Keanu Reeves has been a “Whoa!”-worthy action star and Hiroyuki Sanada should not only be known since his latest hit series Shogun. If you put the two gentlemen for a semi-historical Japanese fantasy film together, that should make an interesting mix… one might think.
Unfortunately, this calculation did not work out for Universal Pictures and director Carl Rinsch, although according to a Variety report at the time they were hoping for a mixture of The Lord of the Rings and Gladiator. Curtain up for one of the biggest film flops: 47 Ronins.
Fantasy flop 47 Ronin: This is how expensive the film with Keanu Reeves and Shogun star Hiroyuki Sanada cost the producers
47 Ronin tells an often-recited event from Japanese history, enriched with fantasy elements. At that time, a group of masterless samurai took revenge for the death of their master, which demonstrated the noble loyalty of the warriors. Unfortunately, the 2013 film was unable to win over a loyal following.
Universal
Reeves and Sanada in 47 Ronin
With a budget of 175 to 225 million US dollars, 47 Ronin earned just 151.1 million, according to The Numbers. With an estimated loss of 126 million adjusted for inflation, the film ranks second on Wikipedia’s list of the biggest film flops of all time. Only The 13th Warrior crashed harder at the box office.
Is 47 Ronin really that bad? You can see for yourself and stream the film here. While critics tore the film to pieces, in keeping with its financial failure (it received a diplomatic 3 out of 5 stars on Filmstarts), audiences seem to be a little more positive about it, according to Rotten Tomatoes.
If you want to see for yourself, you can Stream 47 Ronin on Netflixor purchase it as a rental or purchase title from Amazon, Apple TV, Sky and MagentaTV.
Podcast: Shogun is the series surprise of the year
The historical drama Shogun is now available to stream with a total of 10 episodes. It’s not just samurai fans who are absolutely thrilled. But what makes the Disney+ series so good?
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We begin our conversation with the book, which was adapted into a series in the early 80s. A further adaptation sounded like a bad idea to many. But boldly chosen perspectives and extreme attention to detail make Shogun a masterpiece.