12 Upcoming Movies That Are Already Doomed (And Why)

2. Dark Phoenix

Release Date: June 7, 2019

Why It's Doomed: Oh boy, where to begin with this one? After X-Men: Apocalypse was a disappointment critically and commercially, expectations were immediately lowered for this follow-up, all the more so once franchise writer Simon Kinberg jumped in the director's chair.

There are so many other red flags surrounding Dark Phoenix: Fox's apparent embarrassment of the X-Men branding and subsequent removal of it in the film's marketing, Jennifer Lawrence's lack of enthusiasm in playing Mystique, the atrocious early test screening reports, the abundance of re-shoots, that uninspired first trailer, numerous release delays and, of course, the impending Disney/Fox merger being finalised mid-production.

If the supposed plot leaks are true, this thing's a real mess and has far more in common with X-Men: The Last Stand than just about anyone wanted it to (though tellingly, both were written by Kinberg).

Rumours have abounded that Fox may have ordered re-shoots to give the film a more concrete ending following the merger announcement, but even so, this looks like a painfully mediocre limp to the finish line for a superhero franchise that's always been defined by its wild inconsistency.

As for Dark Phoenix's box office? It's probably going to have its lunch eaten by both the MIB reboot and Toy Story 4, which release in the subsequent weeks and will probably cut its legs out from under it.

That's to say nothing of Godzilla: King of the Monsters releasing the week prior and The Secret Life of Pets 2 the very same day.