A sci-fi flop that escaped decades in development hell to be cratered by controversy repels alien invaders on streaming

Sometimes, all it takes is one person to torpedo an entire blockbuster movie’s chances of finding success. In the case of Ender’s Game, the culprit turned out to be none other than author Orson Scott Card, an ironic twist of fate given that he’d previously been very reluctant to hand the rights to his sci-fi literary series over to Hollywood.

The industry had been attempting to get a live-action version of the intergalactic adventure off the ground ever since the first novel was published in 1985, but when Lionsgate finally got the okay to funnel upwards of $100 million into a star-studded and effects-heavy extravaganza, the end result was box office disaster.

While the failure of Ender’s Game – which only earned $125 million at the box office in spite of stellar reviews – can’t be blamed entirely on its creator, it certainly didn’t help matters that his unapologetically anti-LGBTQ+ leanings and vocal opposition to same-sex marriage and homosexuality turned a lot of ardent supporters of the story away from its big budget adaptation.

That being said, Ender’s Game did still manage to debut at the top of the domestic charts even in the face of boycotts, backlash, and protests, with producer Roberto Orci forced into damage limitation mode during the promotional trail when he claimed to be completely unaware of Scott Card’s personal stance while developing the project.

There’s been some recent support for an episodic reboot, though, but it’s the feature film that’s been repelling alien invaders on streaming. Per FlixPatrol, Ender’s Game has shaken off its stigma to rocket up the HBO Max rankings, where it can currently be found as the second top-viewed title among subscribers in the United States.