5. The Golden Compass
Phillip Pullman's novels are extraordinarily popular and a very interesting read. Much darker with more adult themes than most teen fare, and therefore a cinematic adaptation was inevitable. The books have a certain cinematic feel to them and anticipation was high for the adaptation. Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Ian McKellan, Eva Green, Ian McShane and Kristin Scott Thomas all star so there was a fine and versatile cast on board and Kidman was even Pullman's favourite to play Mrs Coulter years before the film even entered production. It had a big budget, a frenzied fan base dying to see it and an A-list cast, but it all went so wrong, the film didn't even live up to a tenth of the pre-release promise. Much of the book's more controversial thematic material was washed over and diluted to appeal to a wider audience. Specifically, New Line Cinema were concerned about the anti-religion theme in the novel and how that would impact the box office. The box office was a major disappointment anyway, which serves them right for savaging the source material in such haphazard fashion. There were too many change to a glorious book, it was directed appallingly and the ending, or lack of one was a clumsy anti-climax to an already rubbish film. It was a horrible waste of such a spectacular source material and because of the mess Chris Weitz and the studio made of The Golden Compass there is little chance we'll ever see a sequel or reboot.