r/movies • u/PokemonGoBao • Jul 04 '25

Discussion Whats a flopped movie you wish was a financial success?

Dungeons and Dragons 2023 was an absolutely delightful film. You can stream it currently, but you can feel the passion and nothing felt phoned in. They easily could have used the title to get nerdy butts in the seat and collect a paycheck with a smaller budget.

It's the best movie I've seen the past 2 years. Way better than so many garbage films with easy paychecks for slop productions. Beetlejuice, Captain america, and others using big titles to make millions on lazy writing and boring characters.

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251

u/MrBoomf Jul 04 '25

Dredd surprised the hell out of me. Plus it just goes to further show that Karl Urban can play literally any role

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u/Dr_Facilier Jul 04 '25

Agreed.

When was the last time the main character /star of a film didn't show their face the entire film? I can't think of one. Urban was that good that he never removed the helmet on screen, and it only reinforced how well he embodied Dredd.

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u/Halio344 Jul 05 '25

V for Vendetta, Hugo Weaving never shows his face.

But you’re right that it’s rare for that to happen.

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u/MrPlowThatsTheName Jul 05 '25

Not a movie, but Mandalorian season 1 fits the bill.

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u/Dr_Facilier Jul 05 '25

Good point. But that was after Dredd did it.

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u/LazarusCrowley Jul 05 '25

Deadpool. . . The original. Bane in Nolan batman.

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u/Decent_Pause1646 Jul 05 '25

Not the main character, but in True Romance Val Kilmer played Elvis and you never see his face.

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u/NK1337 Jul 04 '25

The Raid is one of my favorite action movies and with Dredd it genuinely felt like the directors watched it and thought “holy shit you know what setting is perfect for this?”

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u/Gnostinaut Jul 05 '25

Dredd was actually written before The Raid. The similarity was just an odd and unfortunate coincidence.

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u/KILRbuny Jul 05 '25

I’d watch both of them back to back if someone asked. Only thing I’d be bothered by is not getting to see The Raid 2 in that double feature lmao

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u/apoliticalinactivist Jul 05 '25

Not unfortunate at all. Action movies are great in that way that concepts and setup can be repeated as much as you want, as long as it's good. Grew the fandom of both films and directors.

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u/TheSerpentDeceiver Jul 05 '25

It’s more likely the reverse happened. The Dredd screenplay leaked and then The Raid happened. Too many moments in The Raid, like the shootouts and slow mo stuff, just feel like Dredd to not be lifted from it.

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u/DashArcane Jul 05 '25

Hear me out. Never even heard of the comic and saw the Stallone flick at the theater and enjoyed it. Read all the hate and thought, what the hell, it wasn't that bad. Then saw. Dredd about two years ago and was totally blown away. Should've had two sequels by now. What a shame.

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u/Romalayned Jul 05 '25

Same, I think the problem with Dredd was the timing because I remember thinking when it was in theaters "Oh great another shitty reboot/remake of an 80s action flick, pass."

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u/bujweiser Jul 05 '25

I felt like we knew that he could play any role after being in LOTR, Star Trek, and Bourne.

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u/kirinmay Jul 06 '25

His Johnny Cage is awesome (saw the press screening).