10 Infamous Failed Blockbusters That Cost Obscene Money

5. Poseidon

Cutthroat Island
Warner Bros. Pictures

The 1970s was the undisputed peak of the disaster movie, and should the third feature-length adaptation of The Poseidon Adventure turned out to be a major success then a resurgence for the sub-genre may well have turned into Hollywood's hot new trend.

Wolfgang Petersen's previous movies had established him as the thinking man's Roland Emmerich, capable of balancing set-pieces and story in equal measure, but he took one too many pages out of his compatriot's playbook and the focus on Poseidon was placed on spectacle above anything else.

It should be said that it was some pretty decent spectacle, with the money shots of CGI carnage more than living up to the remake's $170m price tag, but even a star-studded ensemble cast couldn't keep Poseidon from sinking quicker than the titular vessel when it was forced to rely on anything other than visual effects to keep itself afloat.

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