It was supposed to be the next The Matrix. At least, that was the pitch. You had the Wachowskis directing—visionaries who literally changed how we see action movies—and two of the biggest stars on the planet leading the charge. Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum were the dream team. She was the "it" girl from Black Swan, and he was the guy who could move from Magic Mike to 21 Jump Street without breaking a sweat.
Then Jupiter Ascending actually came out in 2015.
The reviews weren't just bad; they were brutal. Critics called it "muddled," "confusing," and "a visually thrilling misfire." Even the Razzie Awards came knocking, handing out nominations like candy. But honestly? Looking back from 2026, the vibe has shifted. What was once seen as a career-ending disaster for Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum has morphed into something of a glitter-soaked, campy masterpiece that people are still talking about.
The Weird, Wonderful Chaos of Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum
Let’s get real for a second. The plot of Jupiter Ascending is basically Cinderella meets Star Wars on a heavy dose of neon. Mila Kunis plays Jupiter Jones, a woman who cleans toilets for a living but discovers she’s actually intergalactic royalty. Then you’ve got Channing Tatum as Caine Wise, a genetically engineered soldier who is—and I’m not making this up—half-human and half-wolf. He also has gravity boots that let him skate through the air like he’s in a 90s rollerblading video.
It’s a lot.
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The chemistry between them was a major talking point. Some fans felt the romance was forced, while others loved the sheer earnestness they brought to such a bizarre script. Tatum famously had to wear a mouthpiece that changed the shape of his jaw for the role. It made it hard for him to close his mouth, which kinda explains why Caine Wise looks like he’s perpetually smelling something faint and slightly concerning.
Why the Movie Actually "Bombed" (According to Mila)
Mila Kunis hasn't been shy about the film's struggles. Years later, she sat down for an interview on the Happy Sad Confused podcast and dropped a bit of a bombshell. She basically knew the movie was in trouble before they even started rolling.
According to Kunis, the original budget was slashed in half right before production kicked off. For a movie that relies entirely on world-building and massive VFX, that’s a death sentence. You can see it in the final product; there are moments of absolute visual genius followed by sequences that feel like they were finished on a Tuesday afternoon during a coffee break.
The box office reflected that struggle. The film cost somewhere between $176 million and $210 million to make but only clawed back about $184 million worldwide. In Hollywood terms, that’s a "run for the hills" kind of loss.
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A Quick Reality Check on the Stats:
- Rotten Tomatoes Score: A shaky 27%.
- The Eddie Redmayne Factor: He won a Razzie for his performance as the villain, Balem Abrasax. If you haven't seen his whispering-turned-screaming acting style in this, you haven't lived.
- Production Delays: The release was pushed back nearly seven months so the Wachowskis could try to "fix" the complex visual effects.
The Cult of Jupiter Jones
So, why are we still talking about Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum in this movie? Because it’s "unapologetically weird." In an era where every blockbuster feels like it was designed by a committee of accountants to be as safe as possible, Jupiter Ascending feels like a fever dream.
It’s got space bees that can sense royalty. It’s got a bureaucracy scene that pays homage to Terry Gilliam's Brazil. It’s got Tatum as a wolf-man carrying Kunis through a collapsing Chicago skyline.
Fans on Reddit and social media have spent the last decade reclaiming the film. They don't care that the plot is a mess. They care about the costumes, the sheer ambition, and the fact that Kunis and Tatum played it completely straight. They didn't wink at the camera. They leaned in.
Where Are They Now?
Since that 2015 space odyssey, both stars have done just fine. Kunis pivoted back to comedy with the Bad Moms franchise and has spent a lot of time on her production company. Tatum, meanwhile, went through a bit of a "break" from acting before coming back strong with The Lost City and Pussy Island.
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They haven't worked together on a major project since, which is a bit of a bummer. Their rapport during the Jupiter press tour was actually great. There’s a famous clip from an AP interview where Kunis jokes about being engaged to Tatum just to dodge questions about her real-life relationship with Ashton Kutcher. They clearly got along, even if the movie they were selling was a tough sell.
What You Can Learn from the Jupiter Disaster
If you're a fan of these two, or just a movie nerd, there's a lesson here about "creative risk."
- Ambition over Perfection: It’s better to fail at being something new than to succeed at being something boring.
- Budget Matters: If you’re making a space opera, you can't cut the VFX budget by 50% and expect Dune results.
- Chemistry isn't everything: Even two of the most likable people in Hollywood can't save a script that’s trying to do twenty things at once.
If you want to revisit the madness, Jupiter Ascending is usually floating around on streaming services like Max. It’s best viewed with zero expectations and a very large bag of popcorn. You might find that, ten years later, it's actually way more fun than the critics let on.
Next Step for You: Go watch the "Bureaucracy" sequence in the middle of the film—it's easily the best five minutes of the entire movie and shows exactly what the directors were capable of when they weren't worried about being a "blockbuster."