Known for his passionate storytelling and strong personal vision, Martin Scorsese’s films are a treat for cinema lovers. The filmmaker is known for his desire to create projects that are known to resonate on a personal and emotional level. The Aviator director has been directing 1962 and all of his films have been a smash-hit blockbuster at the box office, and it can be proudly said that Scorsese is the best director of this generation.
Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival has been a topic of conversation as movie connoisseurs discovered that CODA, a film made with a budget of only $10 million has won an Oscar and fans argue that the 2023 film should not have costed so much make, essentially getting caught in the Marvel Trap.
Fans Believe Martin Scorsese Is Facing The Marvel Trap
Over the past few years, a debate has been going on among movie watchers on how big-budget films are ruining the movie industry, as many directors tend to believe that to come up with a commercially and critically successful film, the budget must be humongous. However, that’s not the case as oftentimes, there have been instances where a big budget is not the answer to a great film.
A user on X (@ERCboxoffice) has drawn up the statistics of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which stated that the film earned only $67.2 million at the domestic box office, while it earned only $88.9 million at the international box office bringing its revenue to a total of $156.1 million box office. However, the drama does not stop there as Apple TV did not want the film to be immensely successful either, making Scorsese’s film a Marvel trap, where it costs a huge budget for absolutely no reason.
Thanks for not shying away from the fact that this movie flopped this year.
The facts are the facts and there’s no point in sugar coating it.
— The-Ultra-Normal: The House of Orbs (@ultra_orbs) December 26, 2023
Another fan tweeted that the movie’s budget of $200 million was for nothing, and it was too slow-paced to watch.
Nothing in that long ass boring movie should’ve cost 200 M’s
— abtlastnite (@abtlastnite) December 27, 2023
Another user tweeted that the film didn’t need to cost $200 million for its budget but hiring Robert De Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio increased the budget.
That movie did not need to cost that much. They probably threw a ton of money at Leo and DeNiro because everything else about it looked like a mid budget crime drama.
— Christopher Chin (@Christopher_TC) December 26, 2023
A fan tweeted that Apple backed Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon to earn prestige for themselves, and they don’t care much about its box office performance.
It was made for Apple streaming service they don’t care about its box office
— leialinkaj (@leialinkaj22224) December 26, 2023
Another fan tweeted that the film was never meant to be a box-office hit despite being full of big names in the film and directed by Martin Scorsese.
Theatrical release of this film was never expected to be profitable. Like The Irishman, the reason it cost so much is that everyone got full freight up front. If they’d taken gross profit points, it would have cost far less.
— Richard Natale (@RichardNatale3) December 26, 2023
While the argument remains true, a film with a budget of $200 million should earn double its budget to be considered as successful. However, the question remains that despite knowing the film won’t be a commercial success why did Apple back the film?
Apple’s Ulterior Motive For Backing Scorsese’s Project
Many people have wondered why Apple chose to financially support the film. The reason is quite basic, as Scorsese’s 2023 film was made exclusively for Apple TV+, and having a big name like the filmmaker’s would attract people to subscribe to their OTT platform. The film was released in theatres as Apple decided to partner up with Paramount Pictures, and the film’s success was never a primary objective.
Moreover, it’s Apple one of the biggest brands in the world so sparing a couple of hundred million isn’t a big issue for the company, especially when it can bring in more people subscribing to their platform. Regardless of the budget and performance at the box office, the film is a Martin Scorsese original, which makes it a good enough reason to watch.
Killers of the Flower Moon can be rented on Apple TV+.
