10 'Next Big Thing' Movies That Completely Flopped

9. Beowulf

Beowulf Ray Winstone
Warner Bros.

As detailed in this excellent video essay, Robert Zemeckis had a very weird stint in the 2000s. After spending the previous couple of decades defining cinema with movies like Forrest Gump and Back to the Future, the director traded all that in to prove that CGI motion-capture was the future of the medium, making flicks like The Polar Express and A Christmas Carol to prove it.

To convince everyone that the tech wasn't only useful for making extravagant cartoons for kids though, Zemeckis took on an adaptation of literary classic Beowulf, and again filmed it entirely using motion capture. Though it wasn't an R-rated movie, it was still a very mature tale, boasting plenty of violence and starring respected actors like Ray Winstone, Anthony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and Brendan Gleeson.

Despite netting close to $200 million at the box office, the adaptation didn't make enough of a profit, and critics weren't sold that the technology was up to snuff. Shockingly, the rest of the industry didn't push forward with similar, entirely CG movies after this.

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Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked nine of those years as a full-time content producer at WhatCulture. In that period he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple WhatCulture channels, specialising in gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 UK most listened to gaming podcast that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, opined on breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.