If we analyze it now, It seems impossible to imagine a cinematic world where stories of superheroes, villains and a battalion of special effects do not abound to delight us as spectators.
And it is that, in recent years, franchises linked to characters such as Iron Man, Thor, Spider-Man, Batman and Harley Quinn, among others, have taken the big screen and they have blown up the box office with their bets full of action and intrigue.
In this context, It seems that the most lucrative of all stories is the one that talks about a squad that will save the world from extinction: we talk about Marvel’s Avengers, who in their deliveries have captured the attention of millions of followers.
Thus, It seems almost surreal that in this area of the seventh art there is, in fact, a group of avengers who did not have a good time in the cinema … What’s more, the criticism prior to its premiere was so hard on them that not even his own studio wanted to release the film.
This is the story of The British Avengers, its rise in TV and its unfortunate drop in global revenue.
The Avengers of the ’60s
In the early 1960s, the Associated British Corporation (ABC) got his hands on the opportunity to make a one-of-a-kind TV series called The Avengers, which included for the first time women in leading roles alongside their male co-stars, leaving behind the roles of “damsels in distress.”
The plot of this groundbreaking show was focused on two British spies, who would face a multitude of cases in the middle of the Cold War. In a way, the show was a parody of the spy genre and secret agents, as well as a healthy distraction from the many social and political events that transformed both British and global society at the time.
For seven seasons and 161 episodes broadcast between 1961 and 1969, the series starring the sizzling ‘John Steed’ (played by Patrick Macnee) and at its peak by the sensual ‘Emma Peel’ (Diana Rigg; between 1965-1968), wowed a large part of the local audience and became an icon of 1960s British TV.
But its success soon crossed borders: in 1965, after four years on the air in England, the show was sold to the American network American Broadcasting Company (also called ABC), becoming one of the first British series to be broadcast on North American TV in primetime.
In fact, Back then, ABC paid an unprecedented $ 2 million for the first 26 episodes., each of which had a budget of $ 78,000.
This transmission earned The Avengers four nominations for the prestigious Emmy Awards. In 1967 and 1968 the series was nominated in two categories, ‘Best Dramatic Series’ Y ‘Best Leading Actress’ for the role of Rigg, realizing that his fame was global.
Rigg’s departure and the twilight of the series
Although he shone in his role as ‘Emma Peel’, the beautiful and talented Diana Rigg left the series in 1968 after a string of situations that caused him discontent.
Time before your departure from the program, Rigg confronted the producers after learning that they paid him less than the cameramen. She demanded a pay raise on par with her co-star, something the production agreed to. given the success of The Avengers In the US, however, this was a wound that did not fully heal for the actress.
At the end of the fifth season, The star left the show in America to pursue other projects, including the role of ‘James Bond’ (George Lazenby) wife, ‘Tracy Bond’, in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969).
Decades later Rigg would resume his planetary fame from the hand of the character of Olena Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns, in the series Game of Thrones between 2013 and 2017. Three years later, on September 10, 2020, he died at the age of 82 due to cancer.
Upon his departure from The Avengers, Rigg was replaced by the actress Linda Thorson, who played the agent ‘Tara King’. However, the series was canceled in the US and could not continue its transmission in Great Britain, since it had lost important financial support.
The Avengers of the ’90s
Almost thirty years after its cancellation, in the mid-1990s the Canadian director Jeremiah Chechik -Known from movies like National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Y Benny & Joon– wanted to make a film adaptation of the legendary British series.
And in his mind, nothing could go wrong … it had the disruptive theme that characterized the veteran show, and that made it an international hit. But in addition, it had important actors such as Uma Thurman, Ralph Fiennes and Sean Connery in the main roles..
The premise was attractive: british secret agents ‘John Steed’ (Ralph Fiennes) y ‘Emma Peel’ (Uma Thurman) had a mission to end the evil plans of ‘Sir August de Wynter’ (Sean Connery), a former member of the Ministry that controls the climate. For it, they would have the help of the invisible ‘Jones’ (Patrick Macnee, the original actor).
However, although the script respected in theory the somewhat “bizarre” bet of The Avengers sixties, in which the tone of comedy and hints of absurd enchanted the audience, many believed that the film exceeded its proposal.
And it is that in his psychedelic crusade ‘Steed’ and ‘Emma’ will face a swarm of mechanical bees, a clone of Uma Thurman, they will discover a secret society whose members dress as teddy bears and they will end in an amusement park that controls the weather and threatens to cause a devastating hurricane over London … A lot of mix in the same mix?
The failure of the film
This is how the producer behind the film believed it, Warner Bros., which refused to do a preview of the film and even an audience test, which was certainly a very bad sign.
In fact, they had so little faith in the film that they delayed its release from June to August 1998, so that it would not have to compete with the lucrative week of early summer..
With everything, the bad omens surrounding the film were fulfilled and The Avengers it was an absolute box office flop that only grossed $ 48 million worldwide, a figure lower than its cost of 60 million.
In fact, then it came out that Warner Bros. made a decision that ended up burying the film: it cut its duration from 115 to 87 minutes, which ruined the coherence and continuity of the script, removing key scenes entirely and preventing composer Michael Kamen from syncing the soundtrack. Quite a disaster. Something similar to what happened recently with the first installment of Suicide Squad (2016), which is why many were critical of David Ayer’s film.
Seeing what was happening before their eyes, a desperate Jeremiah Chechik offered to re-edit the film for free, but the producers ignored his proposal and, consequently, the tape failed in the cinema.
One of the worst movies in history
After its premiere in ’98, the film was unanimously beaten by critics and was on the bill for a few weeks.
A perception that is maintained to this day, in which the tape reaches a 5% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score in Metacritic of 12 out of 100.
But not only that, but also The Avengers was included in numerous Listings of The Worst Movies in History, becoming one of the most infamous bets for its renowned protagonists.
The overwhelming box office difference with the Avengers
Without a doubt, the difference between The Avengers british and marvel saviors is giant.
Just for comparison, the first eponymous installment of the superheroes, dating from 2012, raised a staggering $ 1.519 million versus $ 220 million budget.
The sequel to the saga, Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015), had a collection of USD 1405 million versus USD 365.5 million budget.
Follow him Avengers: Infinity War (2018), which added an impressive $ 2.048 million versus $ 300 million budget.
Finally, Avengers: Endgame broke all the records as far as collection is concerned, putting together the exorbitant figure of USD 2,798 million versus USD 356 million budget, which made it the second highest grossing film of all time after Avatar (USD 2834 versus USD 237 budget).
The auspicious future of its protagonists
Regardless of the terrible reception of the film The Avengers, the truth is that its protagonists were able to maintain successful careers in the cinema.
In the case of Uma Thurman, the actress became one of the most important stars of the director Quentin Tarantino, being one of his most remembered roles that of ‘Beatrix Kiddo / The Girlfriend / Mommy / Black Mamba’ on the tapes Kill Bill volumes 1 and 2.
For its part, Ralph Fiennes would become the dreaded ‘Lord Voldemort’ in the saga Harry Potter, besides the superior of James Bond, ‘Gareth Mallory / M’, on the tape 007: No Time to Die (2020), among other characters.
While, Sean Connery would keep his title undefeated as one of the most iconic actors in England and the world, being forever recognized as the greatest of the James Bond until his death at the age of 90, on October 31, due to a myocardial infarction.
Despite this, the trio will agree that The Avengers it was one of the missteps of their careers, and why not say it, the worst movie in which they decided to participate.
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