Even the most gifted actors can face failures in the entertainment business, where box office receipts are frequently used as a gauge of success. The charismatic and versatile Oscar-winning actress Anne Hathaway also experienced a rare setback with her 2021 flick Locked Down. The 118-minute film only made a pitiful $346K at the box office, despite having a star-studded cast and an intriguing premise.
Hathaway portrayed Linda, a character who, during the pandemic, plots a jewelry heist with her partner in the Warner Bros. Pictures film. The first romantic comedy since the COVID-19 pandemic, the film saw both the positive and negative effects of our new normal. The movie, which received varying reviews from critics, also starred Mindy Kaling, Ben Stiller, Ben Kingsley, and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Box Office Misfire: Reasons Why Anne Hathaway’s 2021 Film Underperformed
A movie’s timing can make or break its success, and sadly, Locked Down came out right in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the entire world. In a world before the pandemic, the movie, which follows a couple as they struggle while under lockdown, might have had a different effect. Still, the audience, worn down by the pandemic, might not have been thrilled to see a large-scale representation of their own experiences.
Despite a whopping $3 million budget, Anne Hathaway‘s film, which received mixed reviews from critics, only grossed $346,000. Based on 115 reviews and an average score of 5.00/10, Locked Down has received an approval rating of 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics of the website generally agree that
“Locked Down combines a heist caper, a relationship drama, and pandemic-era timeliness to produce a film that’s frustratingly less than the sum of its parts.”
The movie received two out of four stars from RogerEbert’s Nick Allen, who wrote that
“In spite of the available chemistry and charisma from Hathaway and Ejiofor, Locked Down proves to be a bewildering mess.”
The film garnered “mixed or average reviews”, according to Metacritic, which determined a weighted average score of 42 out of 100 by sampling 33 mainstream critics. The movie received a B grade from IndieWire’s David Ehrlich, who wrote:
“Yes, Locked Down is a heist movie, though one that’s more concerned with ‘stealing back the things that you feel life owes you than it is with priceless jewels…”
Moreover, the movie received a 1/5 rating from Erik Nielsen of Little White Lies, who called it
“A tone-deaf pandemic crime caper” and “an affluent couple plot an audacious diamond heist in the Covid movie absolutely no one needed.”
The Guardian also offered some thoughts on the film’s disappointing results, stating:
“For talky heist romcom Locked Down, it appears as if safety was ensured and maintained (unlike many other shoots, no word emerged of on-set infections) but vitally, the small matter of ‘but should we?’ appears to have been crucially, and tragically, overlooked.”
Even though each of the actor’s performances was outstanding on its own, the overall impact of the film was diminished because of how poorly they blended together.
Also read: Psychic Advised Anne Hathaway To Be “a Drew Barrymore” After Actress Couldn’t Land Her Dream Role
Anne Hathaway on Making Locked Down During Pandemic
Anne Hathaway and Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played a couple on the verge of divorce, were compelled to remain together because of a mandatory COVID-19 lockdown in Locked Down. Linda and Paxton try their best to deal with the challenging circumstances by sharing a passion for poetry and drinking a lot of wine. The actress, 41, told PEOPLE about her role in Locked Down:
“Linda has been carrying around so much tension for so long. This film is partially about how the chaos of lockdown allows her to release that tension, let go of whatever BS was getting her through the day and how she gets all the way honest about what authenticity and freedom mean to her. She is messy and a little nuts and I liked that.”
Not to mention that Hathaway was listed on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2009 and that her films have brought in over $6.8 billion worldwide. In 2015, she was one of the highest-paid actresses in the world. Even though this setback may just be a small blip in her incredible career, filmmakers and actors can learn a lot from it about the importance of strategic positioning, adapting for the market, and compelling storytelling.
Locked Down is available to stream on HBO Max.
