Before 2022, the only notorious flop in Margot Robbie‘s filmography was “Flopsy Rabbit,” the character she voiced in Peter Rabbit. But then along came Amsterdam and Babylon. Both are star-studded period pieces that were expected to be major award season players — until they were greeted with mixed reviews from critics (unfairly, in the case of one of the films) and underperformed at the box office.
Amsterdam, directed by David O. Russell (who has been accused of abusive behavior and sexual assault), made $31.2 million on a $80 million budget. But once marketing is factored, it was reported that the film lost around $100 million for 20th Century Studios. Robbie’s next film, Babylon — a sprawling Hollywood epic that should be celebrated, not mocked — didn’t do much better. Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to First Man made $4.85 million during its first four days of release, lower than even the most grim predictions:
Further burying the pic’s fate were audience exits including an awful C+ CinemaScore and PostTrak of 74 percent and 47 percent definite recommend, not to mention its 3-hour and 8-minute running time. Babylon is the lowest wide release stateside opening for star Margot Robbie at $3.6 million, beating Amsterdam‘s $6.4 million, as well as Brad Pitt as a leading man, lower than the $4 million start of 1993’s True Romance.
Here’s hoping Babylon finds its audience someday. I think it rules (so does Vince Mancini in his glowing review), and I’m worried that some executive will use its poor performance at the box office as disingenuous proof that the only movies with a budget over $20 million worth making are superhero and/or franchise movies.
As for Robbie (who gave typically solid performances in Amsterdam or Babylon; she deserves an Oscar nomination for the latter), it was a 2022 to forget. But at least she has 2023 to look forward to. Next year sees the release of both Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which looks fantastic, and Asteroid City, the new film from Wes Anderson. That should put an end to the most snakebitten (literally and figuratively) era of Robbie’s career.
(Via Deadline)