Summary
When you think of box office bombs, live-action anime adaptations typically are high on the list. Whether fairly or not, the number of times Hollywood has tried and failed to turn an iconic anime into a movie hit is pretty dismal.Speed Racer,Ghost in the Shell, andMacGuverare all examples of how Hollywood attempted to make live-action anime adaptations that didn’t pan out for one reason or another.
Many anime fans considerDragonball: Evolutionto be the worst attempt of them all. A movie so misguided it draggedcreator Akira Toriyama out of retirementto make new animated movies so that the live-action film wouldn’t be the final word on the franchise. However, many fans may be surprised to find out that this isn’t the biggest box office bomb for anime adaptations. That there is a movie that actually did much worse in many ways thanDragonball: Evolution. What’s more ironic is that you likely never heard about it. Let’s go down a (brief) history lane.
RELATED:Knights Of The Zodiac Review
How Hard DidDragonball: EvolutionBomb?
Dragonball: Evolutionwas a massive box office bomb and widely considered to be a critical failure. Released in 2009, the live-action adaptation of the popular anime and manga franchise Dragon Ball was not well-received by critics or fans. The film cost an estimated $30 million to produce and only earned approximately $9.4 million domestically in the United States. However, it did fare slightly better internationally, making about $48 million worldwide.
Still, this did not recoup its production and marketing costs (especially since half of the box office is shared with the theaters and various other business partners), making it a financial disappointment for 20th Century Fox. Furthermore, it was widely panned for itsunfaithful adaptation of the source material, lackluster acting, poor writing, and unsatisfying action sequences, with the film holding a dismal 15% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
As a result of the poor reception and financial performance ofDragonball: Evolution, all planned sequels for the film were scrapped, with Toei Animation bringing the franchise back with new animated movies and creator Akira Toriyama himself getting heavily involved in the new animeDragon Ball: Super. Even the film’s writer, Ben Ramsey, has apologized to fans for the quality of the movie. Despite how bad this is, Sony would find themselves with anime adaptation that would bomb far worse thanDragonball: Evolutiondid:Knights of the Zodiac.
What is Knights of the Zodiac?
Knights of the Zodiacis the English adaptation title forSaint Seiya, a popular Japanese manga and anime series. The series was written and illustrated by Masami Kurumada and was originally serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1986 to 1990. When the franchise was brought to America by DiC Entertainment (who also were responsible for bringing over thefirst American adaptation ofSailor Moon), it was decided to make some minor changes to make the series more appealing to American kids.
Saint Seiya…er,Knights of the Zodiac, follows a group of mystical warriors known as Saints who fight on behalf of the Greek goddess Athena. Each Saint wears a mystical armor known as a “Cloth,” with each Cloth corresponding to a constellation. The series' protagonist, Seiya, is the Saint of the Pegasus constellation. The series is known for its mythology-based storyline, intense battles, and the theme of friendship and determination. Since its original run,Saint Seiyahas spawned numerous sequels, spin-offs, anime adaptations, movies, and merchandise, making it a significant franchise in anime and manga history. It was likely only a matter of time before the series would be considered for a live-action remake. It just came in a form many fans didn’t expect.
How Hard DidKnights of the ZodiacBomb?
When Sony greenlita movie adaptation ofSaint Seiyafans were puzzled that they were going with the alternate English title ofKnights of the Zodiac, seeing as how the franchise had finally found an audience on Crunchyroll thanks to the numerous spin-offs and sequels to the original franchise. To go back to the name that wasn’t a huge hit in the first place was likely a huge blow, but it wouldn’t be the only one.Knights of the Zodiacwas given a budget of $60 million dollars (almost double that ofDragonball: Evolutionand that did NOT include the marketing budget).
The movie would star Mackenyu, a famous Japanese actor known for playing characters in various live-action anime adaptations such asRurouni Kenshin,Tokyo Ghoul S, and NetflixsupcomingOne Pieceadaptation. Other actors included popular American actors such as Sean Bean (The Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones) and Nick Stahle (Sin City, In the Bedroom). Overall, a reported $100 million dollars were spent to make and market the film. What was the final box office gross: A paltry $6.9 million (and yes, that IS worldwide)! It opened in the US at a meager $535,000 on opening weekend, enough to claim the number 11 spot (it wasn’t even able to crack the top ten). The film was such a financial disappointment, that theaters like AMC started pulling show times due to the simple fact that most of the theaters were simply empty.
The only area whereKnights of the Zodiacdidslightlybetter was with the reviews (it holds a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes). Otherwise,Knights of the Zodiaclost more money, was in theaters shorter, and came and went before anyone realized it was there. What may be worse is that most anime fans have already forgotten the movie exists. GiveDragonball: Evolutionthis much credit: Regardless of the quality of the film, we’restilltalking about it all these years later.
