13 Awesome Movies That Only Happened Because Of Awful Flops

2. Batman Begins...Because Batman & Robin Killed The Franchise Stone Dead

The Awesome Movie: Christopher Nolan brought Batman back to life with a hearty roar in this super-gritty, down-to-Earth take on the Caped Crusader. Packed out with a stellar cast headlined by Christian Bale (who jostles with Michael Keaton for the crown of best Batman), Batman Begins boasts thunderous action, a psychologically fascinating interpretation of the focal superhero and, of course, a killer set-up for the brilliance that would follow. How It Got Made: Because Joel Schumacher completely killed the bankability of the Batman franchise with his risible camp-fest Batman and Robin, which is easily the worst-reviewed and commercially weakest of all seven live-action Batman movies. It was only the movie's failure which gave Warner pause, and eventually caused them to opt for a fresh take on the series, far away from the silliness of Schumacher's vision. The results, of course, speak for themselves, and without suffering through the worst Batman film, there would be no Dark Knight trilogy.