D-Tox, a 2002 action thriller starring Sylvester Stallone, became a troubled production that Ron Howard helped oversee during post-production. The film’s repeated creative and financial problems, together with poor test-screening results, led to reshoots and re-editing before its eventual release, highlighting how a major studio project can become difficult to salvage.

Filming ended in May 1999, but the film was delayed until September 2002. Made on a $55 million budget, it was abandoned by Universal and released by the smaller DEJ Productions, where it performed poorly and received harsh reviews. Stallone later said disputes over costs and creative direction had already created serious problems, while describing the film as having “the smell of death about it”.