An awe-inspiring blockbuster that went 2-for-10 at the Oscars and missed out on sequels survives a streaming storm

While there’s no shame in losing out to a pair of the most widely-beloved blockbusters of the decade, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World still ended up being robbed of the sequels it deserved after being caught in the wake of two absolute juggernauts.

The epic literary adaptation set 20th Century Fox back a hefty $150 million, but it could only muster $210 million in ticket sales. Even though it obviously isn’t the only reason, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl sailing into theaters just months earlier and scratching everybody’s itch for a blockbuster seafaring adventure didn’t exactly help its chances of success, either.

Not only that, but the 10-time Academy Award nominee missed out in 80 percent of the categories it was shortlisted for, and the other eight all happened to be won by Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. If it wasn’t for those two, then who knows where the would-be franchise may have ended up, but a small consolation is that Master and Commander is now regarded as an unheralded minor masterpiece a full 20 years on from failing to cement itself as a pop culture staple.

Streaming has played a huge part in that, too, with Russell Crowe’s infuriatingly one-and-done outing as Jack Aubrey back at it again after FlixPatrol hoisted the colors and outed The Far Side of the World as a Rakuten success story. There is a reboot on the cards, but it just won’t be the same.