Top 5 Comic Book Movie Reboots That Fell Flat

The Marvel Cinematic Universe, in particular, has reigned supreme throughout the 2000s and 2010s, amassing over $30 billion in box office revenue. Yet, not every superhero endeavor hits its mark, and when a franchise takes a hiatus, it often opens the door for reimagining. Comic book movie reboots have become a staple, with some achieving remarkable success. For instance, “Fantastic Four: First Steps” garnered over $500 million, and “The Amazing Spider-Man” revitalized the web-slinger after Sam Raimi’s original trilogy ended without a fourth installment.

While many rebooted superhero films find financial success and fan approval, others miss the mark, faltering critically, commercially, or both. Capturing the essence that made the originals beloved is no easy feat. Several attempts have stumbled in their efforts to rejuvenate dormant franchises, ranking among the most disappointing comic book movie reboots in history.

The “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” began as an independent black-and-white comic book series but only gained widespread recognition with the 1987 animated TV show. The cartoon’s overwhelming success propelled the franchise into a multimedia phenomenon, leading to a film series that started with the 1990 release of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” This trilogy used practical effects and rubber suits to bring Donatello, Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo to life, concluding with a final installment in 1993.

While the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” started out as a black-and-white independent comic book series, it didn’t become widely known until 1987’s animated show of the same name premiered. The cartoon was a massive success, launching the franchise into a profitable multimedia beast. Its popularity also launched a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film franchise, beginning with “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in 1990. The trilogy of films used practical effects and rubber suits to bring Donatello, Rafael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo to life on the silver screen, with the final movie arriving in 1993.

That was the last live-action film for 14 years, and the Turtles wouldn’t grace the silver screen again until 2007’s “TMNT.” This time, the Turtles received the CGI animation treatment, removing the live-action charm of its predecessors. On top of that, “TMNT” tried to adhere more closely to the comics, which have always been considerably darker in tone than the animated series and first three movies.

While this wasn’t necessarily a bad idea, most fans weren’t as familiar with the comics as they were its more kid-friendly adaptations. The film didn’t have the most nuanced script, as it focuses on the Turtles starting out separated, needing to come back together to save the world. “TMNT” cost $34 million to produce, and it made over $95.8 million at the box office, so it was financially successful. Despite this, critics were not impressed with the movie, which featured animation that looked odd, even by mid-2000s standards.

“TMNT” made a tidy sum, but the critical reaction and relatively low box office performance didn’t earn it any sequels. As a result, the franchise sat quiet for another seven years before its next reboot, which combined live-action with CGI, motion-captured Turtles in yet another movie titled “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” The film’s plot offers a fairly typical adventure for the TMNT, as it focuses on the Turtles working with April O’Neil (Megan Fox) to thwart the Foot Clan and its leader Shredder (Tohoru Masamune) to protect New York City.

As a reintroduction of the TMNT in a new film franchise, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” worked. The film cost $125 million to produce, and it made a little more than $485 million at the global box office. While that’s certainly good for the studio’s bottom line, the movie has the franchise’s best box office, but was slammed with some of the worst reviews. “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” holds a 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The film’s Popcornmeter of audience ratings is barely better at 50%, showing that viewers were almost as unimpressed as professional film critics. The mismatch of terrible reviews and positive box office performance suggests that enough viewers enjoyed the big-budget presentation of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Since Hollywood often makes decisions based on a movie’s bottom line, the film earned a sequel. Unsurprisingly, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” did worse than its predecessor, which critics called dull, over-inflated, and uninspired.

Of all Marvel Comics’ film properties, none have had a tougher time at the box office than the “Fantastic Four.” The comics have proven difficult to bring to life on the silver screen, and if you count director Roger Corman’s 1994 unreleased live-action movie, the franchise has been rebooted three times. The first came in 2005 and did well enough to spawn a sequel, but that franchise died out with 2007’s “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.” Fox, which owned the rights, tried once more in 2015 with director Josh Trank’s “Fantastic Four.”

The concept revolved around the “Ultimate Fantastic Four” comics, which was a reboot in a separate universe from Marvel Comics’ Earth-616. Fox described the film as “a contemporary re-imagining,” which is apt. The team was first introduced in 1961, so it made sense to update the premise somewhat. Unfortunately, “Fantastic Four,” which the studio stylized as “FANT4STIC,” significantly underperformed at the box office and is often listed as one of the worst comic book movies ever made.

The day before the movie premiered, Trank took to X, writing, “A year ago, I had a fantastic version of this. And it would’ve received great reviews. You’ll probably never see it. That’s reality though” (via Entertainment Weekly). Trashing your own movie before its premiere isn’t a good sign, and critics and fans did indeed hate the film. “Fantastic Four” only managed to make $167.9 million on a budget of $120 million, ending all plans for a sequel.

In 2004, director Guillermo del Toro released “Hellboy,” starring Ron Perlman as the titular hero from Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse Comics series. While it wasn’t a financial success, del Toro made a sequel, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” in 2008, ending his time with the franchise. The “Hellboy” IP remained untouched for 11 years until director Neil Marshall brought “Hellboy” back to theaters with David Harbour in the starring role.

Unfortunately, “Hellboy” was a massive failure on all counts, including at the box office, killing the franchise without any hope for a sequel. The 2004 “Hellboy” has a rating of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, while its 2019 counterpart sits at 17%. That didn’t help its box office earnings in the least, as word of mouth trashed the film. “Hellboy” made only $55 million on a production budget of $50 million, which made it clear to anyone who hadn’t seen it yet that they shouldn’t bother.

This opens the question, ‘What went wrong with “Hellboy” that caused it to fail so miserably?’ There were several factors that led to its terrible showing, but centrally, fans didn’t want it. Most fans of the franchise wanted to see del Toro helm a threequel, but that didn’t happen. Instead, a reboot that nobody asked for took a bad script with an inconsistent and contrived plot and rushed forward to production. Another problem was the film’s R rating. It brought in unnecessary and excessive gore, which wasn’t needed or desired.

If there ever was a cursed superhero film franchise, it’s “The Crow.” The 1994 adaptation of James O’Barr’s 1989 comic book series did an excellent job of portraying the story on the silver screen, but its production resulted in the death of its star, Brandon Lee. His shooting on the film’s set made the movie’s tone all the darker, and subsequent sequels failed to recapture the original’s success. The franchise released three sequels, all of which pale in comparison to “The Crow,” as did the short-lived TV series, “The Crow: Stairway to Heaven.”

“The Crow” sat idle for 19 years until its 2024 reboot hit theaters after delays. The recent film is somewhat based on the original comic book series. Bill Skarsgård plays the lead role of Eric Draven, and while the plot generally follows the comics, the tone and many of its details don’t. The movie’s style wasn’t on point at all, making it seem disconnected from the franchise, and the pacing is so awful that you’re wishing it was over before the movie gets going.

In Reuben Baron’s review of “The Crow” for Looper, he lists only one action scene and FKA Twigs, who plays Eric’s girlfriend, Shelly Webster, as pros, calling the film “A load of caw-caw.” Other critics similarly trashed the movie’s pacing, calling it mostly dull and disappointing. “The Crow” holds a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and it was a bomb, earning only $24.2 million on a budget of $50 million.