Seven years after creating the disaster genre with The Poseidon Adventure, producer Irwin Allen returned to his biggest hit, this time assuming directing reins as well. Allen originally had planned a sequel in which the survivors of the original film were trapped in a collapsed railroad tunnel. That premise would resurface in 1996 as the Sylvester Stallone vehicle Daylight. Instead, Allen turned to Paul Gallico's novel for the planned sequel. The film follows rival salvage crews that infiltrate the still afloat Poseidon in search of its hidden treasures. Allen assembled an all-star cast including Oscar winners Karl Malden and Shirley Jones, along with future Oscar winners Michael Caine and Sally Fields, and Telly Savalas, Peter Boyle, Jack Warden, Shirley Knight, Slim Pickens, Mark Harmon and Veronica Hamel. He even found a place for his Lost in Space star, Angela Cartwright, in her last major film role (she did have a cameo in the 1998 big-screen version of Lost in Space). Ads promised "More danger. More survivors. More secrets. Just go beyond." Unfortunately, audiences and critics weren't eager to sign up for a return trip. Despite its accomplished cast, a glossy look (courtesy of cinematographer Joseph F. Biroc), a Jerry Fielding score and some decent shock scenes, the film was a box-office disaster and holds a 0 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It is the only one of Allen's disaster films not to score any Oscar; nominations.

By Frank Miller