The highest-grossing movies of all time tend to be united by one common characteristic. Regardless of their genre, blockbusters are virtually guaranteed to feature a large leading concept. If the goal is widespread popularity, audiences need to have a unique premise that they can easily latch onto. Steven Spielberg’s Jaws was the earliest example of this idea: A giant man-eating shark that’s brought to life with a mᴀssive budget is undoubtedly going to attract people’s attention.

There’s no greater disappointment than when an intriguing cinematic concept comes to fruition within an atrocious movie. Jaws ​​​​​​ended up doing things the right way, but the same cannot be said for many other films. Many of 2025’s most anticipated movies feature interesting concepts, but there’s no way of telling if the story will match their quality. Hundreds of directors have demonstrated this in practice. It’s easy to come up with a fascinating premise, but an idea is only as good as its execution.

10

A Pilot Finds Himself In Prehistoric Times

65 (2023)

Dinosaurs themselves are not a new concept to cinema. The Jurᴀssic Park movies brought the prehistoric creatures to life in 1993, and they’ve been a staple of Hollywood ever since. The 2023 sci-fi thriller 65, however, offered a unique approach to prehistoric predators. After pilot Mills crash lands on an unknown planet, he discovers that it’s Earth, but 65 million years ago. Instead of dinosaurs in a human world, there are humans in a dinosaur world.

With Adam Driver at the helm of the ship, the creators had the right resources, but the movie is just downright bad. 65 had mᴀssive potential to be an epic sci-fi action movie with thought-out world-building. It’s not exactly clear what their thought process was. The entire concept is about humans in a prehistoric version of Earth, but they stay in a cave for half of the runtime. For a movie where the entire conflict is battling vicious dinosaurs, 65 is painfully dull and could’ve been so much better.

9

A Childless Couple Adopt A Human-Lamb Hybrid

Lamb (2021)

In defense of A24, it doesn’t seem like the film company cares if their movies are traditionally entertaining. Their projects often sacrifice universal standards of storytelling in exchange for creative substance. With that being said, Valdimar Jóhannsson’s Lamb represents a missed opportunity. It’s a story based on Icelandic folklore about a couple in the remote countryside; depressed by their lack of children, an unorthodox solution presents itself in the form of a half-lamb, half-human creature in their barn.

After finding the baby, absolutely nothing happens until the film reaches its climax. In the only action sequence in the whole movie, a fully grown lamb-human hybrid shows up, kills the father, and then steals the child. The only problem is, there’s no explanation. Questions such as “Where did the lamb man come from?” and “How was he created?” are not addressed. There are unlimited avenues Lamb could’ve explored, and there was too much building for such a lackluster conclusion.

8

People Are Stuck In An Elevator With The Devil

Devil (2010)

Scary films are no stranger to poor critical reception; they’re essentially a safe space for directors to try their hand at wild concepts. It seems like there are arguably more wacky horror movies than serious ones. With low budgets and nearly guaranteed cult followings, there isn’t much of a risk. However, every once in a while, a horror film comes along whose seemingly simple concept could’ve been great. M. Night Shyamalan and John Erick Dowdle’s Devil is a perfect example.

It’s in the category of movies whose runtime primarily consists of one location. Five strangers get stuck in an elevator together, and they soon begin to realize that one of the pᴀssengers is Satan. Terror slowly ensues as they sequentially die. Devil could’ve utilized the small space differently, but they tried to elevate the horror too much. Satan’s omnipresence is established early on in the film, which makes it seem hysterically hopeless. A character even uses toast falling jelly side down as evidence of the Devil’s arrival.

7

An Alien In Disguise Living On Earth

I Am Number Four (2011)

D. J Caruso’s 2011 sci-fi action flick I Am Number Four exists in the same vein as other dystopian, young adult antihero stories that were brought to the silver screen. Films like Push, Chronicle, and The Darkest Minds all have similarly intriguing concepts, but the results constantly came up short. In consideration of this genre, I Am Number Four arguably had the most potential. The plot is about John Smith, who looks like a normal kid, but he’s an incredibly powerful alien being hunted to extinction.

There are a total of eight individuals like him, and he’s the fourth one. It’s an entertaining film, but the creators could’ve capitalized more on the worldbuilding and origins of Four. There isn’t much information about his backstory, and it seems like the narrative caters more to the average teen lifestyle than its alien lead. Even with its poor critical reception, the film has enough adoration from fans to warrant an I Am Number Four reboot.

6

Battle Of Two Of The Biggest Superheroes Of All Time

Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)

Despite their best efforts, DC has managed to fail in nearly every attempt to build a heavy-hitting franchise. They have iconic characters and a virtually unlimited budget to bring them to life, but it never seems to work out. Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice looked like a Hail Mary from the studio. When two of the most famous superheroes are pitted against each other in the тιтle, people are bound to show up.

Unsurprisingly, the movie was a complete and total bust, due to being incredibly disorganized. The pacing of events is incredibly sporadic, and it seems like the characters are just jumping from one action to the next. Batman’s hatred of Superman is drawn out to a point that goes past logic. It’s supposed to be a result of Lex Luthor’s manipulation, but it comes off as nothing more than a marketing scheme. Hopefully, a new standard will be set in upcoming DC movies.

5

A High Schooler Gains Teleportation Abilities

Jumper (2008)

Jumper has one of the worst concept-to-quality ratios in cinema, as it’s essentially a film that envisions every child’s biggest dream. David Rice is an average high schooler, but after falling into a river in a traumatic accident, he discovers that he can teleport anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. There are a lot of things about this movie that don’t make sense. Even though he only has an abusive father to return to, it’s odd that David just disappears for eight years after getting his powers.

When he comes back flushed with stolen cash, his peers act like he never even left. The antagonists belong to a group called the “Paladins,” who believe jumpers are an abomination and must be wiped out. But there isn’t any explanation about where this group came from, or how jumpers were created in the first place. It’s as if the director noticed there were several loose threads but didn’t feel like fixing them. Jumper is an entertaining movie, but it lacks the structure that could’ve taken it to new heights.

4

An Uncaring & Ill-Suited Citizen Becomes Superman

Hancock (2008)

In contemplation of films with intriguing concepts but poor overall quality, Hancock presents an interesting example. The movie imagines what Superman would be like if he were a lazy and drunk man who couldn’t care less about his moral obligations to heroism. With an excellent premise and a perfectly cast lead, it should have been a hit. Unfortunately, Hancock starts off strong but ultimately morphs into a completely mediocre product.

What seems like a refreshingly original superhero tale randomly becomes a weird romantic entanglement. It’s revealed that Mary is Hancock’s soulmate from centuries ago, and she suddenly has powers too. Conveniently enough, her husband Ray never noticed her abilities in the years they’d been married. The introduction of Hancock being Mary’s lover is completely out of left field in a story that was otherwise on the right track.

3

People Live In Miniature Form To Maximize Resources

Downsizing (2017)

Much like Hancock, Alexander Payne’s sci-fi comedy Downsizing showed great promise but suffered from a drop-off in quality midway through its runtime. The concept alone is undeniably compelling: In a futuristic world where scientists have discovered how to shrink humans, limitations on resources are a thing of the past. Because people are only inches tall, prices are similarly adjusted to their size, which makes for a little lavish lifestyle. The movie raises a lot of contemplative questions about the societal issues that might be present in this universe.

Such as: “Downsized individuals contribute less to the world economy, so does that mean they have all the same rights as citizens? How does their manufacturing work?” Rather than sticking to its guns and exploring interesting avenues, the story suddenly dull. The main character Paul is planning on taking on the new lifestyle with his wife Audrey, but when she gets cold feet at the last minute, he’s irreversibly stuck in the miniature world. It becomes a depressing slow-burn of a man with nowhere to turn instead of the thought-provoking sci-fi it should’ve been.

2

24 Hours Of Lawlessness

The Purge (2013)

In 2013, James DeMonaco introduced the world to 24 hours of lawless bloodshed with The Purge​​​​​. As of today, there are a total of five installments in the franchise, with The Purge 6 rumored to be the final тιтle. With no laws in place, the possibilities of violent horror are endless. In defense of the original film, the concept was far too broad to allow for the exploration of all the different routes. Thankfully, the latter franchise’s installments have demonstrated more of the premise’s potential.

However, The Purge could’ve easily established more canonical precedents for a franchise debut. Considering the movie is supposed to highlight the apocalyptic circumstances of America through a day with no rules, it’s frustrating that the majority of the plot takes place inside. The sadistic killers are limited to just wanting to murder a homeless man inside a defendable mansion. They could’ve capitalized on the tumultuous chaos of the street, but instead, it turned into a home invasion film.

1

People Can Buy & Sell Years Of Their Lives

In Time (2011)

In Time’s distinctive premise is arguably more well-known than the film itself. The plot imagines a dystopian future in which time is money, and money is time. People stop aging once they turn 25, and a countdown appears on their wrist which signifies how long they have to live. Will Salas is used to living day-to-day, but when a rich man suddenly gifts him a century, it catches the attention of the “Timekeepers.” However, In Time ​​​​​​suffers in two main elements. For starters, the film takes its concept way too seriously.

Every other piece of dialogue is a play on words that relate to time in some way or another. It’s as if the characters were suddenly told the premise and hadn’t already been living in this society for years. Additionally, there are enough plot holes to sink any movie. In rich communities, lunches cost the same as a night’s stay in a H๏τel. The “Timekeepers” have a means of tracking Will’s transactions but simply don’t care to confirm his story, so they steal all his time anyway. It’s an unquestionably marvelous idea, but the execution just wasn’t there.