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Controversy is a powerful enemy! Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for films that were the subject of controversy before they even hit theaters.
Transcript
00:00So whistle while you work.
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for films that were the subject of controversy before they even hit theaters.
00:15Look at this. I took nine million steps today.
00:19Number 10. The Flash.
00:21Ezra Miller's performance as The Flash was well received in a series of cinematic and TV appearances leading up to their solo film.
00:28I know sex exists.
00:29I've just never experienced it.
00:33But before The Flash could be released, Miller was involved in a series of controversial incidents in 2022, including choking one woman and throwing a chair at another.
00:42And really, that's just scratching the surface.
00:44According to a Rolling Stone investigation in June, Miller has been hosting a 25 year old mother and her three young children at their Stanford Vermont farm since mid-April.
00:54Despite the negative press, the studio decided not to recast.
00:58This led to the project being torn apart by fans and casual viewers far before its release.
01:03The combination of its budget and Miller being in every scene meant that recasting or canceling would have resulted in a loss.
01:09So they had to go forward.
01:11Congratulations. Thank you.
01:12You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice.
01:15I have so much to tell you.
01:17The next time I see you, you were right, OK?
01:19And I didn't listen. And things did get very, very weird.
01:22This controversy only worsened The Flash's financial and critical letdown.
01:26Number nine, Back to Black.
01:28Biopics are tricky to pull off.
01:30One wrong move and an entertainer's fan base could end up decrying the whole thing.
01:35Such was the case for Back to Black, a biopic centered on the life and career of Amy Winehouse.
01:39You've been here seven years longer than me.
01:45Don't you know you're supposed to be the man?
01:48Commentary began to fly as soon as the first trailer was released.
01:52Some felt that the lead, Marissa Abella, both looked and sounded nothing like Amy,
01:56while others were upset that the singer's original vocals wouldn't be included.
02:00You go back to her and I go back to black.
02:11It was clear the people had written it off from the very beginning,
02:14believing that it would ruin Winehouse's legacy.
02:17While it did fare better with critics after coming out,
02:19it had already been convicted in the court of public opinion.
02:21He takes the day when I am gone.
02:24And in your gray, in this blue shade, my tears dry on their own.
02:32Number eight, The Super Mario Brothers Movie.
02:35It's me, Mario.
02:37And Luigi.
02:38Are you tired of paying too much for plumbing?
02:40Mamma mia.
02:42That's why the Super Mario Brothers are here, to save Brooklyn.
02:46They had the perfect setup for easy nostalgia bait.
02:49Mario's original voice actor,
02:50Charles Martinet, had made it clear that he would have loved bringing the role
02:54to the big screen when it was announced that Chris Pratt would be playing
02:56the plumber and that Martinet was being downgraded to a cameo.
03:00Several fans were let down.
03:01The reaction was made even worse
03:03when the first trailer dropped and Mario was missing his iconic Italian accent.
03:06I was not good at it worse than you.
03:11You got it right away, didn't you?
03:12I got it right away, but I grew up here.
03:14OK, now you're just trying to make me feel better.
03:16The backlash exploded from there to the point where Pratt himself had to put out
03:20a statement placating the angered supporters and defending the movie all at once.
03:24This is the soundtrack to your youth.
03:26Yeah, you don't want someone to come along
03:28and cynically kind of destroy it as a cash grab with the movie.
03:31I fully understand that.
03:33Their risk ultimately paid off,
03:35with the film eventually becoming second highest grossing of 2023.
03:38Number seven, The Passion of the Christ.
03:41Any art focused on religious figures is
03:43bound to garner some controversy given the topic's long and complicated history.
03:47That didn't stop Mel Gibson from creating
03:49The Passion of the Christ, a film about Jesus Christ's final night before his
03:53crucifixion.
04:04The concept alone was enough to put some
04:06people off, and accusations of anti-Semitism certainly didn't help.
04:10Activist groups came forward claiming that the script and imagery relied
04:14on harmful stereotypes that could potentially endanger Jewish people.
04:17The Avela Seguin in Bethlehem.
04:22And Radafoli.
04:27Here the phone will come.
04:30The response was so severe,
04:31the 20th century Fox ended up passing on it entirely.
04:34And yet, despite it all, the film still went on to win several
04:37awards and become the highest grossing R-rated movie in the U.S. until 2024.
04:52Number six, Borderlands.
04:55Adapting video games to another medium is a risky move.
04:58It can pay off big.
04:59But if the source material isn't respected, prepare for disaster.
05:03Borderlands is a prime example.
05:08Piss off.
05:09I heard you were quite the crusty old.
05:13It's eclectic characters and bright,
05:14interesting visuals could have made for a great production.
05:17But many fans hopes were dashed as soon as the first preview came out.
05:21Who the hell are you?
05:22This is Lilith, my dad sent her.
05:24Oh, she's a scumbag bounty hunter.
05:26No, I have a high end bounty hunter, pal.
05:29Glaringly, the cast had only a passing resemblance to the characters they were
05:32playing. Sure, there were some big names like Cate Blanchett,
05:35Kevin Hart, Jack Black and Jimmy Lee Curtis.
05:38But fans felt that fame had been prioritized over casting.
05:41Do the thing.
05:45I'm a bit old, I think, to be setting myself on fire for your amusement.
05:49You know, you want to.
05:50The big names didn't help in the end,
05:52with the film flopping in the box office and with the viewers.
05:55Number five, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.
05:58As if this hero didn't already have a tough reputation to shake.
06:02The DCEU's Aquaman has always been the target of jokes online,
06:06but the reaction to his solo film sequel was even worse.
06:09I'm so bored, I don't even know which end
06:10of the Brine King I'm supposed to be looking at half the time.
06:15Yeah, awesome.
06:17The continued inclusion of Amber Heard following an intense,
06:20high profile legal battle with ex-husband Johnny Depp enraged fans,
06:24especially since the former had been fired from Disney amid abuse allegations.
06:28A petition calling to have Heard removed
06:30was circulated soon after, garnering over four million signatures by mid-2022.
06:34Where's Junior?
06:36Penta took Junior.
06:40No, no!
06:42Her part ended up being heavily reduced.
06:44By the time the smoke cleared, she was only present for 20 minutes
06:47of the movie's two hour runtime, despite once being considered one
06:50of the principal characters.
06:51Yes.
06:52All this ice.
06:55It'd be impossible to find the body.
06:57Number four, Sonic the Hedgehog.
06:59An initial negative reaction doesn't always mean the end for a production.
07:03For some, it can be a wake up call.
07:05Sonic the Hedgehog is a beloved character,
07:08so a movie featuring him garnered immediate interest.
07:10When the original trailer first came out,
07:12it was met with instant ridicule due to the hilariously bad character design.
07:16Uh, meow?
07:19Little details like the way his legs were positioned were also called out.
07:22To their credit, the studio actually listened to the fans' complaints.
07:26After a five month delay and an additional
07:28five million dollars, they returned with a much cleaner looking design.
07:31Now you've done it.
07:32Guess what, Eggman?
07:34I'm not leaving Earth.
07:35You are.
07:36Their compliance ended up working out tenfold,
07:39with Sonic the Hedgehog becoming one of the highest earning films of 2020.
07:42I love it. I love it.
07:43I love it.
07:43I love it.
07:48Well,
07:49welcome home.
07:50Thank you so much.
07:53Number three, Monty Python's Life of Brian.
07:56Making a movie about religion is risky enough.
07:59Making a comedic is even riskier.
08:01If there's one project that struck the perfect balance between comedy
08:04and offense, it's Monty Python's Life of Brian.
08:07By virtue of the authority vested in me.
08:11Oh, lay off, we haven't started yet.
08:14Come on, let's do that.
08:16Following a man born next to Jesus and mistaken as the Messiah,
08:19the film faced an uphill battle from the start.
08:21When EMI executive Bernard Delfont finally
08:24read the script and realized it was religious satire,
08:27he decided to pull funding just a few days before filming began.
08:31I agree. Action that counts, not words.
08:33And we need action now.
08:35You're right.
08:36We could sit around here all day talking,
08:38passing resolutions, making clever speeches.
08:41It's not a shift. One Roman soldier.
08:43Fortunately, Beatle George Harrison stepped in to finance the film.
08:47Despite considerable backlash from religious groups,
08:49it became an instant classic upon release.
08:51We, the people's front of Judea, brackets,
08:54officials in brackets, do hereby convey our sincere fraternal
08:57and sisterly greetings to you, Brian, on this the occasion of your martyrdom.
09:02Number two, Ghostbusters.
09:04Viewers have become disillusioned at constant reboots and sequels.
09:08And this was one of the first to create a furor online.
09:11I mean, they want us to be quiet about that.
09:13We are not going to be quiet about that.
09:15It's not just us.
09:16We have over 100 comments already and they're not all crazy.
09:20The original Ghostbusters is a certified
09:22classic with comedy and characters that are still enjoyed today.
09:25When a reboot with an all-female cast was announced,
09:27some fans were more than a little upset.
09:30The trailer was lambasted,
09:31earning over one million dislikes after being uploaded.
09:34Ain't no bitch is going to hunt no ghost.
09:37The film was also the victim of a review bombing,
09:39causing it to have a low audience score before it had even been seen by anyone.
09:43While the intense negative reaction was criticized at the time,
09:46it wasn't enough to sway the general public,
09:48resulting in a significant financial loss.
09:50Where is it?
09:52What are you talking about? I told you what happened.
09:54Where's the car? It's on the other side.
09:56In Jersey? No, in the portal.
10:00You know what? We should probably let them just work this out.
10:02Before we unveil our top pick,
10:04here are a few honorable mentions. Ghost in the Shell.
10:07Scarlett Johansson's casting resulted in allegations of whitewashing.
10:11That humanity is our virtue.
10:16I know who I am and what I'm here to do.
10:20The Hunt.
10:22The mishandled political satire led to those on both sides writing the film off pre-release.
10:27Can you think of anything, anything at all,
10:30no matter how minor, that might make somebody want to try something?
10:37Dear Evan Hansen,
10:38people immediately clocked that Ben Platt looked too old to accurately play a teenager.
10:43We start with stars in our eyes.
10:46We start believing that we belong, but every sun doesn't rise.
10:53And no one tells you where you went wrong.
10:56The Little Mermaid.
10:57Halle Bailey's casting caused her and the film to be the target of racial abuse.
11:01Just you and me,
11:04and I could be
11:07part of your world.
11:13Songbird, a movie about a COVID-19
11:15mutation, was the last thing viewers wanted during the pandemic.
11:19We're untouchable.
11:22You see, mewnies,
11:25we're not human anymore.
11:30We're gods.
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11:47Number one, the interview.
11:50It doesn't get any riskier than this.
11:52The North Korean government is not known for its good humor.
11:55Needless to say, they weren't thrilled about the interview.
11:58A movie about journalists attempting to take out North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
12:02He's the most reclusive leader on the planet.
12:04It's not going to happen.
12:05He lives in North Korea.
12:06We can't go there.
12:07Dave Skylark gets it anywhere.
12:10His government threatened to retaliate
12:11against the US, saying the movie would be considered an act of war.
12:15The theatrical release was canceled following Sony being hacked.
12:18That decision was also met with controversy,
12:20as many felt the studio shouldn't have bowed to a dictator.
12:23President Barack Obama himself called this decision a mistake at a press conference.
12:28Will you be so cocky when I slay you in front of the whole world?
12:32Eventually, the interview was given a limited
12:34showing and ended up becoming the company's highest grossing digital release.
12:38This was a revolution ignited with nothing more than a camera and some question.
12:46Have any of your favorite movies been the subject of pre-release backlash?
12:49Let us know in the comments below.
12:51You are a genius, Patty.
12:53I'm a ghostbuster.
12:54Did you enjoy this video?
12:56Check out these other clips from WatchMojo
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13:02And I'll see you in the next video.
13:04Bye.