Robert Downey Jr. is a charismatic and gifted actor, who has won viewers all over the world with his magnificent and wide range of acting skills. The actor has gained a global fandom with his iconic portrayal of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, apart from his legendary role in the superhero franchise, he kept giving iconic performances in different and unique roles that thoroughly entertained his viewers.
One such movie was his 2020 fantasy film, Dolittle where fans saw Robert Downey Jr. play the titular role of Dr. John Dolittle, a veterinarian who had the ability to communicate with animals. Even though the film was entertaining to watch, it tanked at the box office and Marvel fans can’t forgive the actor for the film. Interestingly enough, the film was one of the highest-grossing movies of that year.
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Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle Tanked at The Box Office
Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle was a rosy movie that had a lot of stuff going on in the film, as the film had broken records of other films that had been released at the same time period. It was only natural as the film featured a cast full of big names like Robert Downey Jr., Tom Holland, Rami Malek, Selena Gomez, and many more. The fantasy film generated a total of $251.5 million at the worldwide box office, and it became the 7th highest-grossing film of 2020.
However, a lot was going on with Universal Pictures with the film, as the film had a whopping budget of $175 million. Now, the film grossed $21.8 million at the box office, but Universal went a little too overboard in setting the budget of the film, which was later plagued by major reshoots of the film, with additional two directors, Chris McKay and Jonathan Liebesman.
While Universal Pictures believed that they had to make major changes to make the film a hit backfired, as their efforts were in vain, adding to the cost of the film and weighing it down. Though the film made it to the Top 10 highest-grossing films of 2020, considering Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland were sharing the screen, fans expected a better final result.
Poor Release Date Choice Added To Fans Losing Hope on Robert Downey Jr.’s Dolittle
Another possible reason for Dolittle’s failure at the box office was a release date set in mid-January 2020. This period is notorious and often a majority of the films tank at the box because viewers have not gotten over the holiday spirit. Usually, films released at this time are the ones that are already meant to doom from the start.
Universal Pictures’ poor decision to release the Avengers: Endgame actor’s film added to its failure. Had the studio picked a different release date, rather than relying on wild intentions, the film would have for sure had a different outcome; possibly even be a massive hit that would have covered the unseen expenses of the film.
Since the studio already showcased that they had no faith in their movie, some fans of the actor tried to save it. However, it was futile because the film effectively positioned itself as a project with no hope. Factors like a massive out-of-control budget, unnecessary changes, flawed release date, with poor reviews made fans hate the actor and question his ability to choose a profitable film.
Dolittle can be streamed on DIRECTV.
