If only home-grown fantasy film Delgo had hit — and left — theaters a little sooner, it could have qualified for our coveted Least Influential People of the 2008 award, assuming that the computer-animated alien title role qualifies as an “Atlantan.” The Fathom Studios production set a record for lowest-grossing film ever released on more than 2,000 screens, and, as The Onion A.V. Club’s Nathan Rabin put it,
is rapidly becoming the stuff of pop-culture legend. Failed films are a dime a dozen but Delgo is perhaps the floppiest flop ever to saunter floppily into flopsville and become Dean Of Failure At Flopsville State University.
In fairness, the blame for Delgo’s failure should be laid on an overambitious distribution plan and an invisibility marketing and promotional scheme. Certainly 2008 saw plenty of significantly worse films, notably the following:
1. Speed Racer. The Wachowski Brothers’ overlong eyesore adaptation of the kitschy anime series left skidmarks on your retinas.
2. An American Carol. Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore is a ripe target for parody even for people who share his politics, but this July 4th themed Christmas Carol spoof trots out cameos from Bill O’Reilly and Paris Hilton. Can comedies apply for bailouts?
3. The Spirit. The year that hit the heights with such superb comic book adaptations as Iron Man and the Dark Knight also plumbed the depths with this misguided mix of the style of Sin City and the kitsch of the Adam West “Batman” series.
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