One Of Marvel’s Lowest-Funds Motion pictures By some means Flopped At The Field Workplace

It was December of 2008, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was however a twinkle in Disney’s eye. Jon Favreau’s “Iron Man” had turn out to be an enormous field workplace success earlier that 12 months, and its post-credits stinger — whereby Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) enticed Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) to hitch the Avengers — whetted the appetites of superhero followers in every single place. Disney would go on to buy Marvel in 2009 and put that Avengers trace into motion, ushering in a decade-long interval of superhero ultra-dominance in theaters.

Commercial

Earlier than that occurred, although, many superhero films had been nonetheless excitingly hit-and-miss, freed from the MCU’s eventual homogeneity. The “X-Males” films had been up-and-down in high quality, for example, and Marvel characters like Daredevil and Elektra had been solely fitfully accepted by followers. Importantly, not all of those movies had nine-figure budgets. Many studios, whereas recognizing that superheroes had been moneymakers, weren’t at all times keen to speculate piles of money in them. That would not occur till Joss Whedon’s “The Avengers” became a billion-dollar hit in 2012.

In 2004, Jonathan Hensleigh directed “The Punisher,” with Thomas Jane starring because the bitter, revenge-minded, gun-toting titular Marvel Comics vigilante, Frank Citadel. The movie, nonetheless, was not a success, incomes $54.5 million on the international field workplace towards a $33 million price range. Ultimately, December 2008 noticed the discharge of Lexi Alexander’s pseudo-remake “Punisher: Conflict Zone,” a film that was desirous to up the motion quotient of Hensleigh’s movie. The late Ray Stevenson took over the role of Frank Castle in “Conflict Zone,” which proved to be cartoonishly bloody and possessed of a pleasant horror film bloodlust that was extra Sam Raimi than, effectively, a variety of Sam Raimi’s personal superhero fare.

Commercial

It additionally tanked. “Punisher: Conflict Zone” in the end introduced in a mere $10.2 million on the field workplace towards a $35 million price range (which was a drop within the bucket for superhero films, even on the time) and was roundly rejected by critics. These days, although, the movie is beloved by sure of us for its gallows humor and absurd ranges of violence.

“Punisher: Conflict Zone” was really the third movie adaptation of Marvel’s “Punisher” comics, with the primary being Mark Goldblatt’s 1989 film “The Punisher” (which starred Dolph Lundgren as Frank Citadel). Plainly studios could not get the titular character juuust proper. Alexander, nonetheless, appeared to have settled on the right strategy by making a “Punisher” movie that is even wilder than its supply materials. To make clear, the Punisher was born Frank Citadel, a person who finally loses his household to a gangland taking pictures. (Who, precisely, he loses and the way depends upon the re-telling in query.) Frank is so wounded by this killing that he turns into a costumed vigilante, sporting an enormous scary cranium on his shirt. He has no superpowers, although, so he makes weapons his weapon of selection and proceeds to inflict revenge on the felony underworld.

Commercial

“Punisher: Conflict Zone” covers the battle wrought between Frank and a gangster named Billy “The Beaut” Russoti (Dominic West). Early within the movie, the Punisher throws Russoti right into a glass-crushing machine, chopping up his face and leaving him disfigured. He survives, sews up his face, and adjustments his nickname to Jigsaw, swearing counter-revenge on the Punisher. The film additionally stars Sprint Mihok as a New York cop, Julie Benz as a surviving widow, and Doug Hutchison as a coked-out goon. 

As talked about, the movie bombed and bombed exhausting. It opened to $4.3 million in its first weekend on the field workplace, which is dangerous even in comparison with infamous Marvel film bombs of the period like “Elektra.” Regardless of having a modest price range, “Punisher: Conflict Zone” nonetheless wasn’t capable of hoist itself into the general public consciousness. Maybe normal audiences merely did not care concerning the Punisher.

Commercial

Critics, as talked about earlier, did not take care of “Punisher: Conflict Zone.” The movie presently sports activities a mere 29% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes primarily based on 112 opinions. The review in The Guardian referred to as it “humorless and disgusting.” A.O. Scott, in his overview for the New York Instances, stated that it was “so witless, so silly, so overtly contemptuous of the very viewers it is presupposed to be pandering to.” (And it takes loads to offend followers of schlocky motion.) Roger Ebert, meanwhile, gave it a generous two stars out of 4, calling it the best-made dangerous film he had ever seen. Many, it appears, weren’t on the B-movie wavelength that Alexander had been broadcasting.

Commercial

The movie has, nonetheless, attracted its share of advocates over time. It was featured on an episode of the comedy podcast “How Did This Get Made,” and its hosts, Paul Scheer and June Diane Raphael all cherished how out-there it was. Patton Oswalt joined them in praising it, whereas even Alexander popped in to clarify why she made the movie the way in which she did. She made no apologies, nor ought to she have. All of them cited the movie’s winter vacation season launch as a doable cause for its failure. Many have discovered “Punisher: War Zone” in the intervening years, loving its excesses and gore; it is uncommon {that a} studio movie is that this goopy. Today, many superhero followers lengthy for a Marvel movie this dingy; they’ve since turn out to be means too slick and audience-safe for their very own good.

Commercial

Alexander, sadly, was thrown into film jail after “Conflict Zone” flopped. She has solely made two movies since then as of 2025: the straight-to-home-media Christian film “Lifted” and the atheist sci-fi battle movie “Absolute Dominion.” The latter film was produced on a shoestring price range, however its premise — all religions battle in a Bloodsport match for dominion over the Earth — is wild. The time will come, although, when a daring, outlandish, ultra-bloody movie like “Punisher: Conflict Zone” will probably be rediscovered. We simply have to attend.