2025's Blockbusters So BAD People WALKED OUT

3 dumb blockbuster releases that ended in 3 financial disasters. Mark Wahlberg, Robert Pattinson, and Ice Cube all starring in movies that either barely broke even or lost over 100 million dollars. Hollywood is hemorrhaging money on films that audiences are rejecting before they even hit theaters.

Flight Risk had everything positioned for success. Mel Gibson directing his first film in 9 years after Hacksaw Ridge earned 6 Oscar nominations and made over 180 million worldwide. Mark Wahlberg playing a rare villain role in a confined space thriller with a 25 million dollar budget. A January release date with zero competition. The film opened at number 1 and still only made 48.7 million dollars worldwide, barely breaking even after marketing costs. The trailer gave away the entire twist and the ending was so bad people walked out before the credits rolled.

Mickey 17 proved that even Oscar winning directors with A list stars cannot guarantee box office success anymore. Bong Joon Ho made history with Parasite winning Best Picture and earning over 250 million dollars worldwide. Warner Brothers gave him 118 million dollars to make a science fiction dark comedy starring Robert Pattinson fresh off The Batman's success. The studio was so confident they gave Bong a massive budget and prime release date. Then they got nervous and pushed the film from March 2024 to January 2025 to March 2025. The constant delays sent a clear message that the studio had no idea what they had.

Mickey 17 opened to just 19 million dollars domestically in a weekend where the entire box office totaled only 19.1 million, one of the lowest weekend totals in years. Internationally it struggled just as badly earning only 24.5 million. The worldwide total currently sits at 130.3 million against a production budget of 118 million plus 80 million in marketing costs. Warner Brothers needed between 240 million and 300 million just to break even. Instead they're facing losses exceeding 100 million dollars on an original science fiction film that cost almost a quarter of a billion to produce.

The reviews were decent with 77 percent on Rotten Tomatoes from critics but decent reviews were not enough. The premise about a guy who dies repeatedly and gets cloned was a tough sell to mainstream audiences. The trailers couldn't figure out if it was a thriller, comedy, or social satire. Robert Pattinson is a fantastic actor but outside of franchises like Twilight or The Batman he doesn't put butts in seats. Warner Brothers bet that Pattinson had become a true movie star after The Batman. Mickey 17 proved that bet was wrong.

War of the Worlds sat on a shelf for half a decade before Amazon dumped it onto Prime Video in July 2025 with no theatrical release and no press screenings. The film opened to 0 percent on Rotten Tomatoes with viewers calling it a 2 hour Amazon commercial. They weren't exaggerating. The movie features blatant product placement for Spotify and Microsoft Teams but Amazon reserved top billing for itself. In a critical plot point Ice Cube's character needs a USB during an alien invasion. The solution? Order it on Amazon Prime Air and get it delivered by drone while civilization collapses.

The producer claimed the product placement was a happy accident. No one believed him. The screenlife format that should have created tension instead made the film feel cheap and lazy. Ice Cube spends most of the movie sitting at a computer screen watching security footage. The film currently holds a 2.5 on IMDb and disappeared completely until YouTubers turned it into a viral punching bag.

2025 is exposing how broken Hollywood's old formulas have become. January releases with no competition are flopping. Prestige directors with Oscar pedigrees are losing massive amounts of money. Streaming services are turning classic stories into product placement disasters. A list talent and huge budgets cannot guarantee success. Original movies don't work in theaters unless they're cheap to make. The biggest returns come from franchises, sequels, and recognizable intellectual properties. People won't gamble 15 dollars plus expensive snacks to see something outside an established IP no matter how talented the people involved may be.

📌 Timestamps:
00:00 - Setting The Scene
01:32 - Flight Risk
04:32 - Mickey 17
09:30 - War of the Worlds