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Every year, one of the big studios will market what they hope will be the next Avatar. In 2025, Disney tried to bring back Tron with Tron: Ares, but the return was not what the company expected, as the film grossed $142 million on an estimated $200 million budget. But Ares was fighting an uphill battle because it didn’t receive positive word of mouth. Plenty of other sci-fi films do get the reception they’re looking for and still fall on their faces. Here are seven sci-fi movies that bombed way harder than they deserved.
7) Ender’s Game
Reawakening a sleeping fanbase can be a real boon for a book adaptation. Lionsgate tried to do that in 2013 when it brought Orson Scott Card’s novel Ender’s Game to the big screen. The movie featured controversial changes to the source material, but it made up for them with its stellar cast. Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, and Asa Butterfield all brought their A-game. Unfortunately, their efforts weren’t enough to turn the movie into a box office winner, as it only grossed slightly over $100 million.
6) Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise knows what it takes to bring home gold at the box office. His 2022 sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, is one of the most successful movies in recent memory, bringing home $1.4 billion during its time in theaters. However, not every Cruise vehicle can hit the mark. Edge of Tomorrow, based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s Japanese light novel All You Need Is Kill, tells a fascinating story about a soldier who relives the same day over and over until he can stop an alien invasion. Despite its unique premise and star power, the movie only made $370 million.
5) Gattaca
It’s tough to imagine a great movie flopping in the ’90s, when it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to go to the theaters. Unfortunately, some movies are just ahead of their time. Gattaca found itself struggling at the box office because it didn’t feature giant action set pieces or aliens. Instead, it told the story of a regular man living in a genetically enhanced society that won’t let him live out his dream. At least Gattaca can take solace in the fact that it’s become a cult classic.
4) Donnie Darko
Speaking of cult classics, Donnie Darko always finds itself in the middle of conversations about movies that take time to find their audiences. Richard Kelly’s film follows the titular character as he starts sleepwalking and seeing visions of a strange figure in a rabbit costume. Audiences just didn’t get what Kelly and Co. were going for at the time, only buying enough tickets for a $7.5 million box-office haul.
