Another Top 10 Bad Movies That Were Successful

What was once a heartwarming franchise built upon gentle mockery of fairytales and the Disney Empire eventually turned into pale imitation of its former self. After reuniting with his beloved and saving the kingdom of Far, Far Away, Shrek settles down to be the new ruler of the land – but not without troubles aplenty from Prince Charming. Lacking the laughs, tension, or even the stakes of its predecessors, the film feels more like recycled jokes with a little Justin Timberlake thrown in for good measure. But lack of quality doesn’t mean lack of box office receipts, as it managed the biggest opening day for an animated flick ever until that point.

Myths about a monster from Japan sparked the interest of audiences around the world, but their eyeswere not ready for the terror that awaited them. Of course, we’re not just talking about the monster itself, but Roland Emmerich’s American “Godzilla” remake. The film’s mega-marketing campaign tried to entice fans with the promise of something huge – much of which may or may not have been ripped off from “Jurassic Park.” And cinemas were packed with excited fans, who were met with a convoluted mess filled with terrible acting and, worse yet, a redesigned monster that was almost unrecognizable. Well, at least the soundtrack was good.

In 2003, audiences were mesmerized by the witty charm of Captain Jack Sparrow and begged for more swashbuckling action. But the tides turned even as early as the second film in this franchise. With the terror of Davy Jones hot on the heels of everyone’s favorite pirate, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann set off on another adventure, but one that is in stark contrast to the simple pleasures of the original hit. Basically serving as a big ad for the next installment, plotlines are mangled together in this bloated, 2.5 hour mess. Thanks guys, way to ruin to your franchise.

Yet another gritty summer action blockbuster, this one astounded audiences around the world, who wondered whether filmmakers remembered this was based on a kids’ toy. After the less-than-stellar reviews of the first film, the producers were called upon once more to create an action marvel for the whole family. Originally, “Retaliation” was set for release in 2012, but it was delayed almost a year so it could be converted to 3D – we’ll let you decide whether that was simply a cash grab to justify higher ticket prices. But with names like Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum filling out the cast list, it’s no mystery why this film was so successful.

This film franchise is proof that the length of a series can affect quality. The original “Resident Evil” predated the pop culture zombie boom of the mid-2000s, but “Retribution” came out smack dab in the middle of the zombie apocalypse, and didn’t bring anything new or exciting to the table. Worse than that, Paul W.S Anderson’s flesh-eating franchise resets its own unfocused timeline and obliterates any coherence that remained. But despite all that, the filmmakers were rewarded with truckloads of money for their efforts, which likely came directly from the wallets of die-hard fans of the franchise.

The film starts with a generic premise: a group of friends reunites after thirty years, and shenanigans ensue. Things go even further down the drain when you take a look at the cast list: it seems like Adam Sandler just called his buddies and basically said “let’s get stupid!” Brought to you by Happy Madison Productions, this quote-“comedy” blends together all the fart jokes and horrendously loud noises you’d expect, stitching them together with a very thin plot. Critics did their best to prevent innocent moviegoers from subjecting themselves to this horror, but to no avail: it earned $40-million its opening weekend alone, and spawned an equally stupid and successful sequel.

The classic piece of cinema that once starred Charlton Heston has now been remade into Tim Burton and Marky Mark’s biggest regret – you maniacs! It takes a certain level of commitment to make a story about apes ruling a planet seem sincere – although it has been done – but this reimagining was full of bland scenes, nonexistent chemistry and a completely laughable twist on the iconic twist ending. Despite that, it was a hit with audiences, becoming the ninth-highest grossing film worldwide in 2001 and inspiring Tim Burton to consider remakes again with 2010’s “Alice in Wonderland” – another bad but successful movie.

Oh how the mighty, vengeance-filled Liam Neeson has fallen. With an impressive 9% on Rotten Tomatoes, Bryan Mills returns to exact revenge on those who mess with his family – again. Sadly, while the plot was exactly what you were expecting; but audiences weren’t expecting just how watered down the violence and action would be. Also, it was possible that maybe, just maybe, the premise was getting just a little bit ridiculous. Yet, due to the immense popularity of the series with fans reminiscing about the good old days of the original movie, “Taken 3” was pretty successful financially nonetheless.

This superhero team film franchise has reached highs and lows during its run – let’s not forget “X-Men: The Last Stand” – but none was as devastating, yet successful, as this installment. Enticed by the wonder of a standalone Wolverine flick with Hugh Jackman at the helm, longtime fans flocked theaters, but were left to wallow in the misery of the meandering mess before them. Some specific problems: the script was clichéd as hell and it doesn’t hold a candle to other films in the series. Need more reasons to hate on it? Try a mouth-less Deadpool, a half-assed Gambit and… will.i.am in a supporting role.

Before unveil our top box office hit, here are a few dishonorable mentions:
- “Little Fockers” (2010)
[Box Office: $310,650,585]
- “Armageddon” (1998)
[Box Office: $553,709,788]
- “Angels & Demons” (2009)
[Box Office: $485,930,816]
- “Hancock” (2008)
[Box Office: $624,386,746]

Back in the ‘80s, audiences ate up the story of a brash NYC cop taking on terrorists. But, where Bruce Willis was once a barefooted badass with an attitude, 25-years later he was a bored-looking, aging action star – though he was still capable of bringing in box-office returns bigger than his ego. “Depressing” may be the word that best describes John McClane’s fall from grace, with the fifth “Die Hard” installment a generic shell of its former glory with terrible dialogue and none of the joy of the original. Even more tragic is the fact that McClane became a supporting character in his own movie. It was a critical failure, but it made almost $305-million, so yippee-ki-yay we guess.

Do you agree with our list? What bad box-office smashes have we missed out on? For more successful top 10s published everyday visit WatchMojo.com.