Why did movies like Catwoman and the original Dune fail at the box office?

Kyle MacLachlan as Paul Atreides in David Lynch’s Dune (1984), based on Frank Herbert’s novel.
Photograph: Universal – Dino De Laurentiis C/ChristopheL Collection via AFP

DuneAdapted from Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel of the same name, the film grossed a total of US$ 355 million with its final two-part version. Comment by Denis Villeneuve – but an earlier version in 1984 failed badly at the box office.

Daily Telegraph Film critic Tim Robey explores why there are 26 films like Rex Harrison’s Doctor Dolittle (1967) and Catwoman (2004), did not make a big impact financially in his last book Box Office Poison: The Story of Hollywood in a Century of Failures.

previous version Dune It was made by the famous director David Lynch. Blue Velvetand was riding high on the success of his 1980 film Elephant ManBut Robey says he’s faced with the prospect of achieving that fame.

He said that although it had “outstanding” costumes and sets and was promising, the film failed because so much of the novel was crammed into a single film. afternoons.

“Lynch ran out of room to tell the story, and as a very young man at the time, he had no experience whatsoever in handling a film of this scale.

“He had just made a further upgrade Elephant Man and suddenly he was given a cast of literally thousands and had to shoot the movie in Mexico City. “And that’s beyond him, and it’s also not in his wheelhouse to handle that kind of spectacle.”

It was so bad for Lynch that he became depressed while making it, and when it was recut and aired on television in the 1990s, he “rejected” the film and took his name off it, Robey says.

Intolerance (film), a 1916 film by D. W. Griffith. Scene from a Babylonian story: The fall of the Babylonian Empire to Persia in 539 BC.
Photograph: Ann Ronan Picture Library / Photo12 via AFP

Often, Robey says, it’s the pressure of wanting to make another hit after tasting success that sets directors on the path to epic failures. The same can be said for DW Griffith’s 1916 silent film. Intolerancewas an angry response to critics of his previous infamous film Birth of a Nation (1915).

“He was angry that everyone was criticizing him. So he made a movie that basically tried to silence his critics, who are actually the intolerant ones. It’s about censorship, and he made this rant movie, which in its original version is eight hours long.

“He spent a fortune of his own money to make it, and the production was a huge undertaking, a monumental thing, with thousands of extras in Los Angeles. But unfortunately America was entering World War I and no one had time for this film to quibble.”

William Friedkin Exorcist Robey (1973) says he fell into the same traps when he believed fame was “better than any of the guys in the 1970s.”

“He thinks the next thing he makes will be the biggest movie of the year, so he makes a movie called: Wizardwhich I think is truly magnificent. I think his talent really shines through in the film, but it was a nightmare for the ages to make and alienated everyone.

“He fired five production managers, half the crew was hospitalized because they shot the movie in the jungle in the Dominican Republic, and they all got tropical diseases, and the actors ended up hating him. Everybody was in a really, really bad mood. When this movie came out, I was with William Friedkin and It cost a lot of money.”

However Wizard (1977) when it took the biggest blow Star Wars It came out three weeks before it was released.

“The only thing everyone cared about back then was Star Wars. They wanted to escape to a galaxy far, far away. “They didn’t want to watch a hell-on-Earth ordeal like this two-and-a-half-hour deadly adventure in the jungle, which is what he did.”

However, Robey said that the film was converted to 4K and gained a better reputation, adding that he believed the film was better than that. Exorcist.

Doctor Dolittle (1967), directed by Richard Fleischer and starring Rex Harrison.
Photograph: ChristopheL Collection via APJAC Productions / Twentieth Ce / Christophel Collection / AFP

Richard Fleischer Doctor Dolittle (1967), starring Rex Harrison, arrived at a time of “bloated, populist 1960s filmmaking of big musicals,” but audiences were tired of being “force-fed” this content, Robey says.

“20th Century Fox spent a lot of money on it, and they kept pushing it and promoting it, even right into awards season. It got nine Oscar nominations, which is kind of crazy, but nothing can help that with Best Picture.” counter.

“By the end of the ’70s, America had come a long way down this path (the Vietnam War) and people wanted movies that would reflect the darkness of the period rather than an empty escape.

“Rex Harrison was angry and angry throughout the whole process, and he couldn’t sing because he couldn’t sing, and they said his vocal range was basically close to a note and a half… that was the other problem. It’s not a proper voice. It’s not musical.” The Sound of MusicThat’s for sure.”

Halle Berry (right), 2004 Warner Bros. as Catwoman in the movie.
Photograph: Supplied / Warner Bros.

These movie failures can also damage actors’ careers, such as the example starring Halle Berry. Catwoman (2004) from the success Monster’s Ball (2001), says Robey.

“She was paid $14 million to make this movie. A record salary for a black actress in Hollywood… but the movie was a disgrace. She was so unprepared that the script looked like it had been thrown out of the garbage.” .

“They cast a director who was a visual effects supervisor who was really out of his depth, and the movie crashed and burned so badly that he really lost the status he had suddenly gained in Hollywood, and it cost him really, really bad.”

While it’s hard to predict what will actually become a disaster at the box office, some movies that received harsh reviews before their release have become huge hits. Titanic (1997) and water world (1995).

“It’s because people realize how chaotic the shoot was, how much trouble there was, or how much trouble there was on set, and the knives are pulled,” Robey says.

” Titanic After a very dubious first weekend opening to 25,000,000 there was this phenomenal turnaround from word of mouth, word of mouth was so phenomenal that everyone bought them back and took all their friends and family over and over again.

“It was number one at the box office for 15 weeks and just broke all the records. So this is a redemption for the ages.”