John Carter
A Civil War-era soldier is mysteriously transported to Mars, where he becomes embroiled in an alien civil war.
Disney's most spectacular flop — a $250M budget on a property no one under 70 knew. Lost $200M. The film that made Hollywood paranoid about original sci-fi IPs.
Studio executives confusing brand recognition with audience desire. The source material (Edgar Rice Burroughs) literally invented the genre that Star Wars borrowed from.
The financial crisis prompted a wave of class-conscious cinema: Margin Call, The Big Short, and eventually Parasite were all responses to the same structural wound.
The movement legitimized and amplified Black cinematic voices. Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins, Ryan Coogler, and Ava DuVernay all rose to prominence in this cultural moment.