It's pretty difficult to imagine a world where films as varied as Back to the Future, It's a Wonderful Life, and Casablanca were never made.
There are tons of other classics, both new and old, that leapt off the celluloid and into our hearts for generations of moviegoers.
But among the vast collection that comprises the vault of Hollywood cinema are indisputable flops that we would have done without.
Curious to hear about some of the least popular films, Redditor Akira_Beifong asked:
"What movie should have never been made?"
Fantasy and sci-fi films can be major hits, or even bigger misses.
An Embarrassment
"Dragonball Evolution. Even the director apologized."
– Opposite_Village9112
Something Was Afowl
"artemis fowl"
– repwin1
"i didn’t even read the books and i knew they somehow butchered it."
– PsychologicalMess623
It Drove People To Drink
"The Last Airbender."
– dndaresilly
"Right before I quit drinking, I decided I wanted to have a few more fun memories, and one of those was playing a drinking game to The Last Airbender. I took a drink every time I cringed, got upset, or Ong. I'd never drank so much in my life, and I cannot stress enough how serious my drinking problem was at the time, so that was quite a feat."
– sycarte
Not As Good As The Book
"Eragon. I loved the books as a kid, and I was very excited to watch the movie after I read the first book. It was just a huge disappointment."
– mrEGGboi234
So, there were sequels that should never have been made.
Even Meaner
"mean girls 2"
– gatita_vaquera
"Yes,it wasn't as good as the original. They never mention anything about the original in the movie,except the principal is the same and the mean girls are still called Plastics. It was on ABC family and direct to video,not in theaters. Definitely shouldn't have been made."
– Fireyredheadlady
Should Have Stopped After The First
"The second American Psycho. Love Mila Kunis. Hate the entire idea for that movie."
– thrwaway4reds1
Worse Than A Sequel
"The shot-for-shot remake of Psycho, one of the greatest horror movies of all time."
"If you have no message but echoing a better one what is the f'king point?"
– leemurray98
Pointless Without The Original Cast
"The new Home Alone. If Kevin and the Wet Bandits aren’t in it then what’s the point?"
– ponyglasses
These musical film adaptations hit a sour note.
Far From Purr-fect
" cats."
– Palmerstroll
"I'll tell you how much I hated 'cats.' I saw it at home on DVD in my living room and I STILL walked out of it."
– GW2RNGR
The Hate Is Real
"I'll tell you how much I hated 'cats'. I saw it at home on DVD in my living room and I STILL walked out of it."
– GW2RNGR
Consequence Of Cats
"That movie came out in late December 2019. The Australian bush fires were really ramping up then and covid was starting to seriously spread. I blame the release of that absolutely cursed movie for everything awful that has happened since."
– iambrogue
A Ball Worth Missing
" Amazon Prime Cinderella fails in every level."
– Jakon_93
"I could barely get past the beginning, I was so f'king bored. My mom wanted me to watch it with her and I felt bad for walking out, but man...I surely would've fallen asleep if not. I'm sorry mom, I'll start watching more movies with you, I promise."
– rslashdepressedteen
It will remain a mystery how these were ever greenlit.
There Are No Words
"Emoji movie."
– Substantial-Rip-6820
Odd Film Choice
"I heard the emoji movie was the first film screened when Saudi Arabia opened up public theaters...that's one way to discourage people from 'immoral behavior.'"
– Zebirdsandzebats
Shortest Movie Ever
"Holmes & Watson. Saw it in theaters when it came out. Most people walked out before it was even halfway through."
– EmbalmMeDaddy
I'll reserve my judgment on the musical film adaptation of Dear Evan Hanson.
I saw the original Broadway production and I was emotionally wrecked. The performances and the music blew me away, and it was easily my top five among the best contemporary musicals I've seen in a long time.
So when I heard they were making the film adaption, I was very skeptical of how they were going to interpret a powerful theatrical experience on film.
Turns out, many moviegoers and critics did not like the movie version of the Tony Award-winning show at all.
However, a couple of friends of mine loved it, and they are connoisseurs of theater. But their positive review of the film was in the minority.
Maybe I'll have to see it and decide for myself to determine whether making the musical into a movie was the best idea or an egregious one.