7. Blade: Trinity (2004)
Given its R-rated origins, the
Blade series was never one to set the box office aflame; the first film made $131m against $45m, and the second $155m against $54m. Though advertising did market
Trinity as "the final chapter", it was absolutely certain that had the film been a breakout success, more Blade films would have followed, and it's still likely that we'll get a reboot sometime down the line. This third film, however, put the, ahem, final nail in the coffin for Wesley Snipes' titular daywalker, grossing an underwhelming $128m against a larger $65m budget, and receiving a considerably lower critical reception than the first two films, batting a mere 26% on Rotten Tomatoes (compared to the previous films' 55% and 59% respectively). With this poor showing, a proposed Nightstalker spin off was cancelled, and Blade was eventually relegated to a mediocre TV series that was itself swiftly cancelled due to poor ratings. Many believe that the reason for its failure rests with first-time director David S. Goyer who, funnily enough, has recently worked as a scriptwriter with Christopher Nolan on his
Dark Knight trilogy. Apparently, both Wesley Snipes and Kris Kristoffersen were unhappy with creative choices made by Goyer, specifically the introduction of so many new characters, namely the sidekicks played by Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel. Snipes eventually sued New Line Cinema, complaining that he was cut out of the decision making process despite being a producer, and further expressed unhappiness that his screen time was diluted in favour of his new co-stars'. Snipes himself blames Goyer's choices with harming the film's box office. In a rare instance of agreeing with Wesley Snipes, I think he might actually be right on this one.