The one movie flop that still baffles Margot Robbie: “I still can’t figure out why”
There are many films that completely bombed at the box office despite being later rediscovered as masterpieces, whether it be The Shawshank Redemption, Love Actually or Citizen Kane. For reasons that are hard to understand, there are some films whose genius somehow evaded audience members at the time of their release, either dividing audiences or disappearing without a trace. While the financial aspect is one thing, it can be incredibly disappointing for the filmmakers and artists involved in the project when they don’t see the fruits of their labour straight away, but ultimately, it all becomes worth it if it manages to reach people later down the line.
However, while this might be the case for the films mentioned above, with global audiences now returning to the sight of Hugh Grant dancing through Downing Street or the infamous final scene of The Shawshank Redemption, this kind of comeback has not yet happened for one film of Margot Robbie’s, with the actor expressing her complete and utter bafflement at its poor reception.
Damien Chazelle has always been a risk-taker, with the director becoming the youngest winner of the Oscar for ‘Best Director’ after the release of his sophomore feature film La La Land. It had been a passion project from the very beginning after being inspired by the love story at the heart of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. From this point onwards, he devoted himself to stories about Hollywood and how our dreams can drive us apart and destroy connections, exploring this through the love story of Mia and Sebastien.
His films have never played it safe, whether it be through the opening sequence of La La Land in which the production shut down an entire Los Angeles highway or the unexpectedly genius casting of Whiplash. But perhaps the most daring film of his so far was his 2022 film Babylon, which follows two aspiring filmmakers and actors during the transition from silent to talking pictures and the absolute state of chaos and hedonism that dominated Hollywood.
It is a riotously entertaining and poignant film, capturing the excess, greed and insanity of a business that views people as being disposable, chewing them and spitting them out again when no longer in need of their talents. However, it was widely considered a colossal flop, with the film only making $63 million at the global box office despite its budget of $80 million.
Some have attributed this to the poor marketing scheme and the long runtime, with critics slamming it for being self-indulgent and a shameless copy of pre-existing films from this era, with many references to Singin’ in the Rain.
However, there are a huge number of people that love it, with the film highlighting the power of the movies and how it is a privilege to be a part of it in any way, even if it destroys you. But the poor reception of the film is something that still bothers Robbie, with the actor wondering whether it will be one of those films that people later return to and question how it could have failed, saying, “I know I am biased because I am very close to the project and I obviously believe in it, but I still can’t figure out why people hated it.”
