10 Infamous Sci-Fi Movie Disasters That Cost Obscene Money
8. The Chronicles of Riddick
Vin Diesel is a man that loves a franchise, and in the last 20 years the chrome-domed tank top enthusiast has only appeared in eight movies where he isn't playing either Dominic Toretto, Richard B. Riddick, Xander Cage or Groot.
Pitch Black was one of the first major roles of his career, but for some reason Diesel and director David Twohy saw the low-budget B-movie as the launchpad to create an epic sci-fi franchise, and the actor's huge increase in popularity saw The Chronicles of Riddick green-lit with a budget of $120m, almost five times what Pitch Black had cost.
Having greatly overestimated people's interest in seeing Riddick as the star of a Star Wars-inspired space opera, the movie bombed at the box office after failing to even recoup the budget. Not that it deterred Diesel, who would then spend the next decade trying to get a third installment made, which was ultimately produced for a lot less money and actually managed to turn a profit this time.