25 Great Movies That Flopped
19. Sphere (1998)
Put these heavy hitters all in the same underwater science fiction movie and you would think those heading to the movies would respond favorably.
Unfortunately, that was not the case for the 1998 film “Sphere”.
Psychological sci-fi thriller “Sphere” examines the power of the mind and subconscious while giving audiences a thrill ride at the same time.
While the plot is interesting, many people said that the dialogue fell short. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film only a 12 percent score, but most of the criticism was aimed at the scriptwriting and plot, not at the actors.
The basic premise of the movie is that four scientists go underwater to an old sunken spacecraft to examine a sphere-like object that has been uncovered. When person after person begins to die in strange and dramatic ways, the people on board blame the sphere. However, it turns out to be manifestations of their internal and subconscious fears that caused the deaths, not aliens.
Fans of the movie still believe it was unfairly criticized, but having lost $61.4 million at the box office producers were sunk.
