Joaquin Phoenix stars as Arthur Fleck in “Joker: Pas de Deux.”
warner bros.
warner bros. Hit the big time with Joker: Folie a Deux. It became a big breath.
In 2019, after Joker became a multibillion-dollar success on a budget of just $55 million, the studio greenlighted a sequel and gave director Todd Phillips a massive $200 million. Big budget. The film had grossed just $53.8 million domestically as of Wednesday, according to Comscore. As of Sunday, the film’s global box office has reached $166 million, and updates are expected over the weekend.
Panned by critics and audiences alike, “Joker: Pas de Deux” is not expected to recoup its hefty production budget or an estimated additional $100 million in marketing and distribution costs by the end of its theatrical run.
This isn’t the only blockbuster movie to disappoint at the box office this year.
Other studios, including Warner Bros., universal, Lionsgate even sonyhundreds of millions of dollars were spent on the franchise and star-studded show, but it tanked at the box office. Of course, this is not unusual in the theater world.
“A mix of box office hits and flops is the hallmark of every box office year,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “But in 2024, both film production and release schedules face a variety of unique challenges, triggering a A storm of imperfections that resulted in a series of creative and financial failures.”
Moreover, the missteps could worry investors as Hollywood grapples with the growing streaming market and a more fickle movie-going public.
“Before the rise of streaming, it seemed clearer to evaluate the financial performance of movies than in recent years,” said Shawn Robbins, director of analytics for Fandango’s film division.
Thanks to streaming, Hollywood has shortened theatrical release times and brought movies to domestic markets much faster than before. This means that potential moviegoers (who may be on the fence about seeing a movie or watching it quickly) can wait less before watching a movie on the couch via a streaming service they already subscribe to. If that movie gets bad reviews, audiences will have even less incentive to go to the theater.
“This shift in dynamics and business models, in turn, may call into question what box office-to-budget ratios constitute a loss and what does not,” Robbins noted. “Of course, some numbers are easier to look at and identify with the naked eye. There’s not much to argue about the financial missteps, and in a changing global market, other numbers may be less obvious.”
For example, a live-streaming movie with a budget of $200 million can be considered a success for a studio if it attracts enough views. Meanwhile, a $200 million movie that opens in theaters and does poorly is generally considered a failure. This is especially true when you consider that studios also spend on marketing and promotion costs (often equal to half of a production budget) and share ticket revenue with movie theaters.
For a company like this Netflix, apple or Amazon Big-budget movies going straight to streaming likely won’t faze investors because of a larger buffer and stakeholders that are traditionally more risk-averse. But for traditional media companies that have long traded on box office success, shareholders still want to see a big return on their theatrical investment.
Based on IMDb’s estimated production budgets and Comscore’s box office statistics to date, here are the biggest box office disappointments of 2024 so far:
“Joker: Pas de Deux”
- Estimated production budget: US$200 million
- Global box office: $166 million
- release date: October 4, 2024
Warner Bros.’ “Joker: Pas de Deux” failed to meet opening weekend expectations earlier this month, grossing just $37.6 million at the domestic box office, compared with initial projections of closer to $70 million just days before release.
The film follows Arthur Fleck from “Joker” as he awaits trial at Arkham State Hospital after his arrest. Audiences failed to understand the sequel, which utilized Lady Gaga playing a version of Harley Quinn and her musical talents in many scenes.
“Joker: Pas de Deux” had the largest drop among all DC Films movies in its second week, with a drop of 81%.
By comparison, its predecessor grabbed $96.2 million in its opening weekend and $248.4 million worldwide in its first three days.
“Joker: Pas de Deux” failed to attract its most ardent fans or inspire new moviegoers to flock to theaters. Critics have widely panned the film, as it currently holds a 33% score on review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and a rare “D” on CinemaScore.
“frontier”
- Estimated production budget: $115 million
- Global box office: $32.9 million
- release date: August 9, 2024
In an effort to capitalize on the popularity of video game movies, Lionsgate paid $115 million for director Eli Roth’s adaptation of “Borderlands.”
The film promoted an all-star cast that included Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis and rising star Ariana Greenblatt, but audiences The response was mediocre. Blanchett plays a notorious bounty hunter who forms an unlikely alliance with a ragtag group of misfits while searching for the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.
Borderlands earned a 10% rating from 161 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but ultimately stalled with a global box office take of $32.9 million.
Still from Lionsgate’s Borderlands .
Lionsgate
“For Aggie”
- Estimated production budget: US$200 million
- Global box office: $96.2 million
- release date: February 2, 2024
Universal’s “Argyle” also boasts a stellar cast — Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Dua Lipa and Samuel L. Jackson Etc. — but failed to spark box office interest.
The film centers on Howard playing reclusive author Ellie Conway, whose best-selling spy novels begin to reflect the covert operations of real-life spy organizations.
After costing approximately $200 million to produce and an estimated $100 million in marketing, the film earned just $96.2 million worldwide.
Most of the movie’s problems stem from poor reviews, with a 33% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with some calling the plot convoluted but predictable.
“Autumn Guy”
- Estimated production budget: $125 million
- Global box office: $180.9 million
- release date: May 3, 2024
Universal Pictures’ The Fallout was actually well received by critics, earning an 81% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, even the dynamic duo of Ryan Gosling, fresh from “Barbie,” and Emily Blunt, one of the stars of “Oppenheimer,” wasn’t enough to lure audiences into theaters.
The film is a love letter to stuntmen, based on the 1980s TV show of the same name, and centers on Gosling’s Colt Seavers, a war-torn stuntman. The actor, who stars as former love Jody, is back in the film industry.
“The Fall Guy” grossed only $180.9 million at the global box office. Its production budget was $125 million, not including marketing and distribution costs. The lack of major franchise add-ons and niche storylines seemed to narrow the audience.
Rian Gosling stars in Universal Pictures’ “The Fall Guys.”
universal
“Mrs. Net”
- Estimated production budget: US$80 million
- Global box office: US$100 million
- release date: February 14, 2024
Sony’s Spider-Man movies have been inconsistent at the box office over the years. For every “Venom” or “Spider-Verse” success, there’s a “Morbius” or “Lady Web.”
With a score of 11% on Rotten Tomatoes, “Mrs. Web” attracted the wrong kind of viral attention upon its release. Social media sites are awash with memes mocking the actors’ dull performances, plot holes and poorly dubbed dialogue.
Mrs. Webb is part of Sony’s Spider-Man universe and tells the story of Cassandra Webb, a clairvoyant paramedic in New York City. Weber’s visions warn her of a threat to three young women, each of whom will gain spider powers in the future.
The film cost about $80 million to make and grossed about $100 million at the global box office. However, after marketing expenses and sharing revenue with theaters, the film did not recoup its budget.
“Furiosa: The Legend of Mad Max”
- Estimated production budget: $168 million
- Global box office: $172.4 million
- release date: May 24, 2024
Warner Bros.’ Furiosa: The Legend of Mad Max is George Miller’s long-awaited prequel. However, despite rave reviews – a 90% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the film failed to explode at the box office.
The film is a prequel to 2015’s Mad Max: Fury Road and follows Furiosa’s early life after she was kidnapped by a brutal warlord and spent years trying to return home.
The production did benefit from heavy government subsidies for filming in Australia, softening the financial blow, but Furiosa only earned $172.4 million during its global run. Its production budget is estimated at approximately $168 million, excluding marketing expenses.
By comparison, Mad Max: Fury Road grossed $368 million during its global release in 2015.
Chris Hemsworth stars as the evil Dementus in the Warner Bros. film. “Furiosa: The Legend of Mad Max”.
Warner Bros. Discovery
“Megacity”
- Estimated production budget: US$120 million
- Global box office: $9.2 million
- release date: September 27, 2024
“Megacity” was a passion project for writer-director Francis Ford Coppola, who had been toying with the concept for the film since the late 1970s. He self-financed the film, which cost $120 million to make.
The film is set in “New Rome”, another version of New York City in the 21st century. The film tells the story of an architect named Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver) who attempts to revitalize the city by building a futuristic utopia called Megalopolis, while facing corruption ‘s leadership was hell-bent on ending his plans.
The cast, which Rotten Tomatoes critics called “an overstuffed production,” includes Adam Driver, Dustin Hoffman, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurence Fish Bourne and Jon Voight, but seemed to attract only Coppola’s most loyal fans. Megacity grossed only $9.2 million at the global box office.
The film is distributed by Lionsgate. It’s unclear if marketing and distribution costs are split between Coppola and Lionsgate, or if the studio bears the financial burden.
“Horizon: An American Saga—Chapter 1”
- Estimated production budget: US$100 million
- Global box office: $38.2 million
- release date: June 28, 2024
“Horizon: An American Legend – Chapter 1,” another hit from Kevin Costner, is having trouble at the box office. The film only grossed $38.2 million at the global box office during its theatrical run. Due to the poor performance, Costner and Warner Bros. delayed the release of a planned sequel, “Chapter 2,” which was originally scheduled to be released about six weeks after the premiere.
“Chapter 1” tells several different stories of people exploring the American West and pioneering new frontiers, including a rugged cowboy played by Costner who, after killing a fellow gunslinger, finds himself with a prostitute and a The little boys run away together.
Costner produced, wrote, directed and starred in both films, spending approximately $100 million on the two films. Two additional chapters of the saga are still in development, with budgets yet to be revealed.
Westerns are a tough sell at the modern box office. The classic genre is beloved by movie buffs, but isn’t a huge draw for moviegoers. The current top-grossing Western movie is Quentin Tarantino’s 2012 “Django Unchained,” which grossed about $450 million worldwide, according to Comscore. Costner’s 1990 film “Dances with Wolves” ranked second with global box office revenue of $424.2 million before adjusting for inflation.
While 2013’s “The Lone Ranger” grossed $260 million worldwide, no other Western has grossed more than $250 million worldwide.
Revealed: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. NBCUniversal owns Fandango and Rotten Tomatoes.
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