‘Transformers’ Meets ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ in Liam Neeson’s Sci-Fi Flop Leaving Peacock
Battleship, Peter Berg's 2012 sci-fi action film starring Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård and Rihanna, is due to leave Peacock in the US on 1 September 2026. The film's departure is a reminder of one of the more notorious box-office disappointments of the early 2010s, notable partly because Berg has now been tapped to direct the long-awaited Call of Duty film adaptation, working from a script by Taylor Sheridan.
Based loosely on the classic board game, Battleship grossed $303 million worldwide against a reported $220 million budget, leaving Universal with an estimated $150 million loss. It was also poorly received critically, holding a 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the site's consensus calling it "too loud, poorly written, and formulaic to justify its expense". The film was one of three underwhelming star vehicles for Taylor Kitsch, alongside John Carter and Savages, that failed to establish him as a major leading man.
- Battleship leaves Peacock in the US on 1 September 2026.
- The 2012 flop lost Universal an estimated $150 million.
- Director Peter Berg is now making the Call of Duty film adaptation.
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Battleship, released in 2012, is a big-budget action film loosely inspired by the classic naval strategy board game. Directed by Peter Berg, it starred Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård and the singer Rihanna in a story about naval forces battling an alien invasion at sea. It is now scheduled to be removed from the streaming service Peacock in the United States.
The film is best remembered as a significant box-office and critical disappointment. Despite taking $303 million worldwide, its roughly $220 million budget meant Universal Pictures is estimated to have lost around $150 million on the project, and reviewers were largely unimpressed, criticising its writing and reliance on spectacle.
The film has drawn renewed attention because director Peter Berg has since been announced as the director of an upcoming Call of Duty film adaptation, written by Taylor Sheridan, prompting comparisons back to his earlier work on Battleship.