On paper it seemed like Mortal Engines was a project that should have performed well, it’s based on a popular books series and had Peter Jackson’s name attached. Those two ingredients gave us some of the greatest films of all time. But in 2018 it resulted in one of the biggest box office bombs of all time.
In this video essay I take another look at this forgotten flop, to see what went wrong and why it failed so horribly.
Chapters:
Intro: 0:00
Production: 0:40
Why It Failed: 4:24
My Thoughts: 8:27
Conclusion: 13:14
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Lindsay Ellis’s Hobbit Series:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJGOq3JclTH_7G3wHRpECZLEMsvKQ8_hr&si=v74EJ-__eFRvQIfA
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Check out my Letterboxd:
https://boxd.it/5NDWn
Instagram:
instagram.com/isenhart_productions
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Music Attribution:
"Study And Relax" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Sincerely" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Smooth Loving" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Apero Hour" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
"Backbay Lounge" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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Sources:
https://archive.ph/20130223000919/http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/entertainment/3184223/Peter-Jackson-to-adapt-sci-fi-series
https://deadline.com/2016/10/peter-jackson-mortal-engines-movie-christian-rivers-philip-reeve-mrc-universal-pictures-1201841779/
https://variety.com/2017/film/news/peter-jackson-mortal-engines-robbie-sheehan-ronan-raftery-1201947799/
https://variety.com/2017/film/news/hugo-weaving-peter-jackson-on-mortal-engines-exclusive-1202029370/
https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/film/94822032/thats-a-wrap-for-sir-peter-jacksons-mortal-engines-as-film-heads-into-postproduction
https://www.artofvfx.com/mortal-engines/
https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl4278289921/
https://screenrant.com/biggest-movie-box-office-bombs-of-all-time/
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/peter-jackson-mortal-engines-box-office-flop-1203090907/
https://deadline.com/2019/04/box-office-bombs-2018-solo-a-star-wars-story-mortal-engines-wrinkle-in-time-robin-hood-nutcracker-1202591271/
https://deadline.com/2018/12/look-out-here-comes-the-spider-verse-sony-animation-title-eyes-30m-35m-opening-box-office-preview-1202517968/
https://www.theringer.com/2018/12/17/movies/mortal-engines-box-office-flop
https://bombreport.com/yearly-breakdowns/2018-2/mortal-engines/
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/145-million-flop-what-went-wrong-with-peter-jacksons-mortal-engines/KNRIZTPR4A3CG3BI4HPYXIDVYQ/