MOVIE NEWS – Waterworld hit theaters in 1995 as the world’s most expensive movie, with a budget of $175 million. The post-apocalyptic action film, however, failed to bring in the expected revenue, and only grossed $264 million worldwide. Why did this movie become such a huge flop, and how did it affect Hollywood?

Waterworld is set in a future where global warming has caused the oceans to cover the Earth, and the remnants of humanity live in water-based communities, trying to survive. The protagonist is a half-fish-man named Mariner (Kevin Costner), who tries to protect a little girl (Tina Majorino) and her adoptive mother (Jeanne Tripplehorn) from an evil gang leader (Dennis Hopper), who believes that the girl’s tattoo on her body shows the way to the last dry land.

The idea for the film came from director Kevin Reynolds, who had previously worked with Costner on the 1991 film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Costner was not only the star, but also the producer of the film, and had a lot of influence on the script and the shooting. The original budget for the film was $100 million, but it kept increasing due to various problems.

The shooting took place off the coast of Hawaii, in a giant water studio that was specially built for this occasion. The studio cost more than $20 million, and more than 1000 people worked on it. The studio, however, often suffered from weather conditions, such as hurricanes, storms and waves. On one occasion, a whole set was swept away by the ocean. In addition, technical glitches also hampered the work, such as explosions, fires and water leaks.

During the shooting, there was also tension between Costner and Reynolds, as Costner was not satisfied with Reynolds’ directing style and decisions. Costner intervened several times in the scenes, and rewrote or deleted some dialogues or scenes. Reynolds eventually left the project after finishing the shooting, and did not participate in the post-production. Costner then took over the control, and re-edited the film to have more screen time.

The film finally cost $175 million to make, which was a record at that time. The marketing of the film was also expensive, and the studio had high hopes for it. The film, however, could not convince either the audience or the critics. The film’s story was found boring, clichéd and illogical, and the characters were bland and annoying. The film’s visual effects and action scenes were not spectacular enough to compensate for the weak script and performances.

The film only made $88 million in the North American market, which was far below expectations. It performed slightly better in the international market, and grossed a total of $264 million worldwide. This was still less than what was spent on making and advertising the film. The film thus caused a huge financial loss for the studio, and entered history as one of the biggest flops.

The film’s flop not only affected the studio, but also Costner’s career. Costner was by then a three-time Oscar-winning actor-director, who had starred or directed in successful films such as The Last of the Mohicans (1992), A Perfect World (1993) or Dances with Wolves (1990). Waterworld, however, shook his reputation and confidence, and he could not make such big hits afterwards. Costner later admitted that Waterworld was a mistake, and that he took on too much.

Waterworld’s impact did not go unnoticed in Hollywood either. The film showed an example of how risky it can be to make a too expensive and complex production that does not have a strong script or characters. The studios then became more careful with big-budget films, and focused more on safer topics and genres. Waterworld was thus not only a movie, but also a lesson.

Source: ScreenRant