12 Upcoming Movies That Are Already Doomed (And Why)

10. Mortal Engines

Release Date: December 14

Why It's Doomed: A $100 million adaptation of a hit Y.A. novel series is releasing in a matter of weeks and...nobody's talking about it?

One gets the distinct impression Universal is burying this Peter Jackson-produced fantasy flick, given the piecemeal, uninspired marketing campaign leaning lazily on Jackson's involvement and clearly hoping Lord of the Rings fans will just assume he directed it.

Mortal Engines is in fact directed by Jackson's longtime pal and visual effects supervisor Christian Rivers, and the dangers of giving a tentpole movie to a first-time filmmaker obviously speak for themselves.

More than anything, though, the trailers point to the film being yet another bland, soulless Y.A. blockbuster trying to squeeze some easy money out of the demographic even though that well mostly dried up a while ago.

Plus, releasing within mere days of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Aquaman, Bumblebee and Mary Poppins Returns ensures it's going to get eaten alive at the box office, even if by some miracle it actually ends up a good movie.