Armageddonis director Michael Bay’s beloved $553 million sci-fi movie, and the film is somehow the only movie in the last 26 years to have this box office distinction. Michael Bay is one of the kings of the box office, with hisTransformersandBad Boysseries being famous for their incredibly box office performances. However, the most notable box office record that aMichael Bay movie holds is held byArmageddon, with this unique fact about the film making it one of the most notable movies of the last three decades.
WhileArmageddonhas earned mixed critical reviews, the film was a massive box office hit upon its release, with the Michael Bay movie making $553.7 million on a budget of $140 million.Armageddonwent on to become the highest-grossing movie of 1998 worldwide, with it being the second highest-grossing movie domestically afterSaving Private Ryan. The involvement of Michael Bay, the epic premise, andArmageddon’s star-studded castare to thank forArmageddon’s performance, although the film wasn’t able to rely on one common box office factor.
Armageddon Was The Last Non-Franchise Movie To Top The Global Box Office
Thanks To This Barbie News
As it turns out, Michael Bay’s 1998 movieArmageddonwas the last non-franchise movie to top the global box office at the end of a year. SinceArmageddonbecame the highest-grossing movie of 1998 26 years ago, every movie after has either been a sequel or spawned one. Some of these were sequels, likeMission: Impossible 2orToy Story 3, prequels likeStar Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, or started out as original films and later spawned sequels, likeAvatarorFrozen.
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One piece of news led toArmageddonrecently claiming this record, and it all has to do withBarbie.Barbiewas the highest-grossing movie of 2023, meaning that for a brief moment, it was the highest-grossing movie of a year that wasn’t part of a movie franchise. However,Barbie 2is now in the works, meaning thatArmageddonis once again the most recent movie that meets this criteria without spawning a sequel.
Why Armageddon Never Got A Sequel
There Was Never Any Word On A Sequel
Despite it being a huge box office hit, there was never been word of anArmageddonsequel, to the surprise of many fans. One reason for the lack of a sequel could have to do with it being a difficult premise to follow up, asanother asteroid would have to come close to Earth, and another team of drillers would have to be trained to destroy it. This is incredibly unlikely, and would probably make a sequel seem unnecessary.
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Another possible explanation is that Michael Bay may simply not have wanted to do another one.Michael Bay was full of ideas in the late 1990s, with him finishingArmageddonand moving on to makePearl Harbor,Bad Boys II,The Island, andTransformers. Bay was putting out all kinds of hits at the time, and it is possible that he wanted to do something new rather than do anotherArmageddonmovie.
Armageddon
Cast
In Michael Bay’s sci-fi action thriller Armageddon, a colossal asteroid is found barrelling toward Earth, guaranteed to wipe out all life. To stop it, NASA concocts a plan that involves drilling into its core to denote a nuclear bomb inside of it - and to make that happen; they’ll need the right crew. Led by the head of an oil drilling company, Harry Stamper, a group of blue-collar workers are given the crash course for Astronaut preparation as the crew races against time to save the planet.
