Why Battleship 2 Was Cancelled

Even though Universal and Hasbro Studios’ 2012 blockbuster Battleship was a huge investment for the company, plans for Battleship 2 and an extended franchise never came to fruition. The movie boasted a gargantuan budget of between $209-$220 million and stars including Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, and Rihanna. And yet, despite having all the hallmarks of a franchise launchpad, the movie failed to kickstart a successful Battleship series.

Battleship 2012 was an unusual combination of unorthodox adaptation and sci-fi epic. Based on the distinctly uncinematic Battleship board game, screenwriters Jon and Erich Hoeber decided to shake up the turn-based, pin-placing formula by making the story revolve around an alien invasion. Although this lore was entirely absent from the original game, this decision nonetheless helped form some sort of narrative around the source material. However, even with this story in place, Battleship did not succeed in laying the foundations for a potential sequel – despite a tease in the Battleship post-credits scene.

Battleship Was A Box Office Failure For Universal Pictures

The primary reason that Battleship 2 never happened was the first movie’s failure at the box office. Against its $220 million budget, the movie only made around $303 million globally. Since most estimates suggest that a film has to make around two-and-a-half times its budget in order to be financially successful, Battleship fell well short of profitability. As such, plans for Battleship 2 were always likely to end in disappointment.

Particularly damning for the studio was its domestic box office earnings. According to Box Office Mojo, the movie made just $65.4 in the United States and Canada. This failure to capture any sort of audience at home was the major factor in its paltry total earnings. In fact, a contemporary Hollywood Reporter article estimated that the movie lost around $150 million for Universal. Consequently, Battleship 2 was never likely to be green-lit.

How Poor Reviews Also Led To Battleship 2’s Cancelation

A key contributor to Battleship‘s terrible box office was undoubtedly its critical reception. While it’s not unheard of for panned movies to perform well financially, Battleship‘s Rotten Tomatoes score of 33% certainly didn’t help generate interest. To make matters worst, audiences were equally unenthused, with just 54% of general viewers responding positively, according to the review aggregator.

It’s clear from Battleship‘s post-credits scene that there were plans to continue the story beyond the first installment. However, given that a common complaint from critics was the formulaic and derivative nature of the plot, it seems unlikely that Battleship 2 would have brought anything radically different to the table. Given the huge losses incurred by the first Battleship, some studio executives may be secretly relieved that the project never went ahead.

Sources: Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes