Top 10 WORST Decisions Made By Movie Studios
#10: Venom “Spider-Man 3” (2007)
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Sony has made several missteps when it comes to handling the “Spider-Man” series and its characters. One of its biggest and earliest came when it forced director Sam Raimi to include Venom in “Spider-Man 3.” Raimi had originally wanted two main villains, Sandman and Harry Osborn. But producer Avi Arad thought previous entries only included villains that Raimi liked, not the ones fans most wanted to see. Given Venom’s marketability, Arad pushed for the character’s inclusion. As a result, “Spider-Man 3” felt too overstuffed with baddies, and ended Raimi’s series on a sour note, with his “Spider-Man 4” later canceled. Just because a villain is cool doesn’t mean you need them.
#9: A Rush Job “Alien 3” (1992)
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The “Alien” series has some genuinely fantastic films…and then there’s “Alien 3.” Plans for a third film were set in motion soon after “Aliens” premiered. But by the time then-newcomer David Fincher began filming, he was a replacement director of a project that had gone through multiple screenwriters. He was given little creative control, with the studio pressuring him to make the release date it had already teased. If the studio had been patient and trusted Fincher, who has long since disowned the project, “Alien 3” could have been a classic that stood tall with its predecessors.
#8: The Trilogy Route “The Hobbit” Series (2012-14)
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Most of the time, it’s best for studios to back their creative talent. But sometimes that can be a poor decision. “The Hobbit” was originally supposed to consist of two films, which already would’ve been a stretch considering the source material. However, director Peter Jackson decided to expand to three so he could include material from the appendices of “The Return of the King”. Studios supported the decision. Why wouldn’t they want to make three-movies’ worth of money instead of two? While the trilogy did perform well financially, it felt dragged out and wasn’t nearly as well received as “The Lord of the Rings.”
#7: Cutting For Time “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984)
Sergio Leone was a legendary filmmaker, but his final movie was completely botched by studio interference. “Once Upon a Time in America” was the first movie Leone had made in over a decade, so perhaps the studios forgot just how talented he was. His original vision was 269 minutes long, though Leone was convinced to shorten it by 40 minutes. That was the version shown in Europe. Unfortunately, the studio responsible for US distribution, Warner Bros.’ The Ladd Company, cut another 90 minutes and reorganized scenes into chronological order. Apparently, early test audience reactions and its long length had made them nervous. It was a far lesser film, and wouldn’t be properly restored until 2012.
#6: Rushing the Release “Justice League” (2017)
Marvel and DC have been copying each other since long before any live-action adaptations. However, DC and Warner Bros. really should’ve exercised patience when it came to establishing their shared universe. It felt incredibly strange getting a “Justice League” movie before half its members had even received their own films. When director Zack Snyder stepped down due to the death of his daughter, production carried on with Joss Whedon. DC and WB may have seen this as an opportunity to course-correct, given the divisive reactions to Snyder’s other installments. But this choice proved to be detrimental to both the cast’s well-being and the quality of the final product. With multiple scenes altered or completely removed, we were left with a rare superhero dud, both critically and financially.
#5: Far From a Classic “Blade Runner” (1982)
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These days, “Blade Runner” is considered one of the best sci-fi films ever made. On release, it was a far cry from that status. Due to negative test screening reactions, Warner Bros. decided to meddle in the production. To offset the dark tone, the studio forced a “happy ending” into the theatrical release. Also, thinking that parts of the story were confusing, it reinstated Deckard’s narration from the script draft. Star Harrison Ford hated the narration, and it showed. Although Ridley Scott approved of the 1992 “Director’s Cut,” which removed both of those infractions, he wouldn’t gain full creative control until the 2007 “Final Cut.” We’re extremely grateful both of these versions exist. Otherwise, “Blade Runner” may have been forgotten.
#4: The Re-Release “Morbius” (2022)
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Like we said, Sony has made some bad decisions in regards to their Marvel films. “Morbius” had a lot stacked against it: several delays from the COVID-19 pandemic, a star with questionable off-screen behavior, and a lesser known main character. Not only that, the movie just wasn’t good ,with poor writing, bad effects, and some of the worst post-credits scenes of all time. “Morbius” was a joke before and after it released, becoming the internet’s favorite meme for a short while. Somehow, Sony saw this and took it as a sign to re-release it on 1,000 theaters across the US. A gigantic failure to read the room, “Morbius” only made around $280 grand during its weekend re-release, bombing a second time.
#3: Near Bankruptcy “Cleopatra” (1963)
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Studio interference is usually seen as a bad thing, though not every instance leads the studio to near bankruptcy. 20th Century Fox almost ceased to exist due to its mishandling of “Cleopatra,” which was the most expensive film ever produced on release. It hired Rouben Mamoulian as director, who left sixteen weeks into production after he was blamed for going over-budget. Fox only had 10 minutes of footage after $7 million, but starting production without a finished shooting script probably didn’t help either. You’d think that would make the studio more frugal, but even after hiring Joseph L. Mankiewicz as director, it fired other personnel, changed filming locations to Rome, and ordered reshoots. The film was a success, but at a mighty cost.
#2: The Dark Universe “The Mummy” (2017)
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As we’ve seen before, rushing the construction of a shared universe can only lead to misfortune. Universal learned this the hard way, announcing plans for the Dark Universe the same day its first installment debuted, 2017’s “The Mummy.” The studio had plans for other revitalizations of its classic movie monsters with several big-name actors attached. But then “The Mummy” was panned and failed to meet box office expectations. It featured way too many nods to the bigger universe and not nearly enough of a worthwhile plot. The Dark Universe died with “The Mummy.” But at least Universal seemingly learned its lesson as shown by 2020’s isolated “The Invisible Man.”
#1: Not Having a Plan “Star Wars” Sequel Trilogy (2015-19)
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The “Star Wars” sequel trilogy got off to a solid start with J. J. Abrams’ “The Force Awakens.” But it became clear very quickly that Disney didn’t have a plan for the story it wanted to tell. No matter how you feel about Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi,” it definitely undercut expectations set up by “Episode VII.” Not wanting to upset fans more, Disney brought Abrams back for “The Rise of Skywalker,” which then undercut elements set up in “The Last Jedi”! It was a messy climax full of inconsistencies. The final result is a trilogy that feels mismanaged and unbalanced due to a lack of anyone steering the ship. But hey, at least there’s always “The Mandalorian.”
