Кадр з фільму «Роббі Вільямс: Better Man» / Paramount
Paramount acquired the rights to show the biopic “Robbie Williams: Better Man” in the USA for $25 million, but the film failed already at its debut with an “internal” box office of a modest $1 million. It seems that the situation has only worsened over time, as the company since January 22 has stopped providing new figures.
Outside the USA, the situation is not better, and the total earnings of “Better Man” worldwide now reach $15.6 million. Let’s recall that the production budget in this case cost $110 million.
“Robbie Williams: Better Man” is a biopic-musical about the life of the eponymous singer, who is embodied on screen by an anthropomorphic CGI monkey. Interestingly, despite the commercial failure, the film was liked by critics and audiences who did come to the cinemas—now 89% and 90% “freshness” on Rotten Tomatoes respectively. This is more than the biopic about Elton John “Rocketman,” the Oscar-winning “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and last year’s film about Bob Marley “One Love.”
What is the reason for the failure? Initially, it’s because Robbie Williams is a star singer primarily in the UK and some other parts of the world, but not at all in the USA, which the film’s creators somehow made a big bet on. Also, the country at the time of the film’s debut was concerned with fires in Los Angeles, which could somehow affect interest in entertainment content; and actually, the choice of a digital chimpanzee to embody the main role attracted few people in the initial marketing campaign.