Black Panther, Crazy Rich Asians, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom were some of the highlights in terms of films released this year, but there were quite a few who didn’t quite hit the mark.

There are various reasons the latter films disappointed at the box office, with some just not managing to connect with audiences, others being avoided after being savaged by critics, and still others managing to do both simultaneously!

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

The all-star cast included Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and Keira Knightley, but not even they couldn’t save this Disney big-budget revamp of The Nutcracker.

Released early on in November, it was expected to keep going until at least Christmas, seeing as it was branded as a festive offering for the whole family to enjoy, but massive drops at the box office everywhere have dashed those hopes once and for all.

With many versions of this Christmas classic about, even one which sees it reinvented for the online slots Australia and the rest of the world has to offer, this fail was perhaps the most surprising.

Robin Hood

Even though this only came out on the 21st of November, it’s already pretty obvious how it’s going to do.

It’s box office debut in the United States of America suffered a five-day, US$14.3 million blow, dropping by a whopping 48% in just its second weekend. It hasn’t really connected in the United Kingdom either, and has most assuredly missed its target.

A Wrinkle In Time

Everyone wanted A Wrinkle In Time to do well, seeing as it marked the first time in history a woman of colour directed a film with a budget of more than US$100 million.

Sadly, Ava DuVernay’s take on the 1962 science-fiction novel of the same name wowed neither audiences nor critics and wasnt even a hit with die hard romantics.

The Happytime Murders

No doubt hoping to follow in the footsteps of Ted, the 2012 American comedy directed by Seth MacFarlane and written by McFarlane, Wellesley Wild, and Alec Sulkin, the Happytime Murders simply got sued.

Sesame Street took them to court during the film’s marketing campaign, and that’s really all that can be said about this flop. A weak box office debut along with being torn apart by critics, this movie sadly is only notable as the worst ever box office performance by the fabulous Melissa McCarthy.

The Darkest Mind

With a reported budget of US$34,000,000, and a worldwide gross of just US$41,142,379, it’s safe to say the Young Adult vampire boom kicked off by Twilight is done.

The Darkest Minds seems unlikely to get a sequel, either, since not even the fans of the book turned out to see the movie, let alone anyone else.

Death Wish

Death Wish had its fate sealed from the second its first trailer saw the remake of this classic from the 1970s being labelled as racist and alt-right.

The more immediate issue facing the Eli Roth take on the cult-hit starring Charles Bronson is that it’s just not very good, in spite of Bruce Willis’ best efforts.