12 Worst Marketed Movies Of 2018

2. Annihilation

Before Paramount decided to sell Annihilation's international distribution rights to Netflix, they were well aware they had a probable box office dud on their hands, and decided to market the sci-fi film by crassly playing-up the action elements.

Of course, Alex Garland's film is a marvel of slow-burn suspense and ambitious, unconventional storytelling, but this action-packed trailer placed a laughable focus on Natalie Portman firing a machine gun.

Considering that Portman's protagonist Lena spends mere seconds of the movie actually firing her gun, it's hilariously manipulative, to say nothing of the trailer's broader focus on the romance between Portman and Oscar Isaac over its more meditative and surreal sci-fi premise.

Annihilation nevertheless flopped at the U.S. box office, but producer Scott Rudin having a final cut privilege prevented Paramount from hacking the film to pieces and compromising Garland's bold vision.

And that is what will ultimately be remembered: not its paltry commercial performance.