4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
This adaptation of three novels from Patrick O'Brian's AubreyMaturin series was widely acclaimed by critics, though failed to do much business at the box office, and despite fans pleading for a follow-up to Captain Jack Aubrey's adventure, it just doesn't seem in the studio's interest. It's a shame, as lead Russell Crowe was enthusiastic about returning to this world, yet director Peter Weir was more realistic, recognising the film's limited financial ceiling, and therefore noting that a sequel was unlikely. Though the film scooped 10 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture), apparently not even that prestige was enough to get Fox interested in a series of movies, even if there are clearly plenty of thrilling stories to tell from O'Brian's series of 20 Aubrey novels. Crowe pries open the debate again every few years, but it's all about the box office bottom line, and that one just doesn't measure up, sadly.