Sci-Fi movies have an edge in terms of being a blockbuster. Be that the technology used or the graphics, everything is an add-on. Movies like Avatar, however, cannot fall into the category merely because of their 3D visuals. Any movie, be that sci-fi or horror, or rom-com needs a great narrative that goes hand in hand with the cast and characters. CGI alone cannot make a movie work.
It’s true that we often don’t look toward the brighter side. We are more often hooked by the cast or by the franchise as a result of which many masterpieces are left unseen. Unfortunately, there are movies that perfectly fall into the category of great sci-fi movies that potentially could’ve smashed the box office but somehow failed pretty ugly. We have got to you a list of a few movies.
The Thing (1982)
Horror and science fiction was popular, John Carpenter was a prominent director, and Ennio Morricone composed the music. When you consider all of this, it’s strange to imagine that The Thing was a box-office flop in its day. However, the time has been kind to The Thing, upgrading it from cult classic to genre classic. Carpenter’s seamless direction and ability to give each scene the precise amount of suspense it requires still hold up, as do the film’s then-revolutionary realistic make-up effects. It’s a claustrophobic, slow-burn thriller that’s endlessly rewatchable and disturbing.
Blade Runner (1982)
When it comes to slow burns, Ridley Scott’s original Blade Runner is one of the finest science fiction films ever created, but it took years to get there. It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what went wrong, other than to assume that it was released a little too ahead of time. But one has to wonder how its modern significance would have changed if it had been a hit at the time of its release.
Children of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón’s gripping dystopian adaptation of P.D. James’ 1992 novel is widely regarded as one of the finest films of the twenty-first century, and it has the awards to prove it: Three Oscar nominations, including Best Adapted Screenplay and Cinematography. Children of Men is a post-apocalyptic novel set in the future where individuals are no longer able to reproduce. When a young lady finds out she is pregnant, everything changes. To be honest, it’s a dark film, the type of sci-fi that doesn’t really offer much optimism to balance the pessimism, which may explain why it performed terribly at the box office.
Dredd (2012)
The box office failure of Dredd still hurts. Karl Urban played Dredd and, according to true form, never took off the helmet. Mama was played to evil brilliance by Lena Headey, the actress who played the similarly nasty Cersei Lannister. The film’s video release helped it gain the respect it deserved, and it has now become a cult classic. Consider yourself extremely fortunate if you were one among the few who saw this exhilarating, action-packed 3D in cinemas.
Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
This movie has the potential to be one of the finest sequels ever created, and it has garnered a lot of praise from both fans and critics, but it is now facing a financial roadblock. As K, a Replicant working for the LAPD tasked with retiring his own kind — machines more human in spirit than the actual people giving their kill orders – Ryan Gosling provides a highly introspective (and hard) performance. Soon, K’s history is savagely interwoven with that of Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), forcing the two to work together to solve a dystopian mystery that seems perfectly at home in dime-store paperback novels.
