Continuing our lead up to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which opens on March 25th, Scott J. Davis looks back at the ill-fated Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, the final film to star Christopher Reeve as the true Man of Steel…share
Cannon Films certainly had plans for a fifth, but they also intended to recycle a lot of the footage deleted from 4. So some people might actually think it was best the series ended with 4. I on the other hand am curious how such a film would have turned out.
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Even cheaper looking than Superman IV.
I'd heard for years that a bundle had been dropped on the Nuclear Man I battle scene. Admittedly what's been released is from just a work print (crude special effects and I really hope temp music), but it's some pretty weak bones to build the body of a scene on. Nuclear Man I meets his demise as a pinwheel firework, seriously?! They must have spent the "bundle" on cocaine and hookers.
I've read the shooting script, with some grandiosity, it could have made a decent film. But with the entire production feeling relegated to what feel like backlot sets, even if they pumped $50 million into the proposed Superman V, it would have looked awful centered on that scene.
Looking back on it now, and I *liked* the film we got, Christopher Reeve should have risked the lawsuit and bailed.
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God Bless!
I'd heard for years that a bundle had been dropped on the Nuclear Man I battle scene. Admittedly what's been released is from just a work print (crude special effects and I really hope temp music), but it's some pretty weak bones to build the body of a scene on. Nuclear Man I meets his demise as a pinwheel firework, seriously?! They must have spent the "bundle" on cocaine and hookers.
I've read the shooting script, with some grandiosity, it could have made a decent film. But with the entire production feeling relegated to what feel like backlot sets, even if they pumped $50 million into the proposed Superman V, it would have looked awful centered on that scene.
I wonder if Cannon was seriously satisfied w/ the finished product? I mean they in effect, released an unfinished movie. Did they think that because they went through all of that effort in getting Christopher Reeve to come back that their jobs for the most part, were finished!? It's like all that they knew were cheap, schlocky B-movies so they had to apply that to supposed prestigious project like Superman too.
sharehttps://bombreport.com/4-big-budget-flops-killed-cannon-group/
After Over the Top failed to turn into a much needed hit and financial lifeline for Cannon, their big summer release was Superman IV, one of the best bad movies in the history of cinema. Cannon’s woes were stemmed not only from their string of box office flops, but an investigation from the SEC and a class-action shareholder lawsuit — and Superman IV was a potential savior for the ailing organization. The SEC was investigating Cannon for their shady accounting practices (that case would be settled at the end of the year) and shareholders sued after Cannon inflated its stock price (shareholders eventually won a $33 million settlement).share
Cannon had picked up the Superman rights (and further sequel rights) at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival for $5 million from the Salkind family. They had been burned after the disappointing returns from Superman III and the dreadful performance of Supergirl.
Cannon offered $6 million to Christopher Reeve to reprise his role, but he was not interested. Eventually, a $5 million salary deal was brokered with Reeve to star in Part IV as long as Cannon would fund his pet project Street Smart for $7 million. Street Smart was released four months before The Quest for Peace and landed decent reviews, but Cannon spent pennies on marketing the picture and it disappeared with just $1,119,112 at the box office.
Superman IV was developed with a healthy $36 million budget, but Cannon’s cash-flow problems led to the production being slashed down to $17 million. The penny-pinching shoot was as threadbare as any low rent Cannon fare was, with most of the budget going to the cast and none going toward anything resembling acceptable VFX.
Superman IV arrived in theaters with a toxic buzz, a poor C Cinemascore, and quickly died at the box office with $15,681,020 and killed off the original franchise.