A four-year-old's pitch became a $125 million film that lost over $120 million

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The 2016 film Monster Trucks originated from a simple idea by a studio president's young son. Despite a high-concept premise involving subterranean creatures and modified vehicles, the production faced significant delays, a total character redesign, and a massive financial loss, eventually becoming a cult curiosity for some modern viewers.

The concept for Monster Trucks was born on July 31, 2013, when Paramount Animation announced a new franchise based on a pitch from Paramount president Adam Goodman and his four-year-old son. Directed by Chris Wedge, the film follows a high school student named Tripp Coley who discovers a squid-like creature, Creech, living inside his truck. The creature, displaced by a fracking operation, feeds on oil and acts as a living engine for the vehicle.

Production was fraught with challenges. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, starting in April 2014. Early test screenings were poor, leading to a complete redesign of the creature because audiences found the original version too frightening. These issues forced multiple release date shifts, moving the film from an initial May 2015 target to January 2017. By September 2016, Paramount had already announced a $115 million writedown in anticipation of the film's poor performance.

The financial results were stark. Produced on a $125 million budget, the film grossed only $64.5 million worldwide. Analysts labeled it a box-office bomb, with Deadline Hollywood estimating a total loss of $123.1 million. Critical reception was mixed, with a 32% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though some critics compared it favorably to 1990s family films. Despite the failure, the film found a small cult following by 2021, and actor Thomas Lennon noted in 2022 that he remains under contract for two potential sequels.

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