformers x G.I. Joe crossover movie, Paramount and Hasbro may have finally conceded that G.I. Joe just can't become a breakout commercial hit on its own.