Box office not tied to bad reviews
Just because critics dismiss a film doesn’t mean moviegoers will. Take Suicide Squad. Critics gave the supervillain flick a lousy rating on website Rotten Tomatoes, but the film has already earned US$500 million worldwide. Here are six other films that be
TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN (2009)
Michael Bay has never been a chosen one in critical circles. All he does is make a lot of money with his movies. That’s why the ladies and gentlemen of the reviewing media were a little surprised by the quality of his first Transformers, an action flick about toys after all. Naturally, they were waiting for Bay to fail with the second in the series, and he did in fact disappoint. The production was indulgent and often confusing. So? Zealots flocked to Transformers 2, giving it two thumbs up — and its critics a thumbs down.
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END (2007)
To remember that the first Pirates film was based on an amusement ride is to explain the expectations of it. Then Johnny Depp came along doing his sloppy impersonation of the Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards. Not only was the movie a surprise hit, Depp earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal. By the time Depp and friends arrived At World’s End, they had come to the end of their storytelling creativity. Even a Richards cameo couldn’t save it from lousy reviews, dutifully ignored by the Pirates crew of devoted supporters.
THE DA VINCI CODE (2006)
Ron Howard directing the movie version of a bestseller with Tom Hanks in the lead — what’s not to like? Well, as it turned out, the movie. Reviewers decided Howard was too loyal to the Dan Brown book, which made for a plodding plot and a predictable suspense story that even the emoting of Oscar-winning Hanks couldn’t salvage. Maybe it was the mediocre dialogue. Maybe the novel wasn’t as riveting as everybody thought it was. Critics skewered the film while loyal Da Vinci Code swarms invaded theatres with enthusiasm.
MEET THE FOCKERS (2004)
Meet the Parents was supposed to be the end of Robert De Niro’s career as we know it. Four years later, he was still going strong with this followup featuring other Hollywood heavyweights Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand. All the more reason to skewer the flick. Critics also took exception to the vapid narrative. Of course, headliner Ben Stiller had made a career of surviving films that were mocked, so he probably assured his cast everything would be all right. And it was. Fockers scored at the box office despite the media naysayers.
STAR WARS: EPISODE I — THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)
George Lucas insisted that he ask Ron Howard and Steven Spielberg to handle the directing chores for the continuation of the popular series. When both turned him down, Lucas decided he was the next best man for the job. He also neglected to ask his writer buddies to help out as they had with the previous Star Wars fantasy adventures. Oops. One of the most anticipated films ever fell flat despite the eye-popping (for its time) special effects. Fans ignored the critical carping and supported the production anyway.
ARMAGEDDON (1998)
In the beginning, critics had this Bay sci-fi project to kick around. Even before the movie came out, gossip from the activities of a misbehaving cast were making tabloid headlines. Our favourite: A supposed dispute over off-shirt screen time between Ben Affleck and Bruce Willis. Willis, as the star, demanded more. Reviewers wanted less of everything, including the preposterous notion of the story. The mess was detailed with pleasure by critics, which had no impact as moviegoers made the picture a big hit.