Why King Arthur: Legend Of The Sword Flopped So Hard

8. The Lack Of Female Characters

One of the more valid criticisms about the movie is the distracting lack of notable female characters. There's Arthur's mother (Poppy Delevingne), who is offed in the opening prologue while saying barely a line of dialogue, the hardly-in-it Maid Maggie (Annabelle Wallis), and the only woman of any real mention, the Mage (Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey).

Though Bergès-Frisbey does well with her role, she's not enough by herself to balance an extremely testosterone-filled jaunt where women are thoroughly sidelined, providing less incentive for female audiences to spend their money on a ticket (apart from ogling Charlie Hunnam's chest, maybe).

Pro-tip: if you're making a movie to the tune of close to $175 million, maybe include some women with real agency if you want it to do well.

This is one of the film's dopier and more easily-fixed issues. Throw a few female warriors into Arthur's army, give them actual names, lines of dialogue and distinct personalities, and don't have them always be rescued by the guys. Done.