With a star-studded cast and an intriguing storyline, one would think Babylon would become one of the biggest hits of the year, however, that doesn’t seem to be the case. The Damien Chazelle-directed film starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Tobey Maguire hit the theatres on December 23 and has unfortunately failed to reel in some serious numbers.
The film had quite the recipe to turn itself into a must-watch. It looks like releasing on a busy weekend for the theatres turned out to not work in the favor of Babylon as the movie bombed at the box office. With the way things are going at the moment for the star-studded film, it seems like becoming profitable at the box office is something the team should not look forward to.
Margot Robbie’s Babylon Bombs at the Box Office
Is the audience finally over going to movies just to see a big-name actor on the screen? It certainly appears to be that way as Babylon flaunts some of the biggest celebrities in Hollywood and has still managed to not perform well, at all. Damien Chazelle’s movie had a budget ranging between $78 million to $80 million. Babylon needs to make at least $250 million total at the box office just so it could begin making a profit.
So, how much has the film made at the box office so far since its release? Over the four-day domestic opening weekend, Babylon made an extremely underwhelming $4.9 million, which could be said, is pennies and dimes compared to what it actually needs to break even. At this rate, the movie is headed towards its domestic chapter being closed at just $20 million. The pressure now resides on the shoulders of the international audience to make the film profitable for the team!
What Went Wrong?
There didn’t seem to be any room for failure when Babylon was first announced. The plot, the cast, the director, and so on seemed to be everything needed for a box-office blockbuster. A majority of the critics did not have compliments for the film with one critic stating that at times he was left wondering if the movie should have been titled “Babble On” instead. The 3 hours 9 minutes runtime could be the one to blame for this!
Another reason why the movie didn’t perform well seems to be the timing and how poorly it was marketed as many Twitter users stated that they weren’t even aware Babylon was in the theatres. Adding to that, the U.S. being wrapped in frigid weather could also have been the reason for the movie’s dismissal.
It's actually not a bad movie.
Horrible marketing.
Even worse release date.I feel bad for everyone involved. I enjoyed it.
— 𝕍𝕒𝕤𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕫 🇨🇦🇵🇹🇸🇻🍥 (@Shutterr514) December 27, 2022
Advertising was weird for this movie. Felt like it relied more on just the big name actors than giving insightful trailers imo.
— Colin (@IntroSpecktive) December 27, 2022
I didn’t even see one ad for this until now
— Straight Fish🌐 (@Unstable_Fern) December 27, 2022
The USA snowstorms + weak marketing + releasing close to Avatar 2 and Puss in Boots 2 is hurting it's box office run
— Mint Doom 🇵🇦 (@swshriv) December 27, 2022
I think Babylon was released the wrong time of the year, it needs to be a movie for the whole family especially in December 🤔
— Trevor Ashman (@kiwi4you) December 28, 2022
Also, let’s not forget the mega beast that Babylon was challenging – Avatar: The Way of Water. The Avatar sequel has been doing so well at the box office that not even a snowstorm could stop the audience from going to the theatres for it. It’s not a brain-scratcher where the audience was headed off to over the weekend. Turns out, the blue humanoids of Pandora aren’t easy to beat!
It’s going to be intriguing to see how and if Babylon redeems itself over the upcoming few weeks. Will this be the second flop for Margot Robbie this year?
Babylon is currently playing in theatres.
Source: Discussing Films
