7 Huge Upcoming Movies (That Are Massive Gambles)
They've got the stars and the money, but will they find their audience?
It's widely lamented by a great many film fans and critics that we seem to live in the most risk-averse of times when it comes to the content we can hope to see in our local multiplexes.
Long-running franchises, sequels, remakes, and/or adaptations of otherwise established properties tends to be just about all most of us get to see on the big screen. Plenty of great films are being made under these conditions, but even so, many of us are crying out for more original material.
All that having been said, we also live in times when the words 'big budget' have taken on a whole new meaning. Just over two decades ago, the $200 million spent on Titanic was completely unprecedented; yet in 2018, films with budgets in that region are alarmingly commonplace.
As such, it's hardly surprising the studios tend to prefer putting that kind of money into films which seem likely to reap a handsome return, which typically means making at least double its budget back. Yet it doesn't always work out that way.
For every Black Panther or Star Wars: The Last Jedi, there's a John Carter or Valerian; giant-sized flops which fail to capture the audience's attention, largely because the audience just didn't get what the film was supposed to be.
We certainly don't wish failure on any of the 7 upcoming megabudget movies listed ahead - but we can't shake the feeling that a similar fate might be in store for some, if not all of them.
7. The Irishman
Reported budget: $120-140 million
Release date: Unconfirmed, 2019
Particularly for the older readers among us, there's surely no upcoming movie more excting than The Irishman. Legendary director Martin Scorcese reuniting at long last with his once-frequent collaborator Robert De Niro, with Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel in tow? Fuggedaboudit!
However, while Scorcese has always drawn vast swathes of critical praise, his movies have rarely been particularly major money-spinners. His biggest commercial success was 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street, which took $392 million worldwide; more than recouping its $100 million budget, but hardly blockbuster numbers. (For reference, even 2017's much-maligned The Mummy managed $409 million.)
Now, you might not expect a Scorcese-directed crime drama to require an especially huge budget, but it's reported that The Irishman could be his most expensive film to date, due to the film's use of CGI de-aging on its cast for earlier scenes in the decades-spanning story.
On top of all this, there remains a question mark over whether or not The Irishman will even make it to cinema screens in all territories, as it's being co-financed by Paramount and Netflix.
Again, we love the cast and crew on this and can't wait to see it - but is it really going to attract the audience it needs to turn a profit?