Culture news This sci-fi film was a huge box office failure and everyone knew it well before its release in theaters
There are many more failures than successes in cinema, and this is true for many, if not all, fields. In general, these are small films or big-budget feature films released at the wrong time or weighed down by difficult production. But at certain times, we quickly feel that things are going badly.
You forgot it, but this sci-fi film was directed by the Wachowski sisters!
Accidents often happen in the cinema. All it takes is for a film, supported by its production, marketing and a strong cast, to be shunned by critics and the public, and the money disappears. It happened, it happened, and it will happen again. Sometimes it’s not even the movie’s faultand in which case he has a chance to remake himself later, but sometimes, everyone knows that failure is at the end of the road. You remember Jupiter: the Destiny of the universe, science fiction film released in 2015? No ? It’s normal. It tells the adventures of Jupiter Jones, a young Russian immigrant born on the open sea and living hidden in Chicago.
Wishing to sell her eggs under a false identity to finance the purchase of an astronomical telescope, she realizes that doctors are aliens whose objective is to kill her. Saved at the last moment by a former genetically modified space soldier, she finds herselfembroiled in a power struggle internal which concerns the Abrasax family, owners of planet Earth.
From the synopsis, we can tell ourselves that there is something fishy going on. Yet, the film is directed by the Wachowski sisters (Matrix) and features a very strong cast consisting of Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Sean Bean, Eddie Redmayne or even Douglas Booth. We say to ourselves that with what the sisters brought to the cinema and with such actors, everything should have gone well.
Jupiter: The Fate of the Universe: everyone knew it was going to fail at the box office
Well it was quite the opposite. Jupiter: The Destiny of the Universe is considered to be one of the worst films produced in Hollywood and obviously one of the worst science fiction feature films. It was rated at 28% after 277 reviews recorded by Rotten Tomatoes, and only 38% by the public. With a budget of 210 million dollars, the film only managed to generate that 183 million dollars and listening to Mila Kunis or Channing Tatum, it’s almost a miracle. Questioned by Happy Sad Confused, Mila Kunis indeed declared that the actors knew from the start that Jupiter: the Destiny of the Universe was going to miss the boat, and that the budget had been divided by two :
When did we know (that the film would be a flop)? Before even starting filming! Production was cut in half. The initial budget was double what we got. Now, you can do a lot more with a lot more money, and often these kinds of scripts require a very good story, but other extraordinary things. Just before pre-production, for many studio reasons, the budget was cut and the film became different. I wish Channing was here, because he has some really good stories to tell about this movie…
For his part, Channing Tatum indicated that the production had been nothing short of chaotic, and that he had left his energy there:
I had made four films in a row without resting. I wasn’t as good as I would have liked on the last two because I didn’t have enough energy. Jupiter Ascending was a nightmare from the start. We all stood there suffering for 7 months. It was just difficult.
If you want sci-fi produced by the Wachowski sisters, we obviously recommend Matrix, but if your heart beats for space opera, go see Cloud Atlas, which is much better received.