20 Movies That Were Supposed to Be Huge, Then Flopped

There’s an old expression in sports, one that’s often repeated by longtime ESPN anchor Chris Berman: “That’s why they play the game.” In other words: It doesn’t matter what the oddsmakers say, it doesn’t matter how things stack up on paper. On any given day, any team can beat another. That’s why they play the game.

The same is true of movies. On paper, the combination of a great director and great actors should always result in a masterpiece. And studios spend tens (and sometimes hundreds) of millions of dollars to make their products look like surefire hits. But that’s why they play the game. (So to speak.)

The list below contains 20 movies that, by all rights, should have been big. Huge, even! They feature some of the biggest stars in history, working with some of the most talented filmmakers to ever pick up a camera, often working on material based on enormously popular novels, comics, and television shows. Most were backed with massive publicity campaigns and promotional tie-ins. Some were billed for months and even years as the starts of major new franchises. Why not? With those sorts of creative and commercial pedigrees, how could they miss? Well, somehow they did — and sometimes in truly spectacular fashion.

Here are 20 movies that were supposed to be massive — until they actually opened in theaters to a collective shrug. They all went down in history as noted box-office flops. And that’s why they play the game…

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