Suede Brooks reflected on her relationship with Drake, claiming she he sent her threatening messages in the wake of their split.

“I was staying on my friend’s boat, and her father had hired Drake to come to the boat and throw a party in Saint-Tropez and Drake had never been to Saint-Tropez, and so he came on the boat, he came with his friends,” the Calabasas Confidential star, 25, alleged during a Sunday, June 28, appearance on Bunnie Xo’s “Dumb Blonde” podcast. “It was amazing. He’s such a great guy.”

Brooks continued, “When I met him, I was like, ‘Oh, this is so cool that he’s, like, coming on our boat and through, like, and performing at our party.’ But I feel like the narrative that was spun was, like, I kind of stepped onto his territory, and like I, when in reality it was like no, he came onto our program.”

Drake, 39, and Brooks were first romantically linked in July 2022 after being spotted together in Saint-Tropez.

“We dated … I would say, like, on and off for a few months,” Brooks recalled on Sunday. “I would go see him in Toronto, and then one day I was like, ‘I’m tired of this.’”

When the twosome ultimately called it quits, Brooks claimed that she felt afraid for her wellbeing.

“When we did end things, it was very … I was very scared for my safety,” she alleged. “And for a lot of things, for a long time living in LA, the things they said to me were very alarming. I was 21 or 22 at the time, and when you hear those things said to you coming from the most powerful artists in the world that has so much power and can do the unimaginable within the snap of a finger, it was very scary.”

Brooks claimed that she received threatening messages after their breakup as the result of a“miscommunication.”

“[I was] getting text messages that he’s gonna have bitches fold me up verbatim, that’s what he said,” she alleged. “I was like, for what? It was all miscommunication. He thought I was saying something that I didn’t. He thought I was talking like shit about him in LA when I never was.”

Brooks claimed that after she received the alleged messages she did not leave her “house for like three months,” afraid for her safety.

“I didn’t step outside, like I didn’t go out, at least, because I was scared, especially somebody of that power,” she said. “I know I’ve grown a lot from it, and I know he’s grown a lot from it. I think also during that time it was emotional for both of us, because it was just like a big miscommunication. But he is so talented.”

Brooks added that she dislikes talking about their split because she has a lot of admiration for Drake to this day.

Related: Drake Gets Cozy Backstage With ‘Rightful Wife’ Sexyy Red

Drake sparked romance speculation after getting cozy with Sexyy Red at his Brooklyn concert — and their post-show hang raised even more eyebrows. “Just met my rightful wife,” Drake, 36, wrote via his Instagram Story on Tuesday, July 18, alongside a backstage snap with Sexyy Red, 25, amid his It’s All a Blur Tour. The […]

“I hate bringing that stuff kind of back up but he is so talented, I know he has a great heart,” she said. “I wish him nothing but the best in his future. I hope he finds somebody that he loves and cherishes for the rest of his life. It wasn’t me, and it got to a point where it was almost like I physically and emotionally can’t give you what you need, so I’m gonna step away.”

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Brooks added that she hasn’t “spoken to him in a minute” as she doesn’t like to talk to her exes after calling it quits.

“Like, once you lose me, I’m gone,” she said.

Us Weekly has reached out to Drake’s spokesperson for comment.

Anime has been popular for a long time, with classics such as Bleach defining a generation of fans and still impacting the culture of fandom today. However, it’s hard to deny the impact of modern anime, with sensations such as Jujutsu Kaisen becoming among the most popular anime titles in history. But even though 2020 was six years ago, fans usually define modern shows by what has come out in the past 5 years.

That is why this list will rank the most perfect anime series that came out in the past five years, from 2021 to 2026. Based on elements such as story, animation, originality, entertainment value, popularity, consistency, fan opinion, critical acclaim, and overall quality, these shows are the must-watch staples of the past five years. New icons will come out, but for now, these are the most perfect modern anime.

10

‘Sonny Boy’ (2021)

Image via Madhouse

Almost all the anime on this list are mainstream hits, but one of the lesser-known icons of the past decade is Sonny Boy. This unconventional isekai follows a class of students who mysteriously transport to a bizarre world. As they try to figure out the laws of this world, the students begin developing superpowers, and a natural hierarchy forms as they search for a way back home.

Sonny Boy was one of the last avant-garde anime series, and it impressed in a big way, delivering a stunning season of confusing, yet thought-provoking storytelling. This Lord of the Flies-esque anime delved into the creative realm to deliver a visually distinct and narratively complex anime that can be considered the must-watch hidden gem of the past five years.

9

‘Delicious in Dungeon’ (2024–Present)

Image via Trigger

The fantasy genre is bigger than ever, and series like Delicious in Dungeon prove that. After one of their party members is eaten by a dragon, the rest of the members either leave or plan to head back down. However, with no money, supplies, or food, they decide to cook the monsters they find down there. From adventuring to cooking creatures, there is more mystery that awaits them at the bottom of the dungeon.

Delicious in Dungeon is one of the most distinctive anime series of the 2020s, blending genuine fantasy mystery with fun monster gourmet creations. It has a brilliant use of worldbuilding and monster ecology, which works in favor of its cooking side adventures. No other anime does what Delicious in Dungeon does, and when the next season comes out, it may be the best fantasy anime of all time.

8

‘The Summer Hikaru Died’ (2025–Present)

Image via Netflix

Horror anime generally isn’t the best, but a history of lackluster shows can produce some hits, such as The Summer Hikaru Died. Yoshiki notices something wrong with his best friend, Hikaru, learning that he has actually died, and a spirit has taken over his body. Denying this new reality, Yoshiki struggles to come to terms with it while the new Hikaru just wants to be friends.

Whether fans prefer the eerie horror and riveting mystery or the dynamic between the two characters, The Summer Hikaru Died has more than enough to keep fans entertained. This gripping horror anime has thrills, character development, and gorgeous animation that create a terrifying yet nostalgic summer vibe, seeping in mystery that fans can’t wait to explore more of.

7

‘City the Animation’ (2025)

Image via Kyoto Animation

Kyoto Animation is a critically acclaimed studio known for some of the greatest anime series ever, and their latest masterpiece is City the Animation. Set in a unique town with even weirder residents, every day is a misadventure of fun, hilarity, and nostalgia. From a city-wide race to searching for a lost pendant, even normal activities evolve into grand events in this acclaimed anime.

City the Animation isn’t an action anime with the best fights, but it deserves more recognition for its directing and editing, which bring a creative flair that changes how the medium is presented. This explosion of imaginative craftwork is more impressive than most other anime, plus City the Animation is a charming comedy with surreal, chaotic, wholesome, and absurd humor that became one of the best anime shows from 2025.

6

‘The Apothecary Diaries’ (2023–Present)

Image via OLM

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Historical anime have been on the rise these past five years, and one of the greatest is The Apothecary Diaries. After being sold to the Imperial Palace, Maomao (Aoi Yūki) works as a servant girl, showcasing her skills as an apothecary and detective. Solving murder cases and creating new concoctions, she proves more and more useful in the inner court each day.

The Apothecary Diaries is a beloved anime that already has over 50 episodes with more on the way, plus a new movie. With an endearing cast of characters and new mysteries every episode that build into a grand plot, this engaging anime knows exactly how to hook fans. The Apothecary Diaries is a spectacular historical anime featuring romance, political intrigue, and thrilling mysteries, and its new season is one of the most anticipated anime series.

5

‘Odd Taxi’ (2021)

Image via Crunchyroll

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This list has its fair share of hidden gems or underwatched masterpieces, and one such anime is Odd Taxi. Odokawa (Natsuki Hanae) is a taxi driver who doesn’t like to stick his nose in his customers’ business. However, after a murder involving some of his passengers, Odokawa might be the missing piece to solving this mystery.

Odd Taxi flew under the radar this decade despite being one of the greatest anime of the past five years. The eccentric cast of characters was engaging, and each had its own relevance to the story. With a charming style and a dark plot, Odd Taxi was a masterful show with one of the best plot twists in anime, culminating in an unforgettable ending.

4

‘Orb: On the Movements of the Earth’ (2024–2025)

Image via Madhouse

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As mentioned, there are plenty of great historical anime, and the most recent masterpiece was Orb: On the Movements of the Earth. Back when the world believed the Earth was at the center of the universe, a book revealed that it wasn’t and that the Sun was the center of the galaxy. Following different protagonists through history, this is their struggle against the Church to prove heliocentrism.

What quickly became an anime-of-the-year candidate also established itself as a modern-day classic with a riveting story about human progress and knowledge. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth features brilliant themes and somehow manages to make each new protagonist just as compelling as the last, creating a once-in-a-lifetime anime experience that everyone must watch.

3

‘Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End’ (2023–Present)

No modern anime list would be complete without Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, possibly the greatest anime of the decade. Decades after defeating the demon king, Frieren’s (Atsumi Tanezaki) party has mostly passed away, leaving only their pupils. The near-immortal elf brings them on a nostalgic adventure to go to the land of the dead, where she wants to say unsaid words to her deceased friends.

Many fans claim it is the greatest modern anime series, and while it is nearly perfect, it doesn’t quite make the top of this list. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End proves that stopping to smell the roses and taking on side quests can be a compelling narrative. These small quests form a gorgeous story about the joys of the world in this fantasy setting. With a sprinkle of action and some engaging characters, Frieren is the largest anime sensation of the past five years.

2

‘Pluto’ (2023)

Image via Studio M2

Naoki Urasawa is a prolific author of some of the greatest manga of all time, and while his magnum opus is Monster, he has an equally engaging sci-fi masterpiece in Pluto. When one of the most advanced robots is murdered, Gesicht (Shinshū Fuji), another advanced android, is on the case. However, when the mystery begins to involve his past, he learns of a darker truth hidden behind everything.

Urasawa is known for his masterful mysteries that span over multiple decades, but Pluto has a more personal look, with plenty of emotional complexity and heavy themes alongside his staple riveting mystery. From the gorgeous animation and backgrounds to its profound themes that handle life and who has the right to feel, Pluto is a thought-provoking masterpiece that is one of the best things this decade has produced.

1

‘Cyberpunk: Edgerunners’ (2022–Present)

Image via Netflix

After years of only one season, Trigger surprised fans by announcing an unexpected sequel season of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, which will feature a new group of characters in Night City. After David’s (Kenn) mother passes away, he joins a gang with a cybernetically enhanced spine seeking revenge for her unjust death. However, all he will encounter is more tragedy and heartbreak.

The new season is one of the most anticipated anime series, but the first season is one of the greatest cyberpunk anime ever, using its marvelous worldbuilding and intricate city to create a vibrant story. The colors pop and the animation is exhilarating, creating an over-the-top series with a relentless pacing that will have fans overdosing with hype. Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is 10 episodes of pure, unfiltered excitement with an incredible narrative to boot.

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Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Release Date

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2022 – 2022

Network

Netflix

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Writers

Mike Pondsmith, Yoshiki Usa, Masahiko Otsuka

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Franchise(s)

Cyberpunk

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By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 17 seconds ago

He may be on the cusp of releasing a final film and retiring from cinema, but Quentin Tarantino’s influence continues to be felt all throughout Hollywood. For example, his hit film Pulp Fiction helped entire generations of filmmakers learn how much more exciting their movies could be when they weren’t tied down by traditional chronological order. That Tarantino tradition is alive and well with Shimmer Lake, a neo-noir crime thriller comedy starring Dwight Schrute actor Rainn Wilson that effectively tells its story backward.

The Worst Heists Always Make For The Best Movies

Just what is Shimmer Lake really about? Without spoiling too much of this crazy film, the core narrative focuses on a sheriff trying to figure out exactly how a bank heist went so wrong.

The movie unfolds backward, showing us what happened in the days leading to the heist and its aftermath, an innovative format that allows us to follow along with the sheriff and try to figure out exactly what happened with this topsy-turvy mystery.

With Shimmer Lake, the casting is nearly as interesting as the narrative itself. Rainn Wilson, who became a household name thanks to The Office, plays one of the criminals in the film, and his fellow bad guys are played by Mark Rendall (who starred in the excellent Hannibal series on NBC) and Wyatt Russell (best known to Marvel fans for playing U.S. Agent in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier).

Meanwhile, the sheriff trying to unravel this bloody mystery is played by Benjamin Walker, someone who played the title character in the trashy-but-fun film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Directed By Oren Uziel

For all the major stars in front of the camera, Shimmer Lake mostly succeeds thanks to the talents of its director. The film is both written and directed by Oren Uziel, a Hollywood writer who was mostly known at the time for writing the hilarious sequel 22 Jump Street.

Shimmer Lake represents Uziel’s directorial debut, and while the film isn’t perfect (more on this soon), its sleek style and confidence instantly made us want more films from this unassuming director.

Perfect Comedy Of Errors, Or Epic Fail?

Shimmer Lake was distributed on Netflix, meaning that it didn’t have the chance to impress audiences at the box office. As for critics, they remain divided on this unconventional film: on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has a critical rating of 67 percent, barely making it a “fresh” film. 

Some critics were hard on the performance of Rainn Wilson and others, noting that comedy performers are often out of place in a drama.

Other critics lauded the film for its innovative storytelling, something that adds innovation and excitement to what might otherwise be a very rote pulp narrative. And, of course, the film’s experimentation of chronological order invited several comparisons to Tarantino.

Are you going to think that Uziel is the next Tarantino, or will you agree with the critics who think these comedians should stick with comedy? The only way to find out is to stream Shimmer Lake on Netflix today.

Love it or hate it, we can all agree on one thing by the time it’s over: if Dwight had acted like this in The Office, Jim would have thought twice before doing all those crazy pranks.

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 23 seconds ago

Long before James Gunn took over the DC Universe movies, over 20 years before Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel, Christopher Reeve was the perfect Superman. With nothing more than a slight change to his stance and inflection, Reeve could transition from Clark Kent to Superman in a second. The first two Superman films pairing Reeve with director Richard Donner are both masterpieces. It’s unfortunate that Reeve’s final film with the red cape is Superman IV: The Quest for Peace which has no Donner, no Richard Pryor, and not a clue about what makes a great Superman movie. The Quest for Peace was such a disappointment it destroyed the Superman movie franchise until 2006’s Superman Returns.

Superman Vs. The Cold War

Superman IV starts with Superman uncovering the ship that brought him to Earth, and retrieving a message from his mother that an onboard energy module has incredible power but can only be used once. That leads into him attending the United Nations and lecturing everyone on the dangers of nuclear arms proliferation. The Quest for Peace isn’t subtle in its message.

Once Luthor (a contractually obligated Gene Hackman) is broken out of jail by his nephew Lenny (Jon Cryer, ironically, he’d play Lex in the Supergirl series), he decides to attach a genetic matrix with Superman’s hair on it to a nuclear missile. This leads to the creation of Nuclear Man, an evil villain powered by the Sun with the strength to go toe to toe with Superman. Despite his immense power, Nuclear Man loves using his superpowered nails to rake Superman and cause radiation poisoning. Every supervillain should fight like Hollywood Hulk Hogan’s NWO run in WCW, what could go wrong? 

No Money, More Problems

Money. Or well, the complete the lack of it. The Cannon Group overextended during the 80s and wound up with a movie slate that they couldn’t fund. Christopher Reeve talked about the experience in his biography, Still Me, that the production wasn’t able to actually finish the movie. What they did shoot was obviously at a lower budget than the Donner films, and as Reeve anticipated, left audiences disappointed. 

The original plan for Superman IV: The Quest for Peace was Bizarro. The lock of hair, Luthor wanting revenge against Superman, Nuclear Man taking commands from Lex, it all points to the original Bizarro storyline. A deleted sequence would have shown the original Nuclear Man, who looked more inhuman and close to the albino grotesque version of the original Bizarro. That was taken out, alongside half the film’s budget, leaving the production team with only $17 million. 

Christopher Reeve Deserved Better

Christopher Reeve, collecting a $6 million check for coming back, was able to pitch his concept for a Superman film. The plot about nuclear arms came straight from Superman himself, he has a “Story By” credit, and again, his excellent biography is very open about the whole process behind the film. Which, again as he guessed, did horrible at the box office and earned only $36 million, not nearly enough for the studio to turn a profit. As a result, The Cannon Group had to file for bankruptcy. 

Superman was put on the backburner and Superman Returns rewrote the movie canon to erase both Superman III and Superman IV. Following his tragic horse-riding accident in 1995, Chirstopher Reeve was never able to put on the tights again, but no matter how badly his final two Superman films fared at the box office, he’ll always be Superman. 

Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is streaming on HBO Max, in case you want to remind yourself what an actually bad superhero movie looks like.

Will Ferrell has sent the internet into a frenzy, and it is not because of his comedic or acting skills.

The veteran actor did something outside the box after featuring in a campaign for Kim Kardashian’s underwear brand, SKIMS.

Ferrell showed off a rare sensual side for the risqué shoot that is making fans go wild with excitement as they label him “perfection.”

The “Step Brothers” actor teamed up with SKIMS for a golf-themed campaign in honor of the upcoming Netflix series, “The Hawk.” In the show set for release on July 16, Ferrell will star as Lonnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, a golfer who is thirsty to reclaim his past glory.

Embodying his character, the actor donned a fashionable puka necklace while looking super tanned. One video posted on the official SKIMS Instagram page showed an almost-nude Ferrell swinging the club, wearing just blue briefs.

He donned a visor with “HAWK” printed on it alongside white socks and Nike sneakers. A voiceover, presumably by Kardashian, then narrated the plot of the movie in the background, saying, “His body says retire. “His SKIMS say one more round. Built for men who still know they’ve got it.”

In another photo, the 58-year-old struck sensual poses while wearing a fitted singlet and the blue briefs.

Fans Praise Will Ferrell For Looking ‘So Hot’

The actor struck several sensual poses, including grabbing onto a bottle as blue liquid spilled out. In another frame, he lay next to his golf clubs while giving a sultry stare to the camera.

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In no time, fans camped in the comments section with nothing but adoration for Ferrell’s bold NSFW ad campaign. “Nobody knows what it means, but it’s provocative,” one user gushed, referencing the actor’s iconic line from the 2007 movie “Blades of Glory.”

Another fan declared, “Will Ferrell for SKIMS is something I didn’t know I needed,” while this user wrote, “He’s got a body that most men can relate to.” Another hailed, “So hot right now!”

Some of the praise went to the Kardashian-owned brand. “Skims, you have outdone yourself once again,” a comment read. A similar remark read, “Did not have Will Ferrell wearing Skims on my 2026 bingo card. Well played, marketing team.”

The Actor Suffered An Injury While Filming Netflix Show

Fans’ excitement for the highly anticipated series, “The Hawk,” comes as no surprise, given the setbacks the project faced along the way.

As The Blast reported, the filming schedule was postponed in November when Ferrell incurred a minor injury that resulted in a pause. It was confirmed that the actor would be absent from shooting scenes at the Bicycle Casino outside Los Angeles due to his health.

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Although few details were released about his injury, close sources assured that Ferrell wasn’t in critical condition and would make a quick recovery. As a result, filming was postponed until he was fully healed.

Will Ferrell And Chad Smith Dominate ‘SNL’

Weeks before breaking the internet with his fire bod, the “Elf” actor got tongues wagging when he returned as a host for season 51 of “Saturday Night Live.”

According to The Blast, Ferrell’s appearance was accompanied by his celebrity doppelganger Chad Smith, who appeared on stage wearing the same outfit, impersonating the actor.

While in his grey suit, the Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer introduced himself to the audience, saying, “I was a cast member here for seven years, and now I’m hosting for the sixth time.” Suddenly, Ferrell himself appears on stage, claiming Smith pushed him backstage, before labeling him the “bad guy.”

Inside Will Ferrell And Chad Smith’s Relationship

Although Will Ferrell and Chad Smith, the drummer for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, share an uncanny brother-like resemblance, the two are not related at all. pic.twitter.com/4IZtFBr41I

— imjustculture (@imjustculture) June 23, 2025

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Before Ferrell and Smith used their alikeness to fuel their comedic chops, the pair’s striking resemblance was a topic of discussion among fans.

Recalling the first time they met, Smith noted that it happened during an advanced screening of the comedy film “The Ladies Man” in 2000. While grabbing a buffet, they ran into each other and couldn’t help but gush about their likeness.

“We’re looking at each other, right? He looks me up and down, and says, ‘You’re very handsome,’ and then just walks away,” the drummer said.

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Former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Reece Weaver had the support of her husband, Will Allman, when she ultimately — and surprisingly — decided to retire from the iconic squad. 

“No matter what decision I had, he was just going to support either way,” Weaver, 24, exclusively told Us Weekly of her husband’s role in her decision earlier this month. “I always go to him for options and outcomes. He could kind of process what we could do if we went this way, and what we could do if we went the other direction.”

She added, “He’s just super supportive and has helped me try to navigate what to do.”

Weaver’s retirement announcement came at the end of season 3 of Netflix’s America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, which premiered June 16. 

Related: DCC‘s Kleine Powell Addresses Social Media Backlash to Kelli Finglass Drama

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders veteran Kleine Powell has heard all of the chatter about the feedback she gets from DCC director Kelli Finglass — but she thinks some fans are missing the point.  “We have such a mom-and-daughter relationship that I think a lot of people forget about,” Powell, 26, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, […]

In addition to a major shift in her professional life, Weaver and Allman recently relocated to his home state of Alabama as they usher in a new era of their relationship. 

“We haven’t really experienced what newlywed living is like,” Weaver explained. 

She and Allman got married in April 2024, shortly after her first season on the team and just two months before the premiere of season 1 of America’s Sweethearts.

“We can’t go back and change what has come up and what our new reality looks like. I think that’s special,” Weaver said. “In the beginning I was like, ‘What are we doing? What is going on? How do we navigate all of this?’ But I think it has ultimately made our marriage stronger and our relationship stronger. I’m just excited to carry that into the next season of our lives.”

Weaver explained that she didn’t definitively make up her mind regarding her retirement until March, but admitted the idea to put away the signature white boots was a lingering thought throughout the year. 

Related: Kelli Finglass Reveals Status With Bramhall Family After Cutting Dayton Again

Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders director Kelli Finglass revealed where her relationship stands with associate choreographer Shelly Bramhall after cutting Shelly’s daughter, Dayton, for the third consecutive time.  “We are still standing,” Finglass, 61, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, June 23. “Shelly is still reporting to work and contributing in a big way. She always has. […]

“Going into season 3, my third year on the team, I just had so much gratitude,” she told Us. “My cup was filled to the brim even going into this year. I had that in the back of my mind. I was excited and looking forward to year three and what it brought. But my cup was getting really, really full. I went into my last game not thinking and knowing it was my last, but I kind of treated it as it was my last, so I could really just soak it all in. I think I really needed that sense of closure for my mental state.”

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Despite the clarity, Weaver admitted it was still terrifying to break the news to DCC director Kelli Finglass and choreographer Judy Trammell. 

“I don’t remember the last time I was that nervous to go into a conversation,” Weaver recalled. “I wasn’t nervous about really telling them, it was more me actually saying it out loud.”

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is available to stream now. 

There’s something about Millie Bobby Brown. 

Brown’s fabulous style status includes everything from flirty frocks, darling dresses, chic separates and more. 

For the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards, Brown looked pretty in a pink sequined Calvin Klein mullet dress, which she paired with white Converse sneakers. Her bow-adorned space buns and rosy lips finished the playful look. 

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In April 2022, Louis Vuitton named Brown as a brand ambassador. “I met [creative director] Nicolas Ghesquière six years ago and have been a fan of his work with Louis Vuitton ever since,” she said in a statement at the time, per Women’s Wear Daily.

Brown again showed off her glamorous side in November 2025, at the Stranger Things season 5 finale premiere. For the screening, she stunned in an off-the-shoulder sheer Rodarte look.

Keep scrolling to see Brown’s best fashion moments of all time: 

By Jonathan Klotz
| Updated 21 seconds ago

Sci-Fi movies are risky. Whey the hit, you end up with a generational hit that will make billions of dollars. When they fail, well they cost a lot of money so hundreds of people will likely lose their jobs and end up begging for loose change outside Skywalker Ranch. And these are the sci-fi movies that flopped so hard, they destroyed entire companies. 

10. Pandorum (Overture Films)

John Carpenter’s The Thing was a box office flop. Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner was also a box office flop. It can take time for great sci-fi to find the right audience. That’s where Pandorum is right now. It’s destined to become a cult classic. Starring Dennis Quaid and Ben Foster, Pandorum is about humanity’s attempt to colonize another world, except everything goes horribly wrong and instead there’s generations of insane cannibals running around a massive spaceship. It’s dark and it’s disturbing. It’s too much for mainstream audiences to handle. 

Pandorum crashed and burned in theaters in 2009, but thanks to a massive web of distribution deals, its impact was limited to bankrupting only one company: Overture Films. Launched by Starz in 2008, the company was gone in 2010, finding no success with Pandorum, The Crazies, Righteous Kill, and Law-Abiding Citizen among others. Pandorum was the one that launched the killing blow.

By being unable to earn back its production budget of $33 million. Sci-fi horror is always a tough sell, and you have to wonder, who did they expect to watch Pandorum? Is there an audience for sci-fi horror? Overture Films distributed Pandorum to American audiences, and if there is a fanbase for this type of horror, it’s not there. 

The film had the most success in Germany, the home of production company Constantin Films, still around today, and they’re behind the next Resident Evil movie. Constantin has been in business for over 75 years. Overture didn’t even make it to 2 years. The movie business can be like that, especially when you’re making sci-fi. Some days you’re the guy stepping out of a cryopod into safety, and some days you wake up from hundreds of years of hibernation to be eaten by cannibals. 

9. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (Squaresoft)

A full-length computer-animated feature film for adults that includes an all-star voice cast describes half a dozen movies a year at this point, but back in 2001, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within blew everyone’s mind. The first film produced by the legendary video game company Squaresoft at their brand new, multi-million dollar Hawaiian studio turned out to be Square Studios’ last film. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within has nothing to do with the franchise. There’s no Chocobos, no Summons, no spiky hair, and no addictive card games. 

Instead of adapting the massively popular Final Fantasy 7, or the best game in the series, Final Fantasy 6, Squaresoft crafted an original story about a planet ravaged by glowing red ghosts that kill humans with a single touch. Alec Baldwin voices Captain Gray Edwards, Ming Na-Wen is Dr. Aki Ross, Donald Sutherland is Dr. Sid, the only reference to, you know, Final Fantasy. Ving Rhames, Steve Buscemi, and James Woods also lend their voices to the story four-years and $137 million dollars in the making. 

Bringing in $85 million at the box office wasn’t enough to clear the immense production budget, and that’s without even talking about marketing. Squaresoft quickly changed its mind about making movies and shuttered Square Studios within months of the film’s colossal failure. Facing bankruptcy, Squaresoft was kept alive by Sony purchasing a stake, setting the stage for a merger with Enix, the company’s primary competitor. This failure at least led to one of the best video game companies today, and to be totally honest, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is a better movie than you remember. 

8. Treasure Planet (Disney)

Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island is a classic. John Musker and Robert Clements were the directors behind the Disney Renaissance, crafting The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, and Hercules, when they asked Disney to let them make their dream project: Treasure Planet.  It’s Treasure Island, but in SPPPPAAAACCCCEEEE. 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a rising star, David Hyde Pierce was a star, and the voice cast even included the legendary creator of The Prisoner, Patrick McGoohan, in his final performance, as Billy Bones. There was no way this film was going to fail. 

And then it did. 

Treasure Planet barely passed the $100 million mark worldwide, not even coming close to the $140 million spent on production. Looking back, it’s a mystery why a film this fun and this gorgeous failed. Unless you look at the calendar. Treasure Planet debuted on Thanksgiving, 2002, that put it up against Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets from two weeks before, and then the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers two weeks later. 

Well that and, by 2002, traditional, hand-drawn animation was on the way out. CGI was the hot new thing, Treasure Planet combined both, but back in 2002, it didn’t have the visual appeal of say, Shrek. That was Disney’s take-away, leading to the studio disavowing traditional, 2D animation in favor of 3D. It was the end of an era, and technically, not the bankruptcy of a studio, but it was Disney’s biggest flop up to then, and putting the nail in the coffin of the animation style that defined countless childhoods is the worst possible outcome. 

Seriously, go watch Treasure Planet. 

7. Titan A.E. (Fox Animation Studios)

This one hurts to this day. 

If you don’t know the name Don Bluth, you know his work. He’s the master animator behind Dragon’s Lair, All Dogs Go To Heaven, The Secret of NIMH, and the best non-Disney Princess movie ever, Anastasia. Bluth went on a 20 year revenge campaign against Disney following creative differences with the post-Walt Disney leadership team. That all came to an end in the year 2000 with Titan A.E. 

Years after humanity is forced to wander the stars following the destruction of Earth at the hands of the Drej, Cale Tucker, the holder of a magical ring that leads to the resting place of the Titan, is recruited by the crew of the Valkyrie to find the ship, stop the Drej, and save humanity. They come across alien planets, human space stations, betrayal, and a final fight against the Drej with the fate of the galaxy at stake. And since it’s a Don Bluth movie, every single frame of Titan A.E. is a work of art from beginning to end. 

The problem is that every single cent of the film’s budget is right there on camera. Fox Animation Studio brought Bluth’s vision to life, but it cost them … everything. Fox lost $100 million on Titan A.E., leading to the firing of 300 members of the studio followed soon after, by the entire studio being shuttered. This was a massive blow to Fox right before the CGI animation boom. 

Sci-fi is always a tough sell to general audiences and Titan A.E. was no exception. It never found an audience during its theatrical run. The film remains Don Bluth’s last theatrical release, and the first sign of Fox’s future collapse. 

6. Mars Needs Moms (Robert Zemeckis)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a classic. It’s a singular achievement that will never, ever be topped. And even then it’s still behind Robert Zemeckis’ best film, Back to the Future. In the 80s, Zemeckis couldn’t fail. After 2005 though, Zemeckis discovered CGI, and he couldn’t make a hit to save his studio. 2011’s Mars Needs Moms is one of the worst movies of all time, and it caused ImageMovers Digital to lay off over 400 people and cease all operations as an independent studio. 

Mars Needs Moms has a plot but really, it’s all there in the title. The Martians need human mothers to provide motherness for their nanny-bots which raise the next generation of Martians. It’s a surprisingly dark story given the animation and intended audience: kids. There’s a lot of attempted murder for a story with the message that families are important. 

No one saw Mars Needs Moms in theaters. The film failed to earn even half its production budget of $150 million, becoming the single greatest box office flop for Disney, who co-produced the film with ImageMovers Digital. 

That would become important, as Disney took two lessons from the failure of Mars Needs Moms: sci-fi is a hard sell, and no one wanted to see movies with Mars in the title. That would soon be a problem. 

5. John Carter (Disney. Again.)

John Carter is one of the biggest What-Ifs in sci-fi history. Released in 2012, one year after Mars Needs Moms, Disney dropped “of Mars” from the title, turning it from an obvious sci-fi story into a generic name. John Carter of Mars sounds bold, adventurous, and fun. John Carter does my taxes. It’s a shame that Disney’s horrible marketing campaign sabotaged their own movie. John Carter is a lot of fun. 

The Martian vista stretches on forever, the alien designs are pulled straight out of Edgar Rice Burroughs 1912 novel, Taylor Kitsch is finally the action star Hollywood wanted him to become, and the fight scenes showcase how a regular human could become the deadliest warrior Mars has ever known. There’s a sense of creativity and wonder to John Carter that’s been stripped out of most modern sci-fi. 

John Carter was doomed before it ever hit theaters. At the time, total budget of $350 million made it one of the most expensive films ever made. We don’t know exactly what number it had to reach to turn a profit, but what we do know is that $284 million wasn’t enough. Pulling in 7x times of what Borderlands made in 2024 should have made the film a hit, instead, it’s the box office bomb that forever changed how Disney handles sci-fi. 

Walt Disney Pictures didn’t actually go bankrupt over John Carter, but the sheer amount of money lost made the company swear off original sci-fi. From then on out, Disney was focused on milking Star Wars for every single cent and giving fans a Tron: Legacy sequel that ignored everything awesome about Tron: Legacy. What sci-fi fans lost with the failure of John Carter is the idea that a fun, campy, sci-fi adventure could be a summer blockbuster. 

4. Battlefield Earth (Franchise Pictures)

If I told you that Battlefield Earth bankrupted a production company, you’d be shocked that it was only one company. Back in the year 2000, when the first trailer hit showing John Travolta’s dreadlocked alien, everyone knew this was going to be a disaster. The only question was, how badly was it going to flop? 

Battlefield Earth was a historic flop, losing over $50 million and performing so badly that the FBI investigated Franchise Pictures for fraud. The RICO charges were dismissed, but the studio wound up paying their European distribution partner over $120 million in damages after being found guilty of inflating production budgets. 

Turns out, Battlefield Earth was included as part of a package offer with the Bruce Willis movie, The Whole Nine Yards, and Wesley Snipes’ Art of War. No one wanted to distribute John Travolta’s love-letter to Scientology. 

This is the moment where you’d expect me to say, “but the film really isn’t that bad.” Not this time. Battlefield Earth is one of the worst films in history. Originally a novel written by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, this is one of those times where I can’t even say the book is better. 

It’s not. The book is as bad as the movie. 

Franchise Pictures did go bankrupt after the failure of Battlefield Earth, and the lawsuit that came from it, but they didn’t go out of business. Sadly, the company restructured and continued to help produce and distribute movies. Amazing classics that include Feardotcom, Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, 3000 Miles to Graceland, and multiple Steven Seagal “Action” movies. 

Somehow, they managed to find a way to make movies worse than Battlefield Earth. 

3. The Golden Compass (New Line Cinema)

The His Dark Materials novels were a huge hit with young adults. The movie The Golden Compass, not so much. Adapting a surprisingly dark tale about the evils of religion was always going to be a challenge, which is why the only thing anyone remembers today is the giant armored bear. Talented director Chris Weitz, who created American Pie and co-wrote Rogue One, did his best, and The Golden Compass featured a stacked cast including Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Christopher Lee, Eva Green, both Ian McKellen and Ian McShane, but even that wasn’t enough for New Line Cinema to turn a profit. 

It would have been, except for one small problem. The Golden Compass wasn’t actually a flop. In the United States it was, but internationally, it was one of the top films of 2007. If the international distribution rights hadn’t been sold, New Line Cinema would have earned over $300 million. 

That little mistake was the final nail in the coffin for New Line Cinema, and the following year, they were merged with Warner Bros. Instead of launching a trilogy, The Golden Compass was one and done. Steampunk sci-fi and fantasy are tough sells on their own, put together and it’s no wonder the general public stayed away. 

The anti-religious messaging of the novels was toned down to the point of being erased which managed to annoy both fans of the books, and the Catholic church, at the same time. The movie itself is okay, there’s a lot worse on this list, but at the end of the day, it’s completely forgettable. 

2. Robot Jox (Empire International) 

You haven’t heard of Robot Jox? The post-apocalypse sci-fi with giant mecha? How could you have never watched Robot Jox? How about the production company it failed to save, Empire International, ring any bells? That’s right, the studio behind the amazing director Stuart Gordon’s low-budget sci-fi horror Re-animator also supported his insane take on Transformers. 

Robot Jox takes place in a future where Earth has been destroyed by a nuclear apocalypse and all wars are settled by giant mech gladiator combat. It’s awesome. You don’t need to know more of the plot; giant mechs fighting it out is always awesome. It might surprise you to learn that a low-budget film about giant mechs didn’t light the box office on fire. 

Before Robot Jox was even released, Empire International had gone into bankruptcy after audiences of the 80s didn’t recognize the company’s greatness with Troll and TerrorVision, delaying the release of Robot Jox for years, until 1990, when no one saw it. Empire International’s schlock is easy to make fun of, but when low-budget productions hit, the profits can be astronomical, which is why the company was able to purchase a European castle in 1985 as the studio’s headquarters. 

1987 was going to be the company’s breakout year, with over 30 films hitting the United States, but like Icarus who flew too close to the sun before plummeting to his death, Empire International went too far, too fast, and by the end of the year, was millions of dollars in debt. Stuart Gordon recovered from his directorial flop and would go on to create even more low-budget horror. His frequent collaborator, Jeffrey Combs, went on to play every alien in Star Trek. 

Robot Jox has been lost to time, and Empire International’s unique filmography would never, ever get made today, but you have to admit, there’s something fun about low-budget sci-fi missing from Hollywood today. 

1. Superman IV (Cannon….they got better!)

Christopher Reeve is the best Superman. The first two films are incredible, but unfortunately, he made four of them. Superman III isn’t great, but it also contains one of the most traumatic scenes of the 80s, which is still better than Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. Oh boy. Where to start with this one? 

If Cannon Films, producers of the film which was only distributed by Warner Bros, had stuck to the Bizarro storyline instead of turning into a parable about the Cold War, this could have been a hit. Instead, Luthor used Superman’s DNA and accidentally created….NUCLEAR MAN. He has the power of the SUN! Which he uses to rake Superman’s back with his fingernails. No really, that’s his big move. He has all the offense of NWO Hulk Hogan. 

By 1987, Cannon Films didn’t have the budget of the Richard Donner films, and it showed on screen. Rapidly running out of money due to multiple flops, including Lifeforce and Masters of the Universe, Cannon Films shoved Superman IV out the door as fast as possible, hoping to get an influx of cash. Earning almost $40 million was decent compared to the barely $17 million budget, but it wasn’t enough. 

Mounting lawsuits, multiple flops, and an investigation by the federal government over fraud, led to Cannon Films becoming part of MGM. Cannon bankrolled a little series you may have heard of, Walker, Texas Ranger, but even that success led to more lawsuits and again, bankruptcy. 

If Superman IV was given the right budget, and a completely different storyline, Bizarro World would have been amazing back in 1987, it could have been a hit and saved the company. Refusing to spend money turned a potential hit into one of the worst superhero films ever made. 

By Zack Zagranis
| Published 21 seconds ago

When making a sequel to a hit movie, there are two ways to go. The first method expands upon the source material while taking it in new, unexpected directions; think Empire Strikes Back, Gremlins 2, and so on. The other way is to remake the first movie but bigger, louder, and with more explosions. The best example of the second method is 1991’s Terminator 2, an all-time blockbuster action extravaganza that holds up shockingly well today.

T2 Improved On The Original

It might sound reductive to call Terminator 2: Judgment Day nothing but a rehash of 1984’s The Terminator, but I challenge anyone to describe the movie in a more accurate and succinct way. Admitting that T2 is just a beefier version of its predecessor in no way diminishes its brilliance.

There’s a reason that Judgment Day is considered by many to be the best sequel ever made. It rocks! Plus, it just might have the best Babyface turn ever put on film. In case you’re not a wrestling fan, that means a bad guy switching to a good guy.

Although in this case, a 400-pound, shotgun-toting cyborg murder machine might be stretching the definition of good guy a little bit.

Time-Travelling Killer Machines

In case you’ve been in a coma for the last 35 years, Terminator 2 follows 10-year-old John Connor (Eddie Furlong) as he dodges an evil liquid robot (Robert Patrick) sent from the future to kill him. Aiding John is another robot (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the future to protect him.

In the first film, Skynet sent a hulking T-800 back in time to assassinate Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn child, John, is destined to lead a human resistance in the future. The T-800 failed, which is why, this time, Skynet sent the super-advanced T-1000.

The bulk of Terminator 2 is one big chase sequence. The unrelenting T-1000 oozes its liquid metal body after John Connor and the good Terminator as they break John’s mom out of the hospital and flee towards Mexico. Eventually, it catches up to them, and the two Terminators have a knock-down-drag-out slobber knocker at a steel mill.

Landmark CGI

With T2, director James Cameron ushered in a new era of digital special effects, a plague that haunts Hollywood to this day. The difference between Terminator 2, however, and your average CGI schlock on Netflix is that Cameron used computers sparingly and only for the things he absolutely couldn’t do practically.

As a result, the liquid metal effects in Terminator 2 still look good compared to the ugly CGI overkill of a modern action movie like Netflix’s Rebel Moon. I’m probably taking my life into my own hands, mentioning something as beloved as T2 in the same sentence as the vehemently hated Rebel Moon, but oh well, I like to live dangerously.

Terminator 2 Is Still A Top Tier Action Flick

I suppose I should mention just how successful the movie was when it was released, just in case those newly awakened coma patients are still reading. Terminator 2 was a pop-culture juggernaut right out of the gate and continues to be popular even now in its streaming era. At the time of its release, T2 was the third highest-grossing movie of all time.

Even more impressive, the movie got not one but two Sega Genesis games, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and T2: The Arcade Game. Two games for one movie on the same system was unheard of in the 16-bit era and still is today. That’s how big of a deal Terminator 2: Judgement Day was.

As of this writing, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is streaming on Paramount+, and free with ads through Pluto TV.

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY SCORE

By Robert Scucci
| Published 14 seconds ago

Most great satire is misunderstood at first because, more often than not, its subjects buy into it without the slightest hint of irony. I don’t have enough fingers on my hands to count how many people I grew up with posting Tyler Durden or Patrick Bateman quotes on their MySpace profiles to sound edgy and cool, not realizing these men aren’t supposed to be in on the joke; they are the joke. Similarly, Starship Troopers’ satire took a minute to catch up with the masses because the whole thing is supposed to be a scathing indictment of tyrannical governments, nationalism, imperialism, and military might.

I have friends who wanted to, and did, join the Army because they thought Starship Troopers was so cool. Unfortunately, one of the side effects of good satire is that it can be dangerous; the very behavior it’s holding under a magnifying glass to ridicule is often celebrated by people who refuse to read into the subtext.

Which brings us to Uwe Boll’s Citizen Vigilante. It’s banned in parts of Europe, but can now be purchased on-demand in the United States, and it’s an interesting film to say the least. After watching it this past Friday, and thinking about it over the weekend, I can say with 1,000 percent confidence that the film is, without a doubt, a straight-faced satire.

The question that I’ve been asking myself, though, is whether it’s a good satire, or even an effective one, which is no easy question to answer. On one hand, if you read between the lines, everything about this movie is so over-the-top and hyperbolic that I’d be hard-pressed to find any movie lover who wouldn’t pick up on what it was trying to accomplish.

But we also need to consider that most casual viewers won’t be looking at Citizen Vigilante this closely, taking everything it says at face value, meaning that its messaging, as read off the page, is quite dangerous.

Uwe Boll, in my opinion, made a brilliant satire with 2007’s Postal, though I’m sure a lot of you will disagree with me here. Every single character is hateful and loathsome, acting in equally hateful and loathsome ways, and the comedy comes from thinking to yourself, “these jerks are acting like jerks, and then terrible things happen to them because of how they acted.” It’s juvenile, edgy in that eighth-grade gamer kind of way, and offends all sensibilities, but it gives its viewers an out. People can appreciate the satire, and move on without it rocking their world beyond its initial shock value.

Citizen Vigilante, on the other hand, is so deadly serious in its delivery that I could see why and how certain people who have certain extreme beliefs may celebrate everything the movie is trying to dismantle, which is inherently dangerous if left unchecked.

Why Is Citizen Vigilante A Satire?

Citizen Vigilante centers on Armie Hammer’s Michael Sanders, a U.S. citizen living in Europe who takes the law into his own hands without ever experiencing a sliver of doubt that he’s doing the right thing. His primary target is immigrants living in Europe illegally, who, in his mind and many others, are the cause of all of the continent’s violent crimes. Until migration policies are treated more seriously by the powers that be, Michael Sanders makes it known that he will continue to roam the streets, using extreme violence to take the law into his own hands to solve the “problem” once and for all.

Searching for the Citizen Vigilante’s true identity so he can apprehend him is Interpol Regional Chief Henry (Costas Mandylor). It’s worth noting that Henry would like to see reformation on the immigration front, but he’d prefer to do everything by the books. Henry is a man of nuance who recognizes there’s a crime problem, but also understands that better vetting processes can coexist with people legitimately seeking a better life through legal immigration.

Though there are some violent, epic showdowns between these two heavy hitters, here’s why Citizen Vigilante is most certainly a satire: Michael is a violent immigrant.

He’s a U.S. citizen who inherited his late father’s real estate business. When he makes his rounds to inspect his properties, he’s mostly concerned with their value and structural integrity so he can keep making money off of them. When his business partner, Owen (Steffen Mennekes), brings up his citizenship issues, and how some of his properties stand to be seized to be transformed into migrant housing because of them, Sanders refuses to budge, even if it’s exactly what the surrounding communities need to handle their immigration issues in a more peaceful way. 

In other words, Sanders is not a European citizen, and he’s benefiting greatly from Europe’s resources without consequence up to this point.

To make matters worse, some, probably several, of these properties are brothels. If Sanders’ entire goal is to protect women from being assaulted in the streets, which makes them feel unsafe when walking alone, then he lacks any semblance of self-awareness by not realizing that he’s part of the problem. Sure, money changes hands between consenting adults at these brothels, at least from what we’re shown. I have a hard time believing there’s no human trafficking or abuse happening behind closed doors, which makes Michael Sanders complicit in the same kind of societal degradation that he’s profiting from while allegedly fighting against it.

Need More Clues?

Michael Sanders has several workout montages in Citizen Vigilante. Michael Sanders speaks almost entirely in extremist clichés in Citizen Vigilante. Michael Sanders looks at all of the social media posts that praise his “heroic” actions in landscape mode, even though they were clearly filmed and optimized for vertical formats. The dude thinks he’s a chad, but he’s really just a chode.

Michael Sanders communicates through violence, traumatizing God knows how many people in the process, for the sake of what he considers to be justice. Meanwhile, Henry, who will stop at nothing to stop our protagonist from taking the law into his own hands, is the film’s representation of regular people who recognize that most societal issues are systemic, complex, and require biblical amounts of cooperation from all parties to leave the world a better place than it currently is.

The guy you’ve always been supposed to root for in Citizen Vigilante is Henry. The story is told through Michael Sanders’ perspective not because he’s the hero, but because it’s the behavior that Boll wants to hold under a microscope in the most extreme way imaginable.

Is Citizen Vigilante an effective satire? Absolutely. Is it well shot, well acted, and does it get its point across? Yes and no. Personally, I think the satire is clear because almost nobody acts like this. Everybody is a caricature in one way or another, and their decision-making across the board is catastrophic in every conceivable way. I walked away from this movie thinking, “Wow, that Michael Sanders guy is a real jerk,” which I think is exactly the intent of the film.

The problem with satires like Citizen Vigilante, Starship Troopers, Fight Club, American Psycho, and Falling Down is that plenty of viewers will accept them at face value, and that’s where the danger lies.

At the end of the day, I think Citizen Vigilante accomplished what it set out to do. The problem with art is that once it’s let out into the wild, it no longer belongs to the artist. Some people, who will enjoy this movie for all the wrong reasons, will celebrate it because Michael Sanders is what they think is a badass, personified version of their own extreme beliefs. Those willing to peel back its layers will find that the film is actually a blatant criticism of that very mindset.

All that said, is Citizen Vigilante a very good movie? Eh. Just watch Falling Down.

As of this writing, Citizen Vigilante is available on-demand through YouTube, Google Play Movies, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.