Bonfire of the Vanities is a 1999 comedy-drama film. It tells the story of a wealthy investment banker who faces problems when his mistress accidentally kills a young African-American teen.
Critics criticized the film as a financial failure because it only earned $15 million compared to its $47 million budget.
But the actor who played Judge Leonard White in the movie said he knew that the movie would be a commercial disaster. He compared it to a series of mistakes leading to a plane crash.
Morgan Freeman Already Predicted Commercial Disaster for Bonfire of the Vanities
Actor Morgan Freeman had a plane incident in Mississippi in 2015. The plane’s tire blew during takeoff, which led to an emergency landing. Fortunately, the actor was not injured.
In a statement (via ABC News), Freeman said that he was on his plane en route to Texas to shoot a segment for National Geographic’s The Story of God. He said: “Sometimes things don’t go as planned and a tire blew on take-off which caused other problems.
“When an airline crashes, they say that it is mostly as a result of a series of mishaps,” the actor remarked (in a random YouTube video). Freeman addressed this when asked what went wrong with Bonfire of the Vanities. By the way, the film didn’t fail because of his prediction. There were several other factors to blame.
Morgan Freeman’s Predictions Were Not the Cause of Bonfire of the Vanities Failure
Morgan Freeman didn’t actually predict the flop of The Bonfire of the Vanities. The film failed due to various factors, including changes made during production and critical reception.
Firstly, the studio faced a challenge because the novel had no likable characters. Tom Wolfe’s book was openly critical of New York’s institutions. On the other hand, the star Tom Hanks didn’t seem cynical (as per the critics).
The novel was a bestseller and a cultural phenomenon, so the film had high expectations. The anticipation may have set unrealistic standards that the movie couldn’t meet.
So, it would be fair to say that, in the end, The Bonfire of the Vanities suffered from various factors. It included the challenges of adapting a popular and complex novel, changes in the adaptation, casting decisions, critical reception, and high expectations. These elements came together to turn a best-selling book into a box-office disappointment.
