Top 20 Movies That Took MAJOR Chances
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the films that pinned their hopes on ideas that could have - and sometimes did - backfired horribly.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo and today we're counting down our picks for the films that pinned their
00:07hopes on ideas that could have, and sometimes did, backfired horribly.
00:25In 2018, Crazy Rich Asians seemingly proved to Hollywood that a cast without a white star
00:31could still make millions.
00:32Despite that success, it took four years until we saw another Asian-led blockbuster.
00:37Hollywood didn't necessarily have big expectations for the heady sci-fi indie film, and wasn't
00:42sure how to market a weird movie with such a diverse cast.
00:45However, the film's bold casting choices ultimately proved groundbreaking.
00:56By authentically reflecting modern society's diversity, it resonated deeply with a broader
01:01audience.
01:02The film became a magnet for acclaim, cleaning up at the Oscars.
01:06The success of Everything Everywhere All at Once demonstrates that embracing diversity
01:10can enrich storytelling, broaden appeal and elevate cinematic experiences to new heights.
01:28The space race of the 1960s captivated the world and ignited a new interest in space
01:32travel and science fiction.
01:34Star Wars capitalised on it with a space adventure that dominated the world.
01:38Two years after the blockbuster success of Star Wars, director Ridley Scott turned space
01:42science fiction on its head.
01:44Instead of a cantina full of puppet aliens or a fairy Wookiee, his creature was a killing
01:48machine with acid for blood.
01:53Instead of banding together to fight evil, Scott's ragtag crew of spacefarers were
01:57brutally picked off one by one.
01:59While the heroes of Star Wars fought an evil empire, in Alien they fell victim to corporate
02:04greed.
02:05The success and longevity of Alien proves that space can be home to many different stories.
02:23Joel Schumacher's second stab at a superhero film, Batman & Robin, was both a critical
02:28and commercial failure.
02:30It seemed like a death blow to the genre.
02:32Though 1998's Blade was technically a superhero film, it really took X-Men to reinvigorate
02:36the genre.
02:37Even so, it presented a big risk.
02:39Besides Patrick Stewart, the film starred an ensemble of relatively or completely unknown
02:44actors.
02:48X-Men took a more grounded, character-driven approach than most previous superhero films.
02:53As in the comics, X-Men directly tackled the themes of discrimination and personal identity.
02:58Its success at the box office, coupled with positive reviews, revitalised interest in
03:02superhero films.
03:03Decades later, stars like Hugh Jackman are still reprising their roles.
03:19In the modern era, Disney is a mega-corporation that controls the rights of everything from
03:23Captain America to Predator.
03:24But that wasn't always the case.
03:26They generally stuck with animated and family movies, which is why the first Pirates of
03:30the Caribbean film represented such a big swing.
03:38It was the first-ever PG-13 movie under the Disney banner.
03:42It was a film full of bawdy humour and violence, two things traditionally far removed from
03:46the Disney brand.
03:48Moreover, the Gore Verbinski epic cost a whopping $140 million to produce.
03:57Disney's gamble paid off, as The Curse of the Black Pearl made hundreds of millions
03:59at the box office and spawned a tonne of merchandise and several sequels.
04:16When Quentin Tarantino decided to cast John Travolta in his out-of-sequence crime caper,
04:20Pulp Fiction, it almost killed the film.
04:23By the start of the 1990s, Travolta's career was on a downswing after a series of box office
04:27and critical disasters.
04:29Pulp Fiction producer Harvey Weinstein was dead set against Travolta.
04:33Tarantino and his agent fought tooth and nail for the casting, and eventually Weinstein
04:37gave in.
04:43The film was a smash hit, with critics and audiences alike, and it's since become a
04:47major cultural touchstone of the 1990s.
04:50It made Tarantino a star, and revitalised Travolta's career.
04:54Weinstein, the future face of Me Too, would later take credit for the casting choice after
04:58the film's success.
05:09The classic animated film, Shrek, was born out of petty revenge.
05:13Former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, arguably responsible for Disney's 1990s
05:17rebirth, left the studio thanks to tensions with the CEO.
05:20Undeterred, Katzenberg co-founded an independent animation studio, DreamWorks, later that year.
05:26One of their first animated films, Shrek stuck it to Katzenberg's former employers at every
05:31opportunity.
05:41The film's diminutive, unlikable villain bears a minor resemblance to his former boss.
05:47Even worse, Shrek is filled with pot shots at the fairy tales that formed the basis for
05:50much of Disney's content.
05:52Thanks to its more adult humour and digitally animated style, Shrek was a smash hit.
05:57It's since led to multiple sequels, as well as a hit Broadway musical.
06:16Weinstein's attempts to create major silver screen adaptations of J.R.R.
06:19Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series either disappointed or simply didn't offer the
06:23kind of grandeur that the books warranted.
06:25That all changed when director Peter Jackson became involved.
06:28He went through development hell, approaching multiple studios before New Line Cinema took
06:32a huge gamble.
06:33They would ultimately give him nearly $300 million, and gave him the ability to shoot
06:37all three films back-to-back over 438 days.
06:47It was a major commitment, and a significant risk, but shooting the films in this way enabled
06:51them to release them quickly, maintaining audience interest, which would have waned
06:55had there been years between each film.
06:58The result is cinema history.
07:06A tale told backwards, memento.
07:16Christopher Nolan's memento may be considered groundbreaking cinema today, but it was far
07:20from a sure thing when it was first released.
07:22According to Nolan's brother, and Memento co-writer Jonathan, their early test screenings
07:26were a living nightmare.
07:28Virtually every distributor who saw the film passed.
07:31Though the reception was warm, nobody had faith that the audience would understand the
07:34non-linear storytelling, with much of the film being told backwards.
07:41Eventually, the film's production company, New Market, took the risk of distributing
07:48the film themselves.
07:49Eventually, Memento would go on to make almost ten times its tiny budget back at the box
07:54office.
07:55The Nolans would remember executives' disdain for the audiences, and spend the rest of their
07:59careers ignoring those concerns.
08:11Daniel Craig has had the longest uninterrupted run of any Bond actor, having portrayed 007
08:16over a period of 15 years.
08:18After such a successful tenure, it may be hard to remember that his casting was actually
08:22the cause of some controversy.
08:33Bond fans were less than enthused by the fact that he'd been the shortest and blondest
08:37Bond.
08:38Most criticisms of Craig's appearance drowned in the sea, as he also proved to be the buffest
08:43Bond.
08:44Craig would go on to star in four more Bond films, second only to Roger Moore and Sean
08:47Connery, who each starred in seven apiece.
08:58Hollywood, somewhat infamously, loves to admire itself through films about Hollywood.
09:15Films like Hugo, or The Artist, focus on the magic of cinema, while biopics like Mank
09:19or Trumbo focus on writers' moral dilemmas.
09:22Sunset Boulevard, though, is a somewhat unique entry in the Hollywood-on-Hollywood genre.
09:35It's fundamentally a story about the dark cost of fame and fortune and kicking over
09:42the industry to shed light on its grimy underbelly.
09:44It's a tragedy, and it begins with the death of its protagonist, a revolutionary plot device
09:50in 1950.
09:51In a country obsessed with stars, Sunset Boulevard set out to subvert the very system that created
09:56it, and the film's lessons are even more relevant in this era of social media stardom.
10:09It may be hard to imagine now, but Ang Lee's
10:18Brokeback Mountain was a hugely controversial film, released less than a year after the
10:222004 elections, in which anti-gay marriage bills were prominent in many state elections.
10:28That's why it came as a complete shock that Ang Lee, who was often associated with action
10:32films like Hulk, would take on a gay romance.
10:45Up-and-coming young actors Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger risked their careers by taking
10:49on their roles.
10:50Despite all this, the film proved to be a huge critical success, netting several Oscars,
10:55including one for Lee, and was a considerable success at the box office.
11:12By the summer of 1996, the slasher sub-genre of horror films was little more than a joke.
11:18The Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th franchises had 22 films between
11:23them.
11:24Slasher films had become tired and schlocky.
11:27Fortunately, one of the godfathers of the genre, Wes Craven, set about to create a new
11:31franchise.
11:32One that poked fun at all that came before, even his own work.
11:41Scream was a unique offering.
11:43It was oddly self-referential, mocking slasher tropes while clinging to them faithfully.
11:48Slasher films by then were relegated mostly to the B-movie shelf at Blockbuster, but Scream
11:52was a full-blown theatrical sensation.
12:09Chris Nolan's follow-up to his revitalised Batman was a hotly anticipated film.
12:13Batman Begins ended with a reference to the most famous member of the Caped Crusader's
12:17rogues gallery, the Joker.
12:19When the director announced that the role would be played by Australian actor Heath
12:23Ledger, many fans were absolutely furious.
12:36According to Nolan, even the studio didn't like the choice.
12:39For months, Nolan was subjected to complaints that this was arguably the worst casting decision
12:43ever made.
12:44Nolan never wavered, and promised audiences something they'd never seen before.
12:49And he couldn't have been more right.
12:50From the film's opening moments, audiences the world over were enthralled by what is
12:54widely considered to be the best live-action adaptation of the character ever.
13:11By 1967, Hollywood was over 30 years into the haze censorship codes, but films like
13:16Bonnie and Clyde were consigning it to the dust heap.
13:19The film's blend of graphic violence, overt sexuality and anti-hero protagonists was a
13:23slap in the face of censorship.
13:25Directed by Arthur Penn, it faced significant studio resistance and controversy upon release,
13:30especially for its now-classic ending.
13:41The death of the titular characters in a storm of bullets was bloody, graphic, visceral and
13:46overwhelming.
13:47It was exactly what the film needed to be, true to its story, no matter how uncomfortable
13:50it may have made many.
13:52Its success pushed the boundaries of on-screen content and permanently shifted the landscape
13:56of American cinema toward more daring and innovative stories.
14:12Film Like It Hot was a shockingly refreshing deep dive into American gender roles.
14:16At a time when strict censorship and conservative societal norms dominated Hollywood, the film
14:21challenged gender norms.
14:23Male characters, played by Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, disguised themselves as women
14:26to escape the mob.
14:36This premise allowed the film to humorously but incisively critique gender norms and highlight
14:41the fluidity of identity.
14:43Director Billy Wilder's daring approach provoked controversy, but ultimately paid
14:47off.
14:48The film's witty script, brilliant performances and progressive themes resonated with audiences,
14:52achieving critical and commercial success.
14:55Some Like It Hot not only pushed boundaries, but also paved the way for more open discussions
14:59about gender in cinema.
15:07Guess Who's Coming to Dinner was a gutsy mainstream Hollywood film that took on the
15:21topics of race and interracial marriage, right smack dab in the middle of the civil rights
15:26movement.
15:27The film was released just six months after the Supreme Court enshrined the right to interracial
15:31marriage in Loving v. Virginia.
15:33The film centred on a white woman bringing her black fiancé home to meet her parents.
15:46At its heart, it's a movie about prejudice, and one that risked alienating conservative
15:50American audiences and sparking backlash.
15:53It approached the subject with sensitivity, humanising all its characters.
15:57Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy's performances resonated deeply with
16:02audiences.
16:03Its success presaged an America that would slowly grow more comfortable with interracial
16:07relationships.
16:23Marvel Studios is no stranger to big risks.
16:25In 2014, James Gunn directed a film about virtually unknown alien characters in space.
16:30Guardians of the Galaxy was a major hit, but that risk was nothing compared to Kevin Feige's
16:34first big leap of faith.
16:40In 2006, Robert Downey Jr. was struggling.
16:43Time and again, his troubles with substance abuse and the law derailed his career, most
16:48recently after winning an Emmy in 2001.
16:50The director of the upcoming Iron Man film, Jon Favreau, met with RDJ and knew he was
16:55the man for the job.
16:59Hesitant though he was to pin his hopes for a cinematic universe on Downey, Kevin Feige
17:04relented.
17:05That decision set the tone for decades of media, and changed Hollywood altogether.
17:22When critics learned that Walt Disney was working on the world's first feature-length
17:25cartoon, they thought he was crazy.
17:27They dubbed his project, Disney's Folly, predicting financial ruin for Disney and his
17:32company.
17:33I mean, the challenges Disney faced were massive.
17:39The production costs for animation were through the roof.
17:41It was a time-consuming and costly process.
17:44The lack of any real marketing testing meant that Disney was treading in completely unknown
17:48waters.
17:49The film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and despite being released in the middle of
17:52the Great Depression, it made over $8 million at the box office.
18:00The film validated animation as a serious art form, and established Disney as the king
18:05of the format.
18:13Enraging a media baron, Citizen Kane.
18:20Today film historians consider Orson Welles' Citizen Kane to be one of the greatest films
18:25ever made.
18:26But at the time of its release, it drew the ire of one of the most powerful men in America.
18:30It centres on Charles Foster Kane, a paper-thin satire of media baron, William Randolph Hearst.
18:39Hearst hated his portrayal and waged a fierce campaign against Citizen Kane.
18:43He used his vast media empire to ban advertisements and reviews of the film.
18:48Hearst called Welles a communist, smearing him in the media.
18:51He threatened both RKO and movie theatre chains across America.
18:55And while his efforts limited its release and dampened its profits, it only enhanced
18:59the lore around the film, enshrining it in cinema history.
19:23Unexpectedly killing the star, Psycho.
19:30Alfred Hitchcock released Psycho nearly a decade before Hollywood's censorship codes
19:34were revoked.
19:35His film was a direct challenge to those codes, causing controversy due to its graphic violence
19:39and sexual content.
19:46But one of its most shocking innovations did not defy the codes, it defied audience expectations.
19:55Janet Leigh was a major star, and audiences assumed she would be a main character throughout
19:59the film.
20:00So, imagine their surprise when she was suddenly killed off halfway through the picture.
20:05And to be dispatched in such a graphic manner just added to the shock.
20:14After that, all bets were off in terms of what the audience could expect, and Hitchcock
20:18kept them on their toes for the rest of the film.
20:24So, what do you think was Hollywood's biggest gamble?
20:28Share your thoughts below.