Brian Damage
03-27-2010, 01:01 AM
Even films that pull in $100 million can still be considered flops, but no one needs any fancy cost analysis on this one: Uma Thurman's latest movie is making news for earning an embarrassingly paltry $131 in its opening weekend in London.
The Guardian reports that a dozen -- at most -- people paid to see 'Motherhood,' a semi-autobiographical pic about a harried Manhattan mom, written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann. On the film's opening day, only one ticket was sold, meaning the movie played out to a single audience member.
Critics haven't been kind to the film (it's rated 20 percent at RottenTomatoes), but then again, compare that to say, 'The Bounty Hunter,' which earned an ultra-low 9 percent RottenTomatoes score, but has managed to haul in $33 million worldwide in one week.
Producer Jana Edelbaum is suing Metrodrome, the company responsible for marketing the film in the UK, for their ill-advised ploy to build buzz with an exclusive one-theater booking. Edelbaum got the news about the film's disastrous debut when The Guardian called for a comment. "You're kidding?" she told the UK paper. "We must have broken a new record for grosses." Her defense of the film, however, was weak at best. "'Motherhood' is not bad. It's a very decent movie. I've seen movies that are not half as good."
'Motherhood' first screened in January at Sundance, then opened in limited release in the U.S. in October. According to Boxofficemojo.com, the film didn't fare much better in the States, earning only $93,388 in a short four-week run. Word of mouth must have been terrible: more than half of that gross is from the film's opening weekend. At last count the film, which co-stars Minnie Driver and Anthony Edwards, has earned a mere $701,784 worldwide.
So who's to blame: The terrible film or the lackluster marketing? Metrodome's support of the theatrical release does sound halfhearted, by their own admission: "Inevitably some films will work better on some platforms than others. In this particular case the DVD was stronger than the theatrical result," the company said.
Perhaps they have a point: When The Guardian asked the ticket seller at the film's one London location, he couldn't even remember the film. "Have you got the right cinema? There's another cinema down the road -- perhaps it was on there instead?"
We're betting that everyone involved, including Thurman, wants to forget this particular fiasco.
http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/03/26/uma-thurman-motherhood-embarrassing-film-flop/
The Guardian reports that a dozen -- at most -- people paid to see 'Motherhood,' a semi-autobiographical pic about a harried Manhattan mom, written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann. On the film's opening day, only one ticket was sold, meaning the movie played out to a single audience member.
Critics haven't been kind to the film (it's rated 20 percent at RottenTomatoes), but then again, compare that to say, 'The Bounty Hunter,' which earned an ultra-low 9 percent RottenTomatoes score, but has managed to haul in $33 million worldwide in one week.
Producer Jana Edelbaum is suing Metrodrome, the company responsible for marketing the film in the UK, for their ill-advised ploy to build buzz with an exclusive one-theater booking. Edelbaum got the news about the film's disastrous debut when The Guardian called for a comment. "You're kidding?" she told the UK paper. "We must have broken a new record for grosses." Her defense of the film, however, was weak at best. "'Motherhood' is not bad. It's a very decent movie. I've seen movies that are not half as good."
'Motherhood' first screened in January at Sundance, then opened in limited release in the U.S. in October. According to Boxofficemojo.com, the film didn't fare much better in the States, earning only $93,388 in a short four-week run. Word of mouth must have been terrible: more than half of that gross is from the film's opening weekend. At last count the film, which co-stars Minnie Driver and Anthony Edwards, has earned a mere $701,784 worldwide.
So who's to blame: The terrible film or the lackluster marketing? Metrodome's support of the theatrical release does sound halfhearted, by their own admission: "Inevitably some films will work better on some platforms than others. In this particular case the DVD was stronger than the theatrical result," the company said.
Perhaps they have a point: When The Guardian asked the ticket seller at the film's one London location, he couldn't even remember the film. "Have you got the right cinema? There's another cinema down the road -- perhaps it was on there instead?"
We're betting that everyone involved, including Thurman, wants to forget this particular fiasco.
http://insidemovies.moviefone.com/2010/03/26/uma-thurman-motherhood-embarrassing-film-flop/