Why did Artemis Fowl Flop?
The Artemis Fowl movie, based on the popular series of novels by Eoin Colfer, was released in 2020 after a long and troubled production history. It was met with overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics and fans alike, who criticized its deviation from the source material, its lackluster plot and characters, its confusing exposition and its poor visual effects. The movie currently holds a dismal 9% rating on Rotten Tomatoes¹, and was described by Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph as "a feature-length trailer for a film that doesn't exist" ¹.
One possible explanation for why the movie failed to connect with audiences is that it did not embrace the originality and subversiveness of the books, which featured a young anti-hero who was a genius, a criminal mastermind and a sociopath. Instead, the movie turned Artemis Fowl into a generic and sympathetic protagonist who was merely curious and adventurous. By doing so, the movie lost the edge and humor that made the books stand out from other fantasy stories. As Nicole Ackman of Next Best Picture wrote, "Artemis Fowl joins The Lightning Thief and The Golden Compass in the camp of YA series done dirty by their film adaptations" ¹.
Another possible explanation is that the movie was out of touch with the cultural trends and preferences of modern audiences, who may not be interested in seeing a privileged, white, male character as the hero of a fantasy story. In a time when diversity and representation are increasingly valued and celebrated in media, Artemis Fowl may have seemed like an outdated and irrelevant relic of a past era. As Amelia Emberwing of What To Watch pointed out, "The fact that this film has a young Black female character whose sole narrative purpose is to bring people sandwiches should tell you everything you need to know about it" ¹.
A third possible explanation is that the movie suffered from a lack of vision and direction, as it tried to cram too much information and action into a short runtime. The movie attempted to combine elements from the first two books in the series, but failed to develop them properly or coherently. The result was a messy and rushed narrative that left many viewers confused and unsatisfied. As Christy Lemire of Roger Ebert wrote, "It crams elements of the first two books into a running time that’s just shy of 90 minutes, sacrificing character development and real drama for briskness and whimsy" ².
These are just some of the theories that could explain why the Artemis Fowl movie was not successful. Of course, there may be other factors that contributed to its failure, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its release strategy, the competition from other streaming platforms and content, or the general decline of interest in YA adaptations. However, it seems clear that the movie did not live up to the expectations of fans or critics, nor did it capture the essence or appeal of the books. It is unlikely that we will see another Artemis Fowl movie anytime soon, unless someone decides to reboot it with a different approach and style.
(1) Artemis Fowl - Movie Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/artemis_fowl/reviews Accessed 3/14/2023.
(2) Artemis Fowl movie review & film summary (2020) | Roger Ebert. https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/artemis-fowl-movie-review-2020 Accessed 3/14/2023.
(3) Artemis Fowl - Rotten Tomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/artemis_fowl Accessed 3/14/2023.
(4) Artemis Fowl (2020) - Artemis Fowl (2020) - User Reviews - IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089630/reviews Accessed 3/14/2023.
