The 2018 film,Mortal Engines, had the potential to become the nextHunger Games, but it ended up being one of the biggest box office failures. Adapted from Philip Reeve’s novel of the same name,Mortal Enginestakes place in a post-apocalyptic world where cities are on wheels. With Hera Hilma and Robert Sheehan leadingthe cast ofMortal Engines, the film showed a lot of promise, but it couldn’t win over audiences and critics.
FollowingThe Hunger Games' conclusion in 2015, there was a rush to find the next young adult franchise that could replicate its success.Mortal Engineswas supposed to be that franchise, but it was released too little too late. Despite its stunning visual effects and world-building,Mortal Enginesreceived mixed reviews. When the movie premiered,it only made $7.5 million domestically on its opening weekend(viaBox Office Mojo).
Mortal Engines Wasn’t As Successful As The Hunger Games
WhenThe Hunger Gamespremiered in 2012 and made Jennifer Lawrence a superstar,it paved the way for YA dystopian films.Mortal Engineshad all the elements it needed to replaceThe Hunger Gamesas the next successful YA fantasy movie franchise. LikeThe Hunger Games,Mortal Engineswas based on a successful book. It also had a strong female lead and an interesting dystopian world.
8 Movies Franchises That Were Supposed To Replace The Hunger Games
Movie franchises including Divergent, The Maze Runner, and Mortal Engines had hopes of being the next Hunger Games but didn’t live up to the hype.
Despite its potential,Mortal Enginesfailed to replicateThe Hunger Games’ success. So far,there’s only been one film adaptation of theMortal Enginesbooks, whereas allThe Hunger Gamesbooksand the prequel have been adapted for the big screen. Other YA movies such asDivergentandThe Maze Runnerthat were poised to replaceThe Hunger Gameshad a similar fate. But at least they achieved a level of success thatMortal Enginesfailed to attain.
Why Mortal Engines Was A Critical & Commercial Failure
Mortal Engines Wasn’t Popular With Critics And Audiences
Mortal Engineswas one of themost anticipated movies of 2018, but it ended up being a critical and commercial failure. Directed by Christian Rivers,Mortal Enginesreceived mixed reviews from critics, mostly because it lacked emotional depth and had a slow pace.Mortal Engineswas also critically panned because it used elements from other films likeMad MaxandStar Wars, which made it lose its identity.
WhileThe Hunger Gamespaved the way for YA dystopian fantasy films, it also created a problem for other films in the genre.
Mortal Engineshad an estimated production budget of $100 million but only made $83 million at the box office, putting it at a loss (viaBox Office Mojo). Several factors accounted for whyMortal Engineswas a box office bomb. WhileThe Hunger Gamespaved the way for YA dystopian fantasy films, it also created a problem for other films in the genre.The Hunger Gameshad set the bar so highthat most YA fantasy films just couldn’t live up to its hype and popularity.The fact thatMortal Engineshad disappointing reviews also didn’t help its chances at the box office.
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Although theMortal Enginesbooks were successful, they didn’t have a big enough fan base that could make a movie adaptation a commercial success. Further,The Mortal Enginesfilm made big changes to the book, which didn’t make some fans of Philip Reeve’s novel happy. Another reason that contributed toMortal Engines’ failure is the month it was released.Mortal Enginespremiered in the U.S. on August 16, 2025, the same day asSpider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.Aquamanwas also released the same month asMortal Engines, making it even harder for the film to find an audience.
Mortal Engines
Cast
Mortal Engines is a 2018 action/adventure film from director Christian Rivers and writer Peter Jackson. Based on the novel by Philip Reeve, Mortal Engines is set 1,000 years in a post-apocalyptic future where cities are turned into giant vehicles that attempt to destroy one another. The film stars Hera Hilmar, Robert Sheehan, Hugo Weaving, and Jihae Kim.
