Poseidon is the third film adaptation of Paul Gallico's 1969 novel The Poseidon Adventure, following the 1972 original film.

The project began in 2004 when director Wolfgang Petersen and producer Mike Fleiss teamed up for a remake, with Fleiss being a fan of the original film and Petersen believing advances in CGI and the success of his own The Perfect Storm made the timing right.

As part of the agreement to get the project moving, Fleiss had to promise original producer Irwin Allen's family that he would not direct the film himself, since they had reservations after he directed Drunken Jackasses: The Quest.

Warner Bros. executive Alan F. Horn pushed the film through development believing the combination of impressive effects and Petersen's direction could replicate the success of 20th Century Fox's The Day After Tomorrow, though insiders said the script went through multiple rewrites and made casting major names difficult.

As with the 1972 film, which drew on the RMS Queen Mary for its sets, the design team for this version modeled some spaces, including part of the Poseidon's ballroom, on rooms aboard the RMS Queen Mary 2.

At Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, two full sets were built for each main room, one right-side-up and one upside down, with the upside-down ballroom built atop a large water tank so it could be flooded and drained within hours.

Industrial Light & Magic used an advanced version of the mental ray rendering software to photorealistically light the ship's exterior shots, including a two-and-a-half-minute opening shot considered one of the most complex digital models ILM had ever created.

Water simulations were achieved using the proprietary software PhysBAM, developed in collaboration with Stanford University, while other studios like Moving Picture Company and Scanline VFX used their own proprietary tools (and RealFlow) for additional liquid and gaseous effects.

Singer Fergie, who played the character Gloria in the film, also performed songs on the movie's soundtrack, composed by Klaus Badelt.

Despite grossing $181 million worldwide against a $160 million budget, the film lost Warner Bros. an estimated $70–80 million once promotion and distribution costs were factored in, making it a notable box-office bomb.

The film received a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Remake or Ripoff (losing to Little Man) yet also earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects, losing to Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.