10 Movies Everybody Wanted (But Nobody Watched)

Though The Matrix Revolutions brought the original trilogy to an underwhelming end back in 2003, there was still a lot of general audience goodwill for the series and especially lead Keanu Reeves, enough that a two-decades-later follow-up certainly caught people's attention.

The first trailer for The Matrix Resurrections stoked intense discussion online about the potential for it to revive the long-dormant franchise, whereby it could both satisfy long-time fans and earn itself a whole new generation of supporters.

Yet even with the film releasing simultaneously on HBO Max, Resurrections' box office figures were - to be kind - atrocious. On a $190 million budget, Resurrections grossed just $156.6 million globally, serving as a concrete vote of no confidence for Lana Wachowski's bold new vision.

There were many factors to consider, from the pandemic to the script's aggressively meta nature, the mediocre action sequences, and the absences of cast members Laurence Fishburne and Hugo Weaving.

Releasing mere days after Spider-Man: No Way Home as it did, the choice for casual audiences was a no-brainer, and the only folks who actually stepped out of their homes to see The Matrix Resurrections were the most devout faithful.

Despite promising mainstream engagement in its marketing, Resurrections couldn't hold their attention, and once the polarising word-of-mouth got out, it was dead on arrival.