What Went Wrong With Waterworld? Why It Cost So Much & Was A Failure
Waterworld was a box office failure upon its release back in 1995, but what went wrong with Kevin Costner’s costly aquatic flop — and why? Costner was one of Hollywood’s A-List stars back in the early 1990s. He had had a string of hits that had managed to please both critics and audiences alike, including JFK, The Bodyguard, and the Oscar-winning Dances With Wolves, which he also directed. Waterworld had intricate world-building aspects, but the movie failed.
Costner and director Kevin Reynolds were frequent collaborators, and after Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves were looking for their next project. They found it in the form of Waterworld, an action-adventure story that was heavily influenced by the Mad Max movies. Set in an apocalyptic future where every continent on Earth is underwater due to melting polar ice caps, the remnants of humanity now live in floating communities besieged by pirates. Costner plays The Mariner, a lone drifter who reluctantly helps a girl and her guardian who may hold the secret to the mythical «Dryland.»
Related: Mad Max: How Old Max Is In Every Movie
Flying high on their previous successes, the creative collaborators wanted the film to be as realistic as possible, with a scale of epic proportions. Their clout within Hollywood was at an all-time high, and Universal Studios were sold on their vision. However, the production was not plain sailing and almost ended their careers and friendship. Here's why Waterworld failed, and whether the Dan Trachtenberg-led TV remake can save the cult classic.
One reason Waterworld failed was due to massive problems during production. Before the film began, Steven Spielberg had warned Reynolds and Coster not to film on open water. Spielberg had a production
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