Dredd : Justice wasn't fulfilled with this movie -

The Crime - Been a Damn Good Movie, The Sentence - No Sequel.

2012 was full of many movies, some that were box office smashes - The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit. Others were critically panned - Battleship, Resident Evil: Retribution, This Means War. Then there is films that were completely and unfairly overlooked - End of Watch, Seven Psychopaths, Dredd.

Whilst a lot of the underrated and overlooked films still made a decent amount of money, Dredd unfortunately bombed and bombed big time.

Bombs Away -

Upon it's initial release in the UK, Dredd 3D opened on a sunny September weekend to just £1 Million, yet it claimed 1st place on the box office charts so there was hope America would take to Dredd and rake the money in. Once released in USA, it bombed majorly only earning just over $6 Million. It was predicted to make at least $8 Million on opening weekend alone.  

Sentence: Death, by relation. 

Dredd didn't have a leg to stand on unfortunately. Whilst Dredd is based on a comic (quite a well known one at that) most people remember the god awful 1995 film that was "Judge Dredd" staring Sylvester Stallone. That film is not anything close to Judge Dredd's comic character and most fans will know this, due to Dredd having the 18/ R (Varied Countries rating) it means only adults could see the film, it also meant more than likely audiences who are old enough to see it are old enough to remember the original. Most of these people assumed it was a sequel to the original and didn't bother taking a second glance. 

Sentence: Death, by rating

Another one of Dredd's pitfalls was the rating, now personally i'm still glad the producers stuck by their guns and made it a hard 18 which is very much like the comics, but in cinema world that is a big barricade. The fact you are instantly stopping anyone under 18 from seeing the film means you're taking a huge percentage of the population away. Again it was the producers decision to stick by it and in all fairness Dredd in the UK was the first 18 rated film to top box office since Saw 3D in 2010 which is merit in it's own accord. 

Sentence: Death, by rubbish marketing

Now I'm going to have to blame Dredd's downfall majorly on Lionsgate now, Lionsgate normally are amazing with marketing and really push their films. Dredd from what I remember had 1 trailer released about a month before it's release, which only played on 15 rated films or higher (once again taking out a high percentage of the audience ). When the film was released I don't remember any banners on buses and no tv spots. The only thing Dredd got from Lionsgate marketing wise was a billboard, and I only remember seeing it on one billboard! Lets face it, some films get better reception and gather audiences from trailers and tv spots if you don't give any to Dredd how do people know it's even out? Even for Its DVD and Blu-Ray release instead of giving it a December release which would end up been a lot of people's christmas present, they released mid January which is after sales and after christmas, people are less likely to spend after these periods. Another lazy thing Lionsgate did is only release Dredd in 3D, they refused almost every cinema a 2D print, this will affect sales due to some people don't like 3D or aren't willing to pay almost double a 2D print. I went to see Dredd twice in 3D and it is one of the best 3D made films i've seen. 

Justice: The power of cult films

Dredd once released was backed by almost every website and review resource possible, whilst they weren't enough to bring a huge crowd it did make some people change their minds. Dredd since its release has already gained a following, especially now it is on DVD and Blu-Ray. I have read many forums stating they regret not seeing Dredd in theatres and as a consolation they brought the film on DVD or Blu-ray. Sales for Dredd on both platforms charted 1st upon release in UK which was great! Dredd still is trickling in sales and I suspect within a few years will become a huge cult film standing up there with films like Fight Club, Pulp Fiction and many others. 

Unknown Fate, Keeping Hope:

Whilst in recent interviews Adi Shankar the Executive Producer has stated that a sequel for now is highly unlikely due to Dredd not being able to surpass its budget, he is thankful that the fans who have saw it, loved it and he stated they are attempting to do some short films like The Punisher one- Dirty Laundry  Again it may take a few years but if enough people get behind Dredd, a sequel may come into action and if it does I really hope Karl Urban and Olivia Thrilby reprise their roles as Urban was a phenomenal Dredd.

What will it be? Sequel or Death?

So people, you going to keep Dredd alive for years to come, bringing it to Cult status? I hope so.

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