‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ Has Become a Streaming Hit Years After it Bombed

Director Luc Besson’s Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets divided critics and audiences when it debuted in 2017 and did only okay at the global box office. However, it’s finding new life on Max and, having only been on the streamer for 10 days, it’s already climbed to number five on the Max Top 10 streaming chart.

French director Besson is known for The Fifth Element, Léon: The Professional (with a young Natalie Portman), and Lucy (with Scarlett Johansson), along with co-writing Taken, but Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is arguably his most ambitious film since The Fifth Element.

The movie was a passion project for the filmmaker, and he famously financed the film and waived all his fees to ensure it was produced. Valerian’s production costs were around $180 million and was considered the most expensive independent film made in France at the time. The plans were for a trilogy and a sequel had already been written before the first film opened.

Unfortunately, the film debuted at a dismal $17 million at the domestic box office on its way to just over $41 million. It didn’t help that Valerian opened against Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk on July 21, 2017. In his native homeland of France, the film made a disappointing $36.7 million, and it ended up with a global haul of just $225.9 million, mostly due to earning $62 million in China. Not even a scene-stealing appearance by Rhianna could save it.

Why did ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ Bomb?

One of the biggest reasons Valerian bombed at the box office is how it divided critics and audiences alike. Despite the stunning visuals and effects, the story had a lot of issues. On Rotten Tomatoes, it currently has a critical score of 47% and an audience score of 53%. The consensus says, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets uses sheer kinetic energy and visual thrills to overcome narrative obstacles and offer a viewing experience whose surreal pleasures sometimes outweigh its flaws.”

Based on the French comic, Valérian and Laureline, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean-Claude Mézières, the film’s plot reads:

In the 28th century, special operatives Major Valerian (Dane DeHaan) and Sergeant Laureline (Cara Delevingne) work together to maintain order throughout the human territories. Under assignment from the minister of defense, the duo embarks on a mission to Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis where diverse species gather to share knowledge and culture. When a dark force threatens the peaceful city, Valerian and Laureline must race against time to identify the menace that also jeopardizes the future of the universe.

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Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Review: Star Trek Meets Doctor Who

Director Luc Besson’s Valerian is a visually stunning sci-fi adventure that lacks substance.

The film was such a box office bomb that Besson’s production company which financed it, EuropaCorp, had to unfortunately cut staff a year after it debuted. The planned trilogy is pretty much dead, but it has become a streaming success on Max.

Buthings did work out for some of the cast involved with the film. Delevingne went on to appear in Steve Martin and Martin Short’s acclaimed Only Murders in the Building and American Horror Story. Meanwhile, DeHaan was in the hit series American Primeval and Oscar Winner Oppenheimer. Besson helmed the upcoming June and John and the low-rated Anna.

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