It seems somewhat ironic that Roland Emmerich’s disaster epicMoonfalllooks set to become an epic disaster as it failed to form a gravitational pull with early audiences. The film opened on Thursday in around 2300 locations across the U.S. but managed only to pull in $700,000, putting it well behind its attention-seeking rival,Jackass Forever, which opened to more than double the takings at $1.65 million. With reviews not being kind towards the latest movie fromIndependence Daydirector Emmerich, the box office figures certainly look set to be waning over the weekend.
Only days afterEmmerich was quoted as saying Marvel andStar Warsfranchises are destroying the industryand making it harder to make successful disaster films, it looks like he could have just been making an excuse for what was to come. As well as being thrashed on opening night by a movie that is, in essence, a series of stunts played out by a group of teenagers in men’s bodies attempting to injure themselves in hilarious and mind-bogglingly stupid ways,Moonfallhas also been thrashed by theJackassteam when it comes to the review stakes.
Initial reactions toJackass Foreverhave seen the movie pick up a 89% fresh rating from critics, which at one point peaked in the mid-90% range, and the film is projected to hit up to $18 million over the weekend, which would be enough to nab the top spot in the charts fromSpider-Man: No Way Home. When it comes toMoonfallthough, it is currently languishing with a 42% approval rating, and a weekend projection of anywhere between $9 and $14 million, which is not what any $146 million budget movie wants to see on its opening weekend.
From a general consensus, it appears that however much directorRoland Emmerichclaims that disaster flicks likeMoonfallare suffering as a result of the spectacle of Marvel, DC andStar Warsmovies, his latest film just appears to be a really bad, clichéd and unoriginal movie. This is more than a little ironic considering his main gripe with the big franchises is that they “offer nothing original.” Perhaps it is a case of people in glass houses should be careful where they play baseball.
Moonfall’sreviews don’t seem to peak above average at best, with the Rotten Tomatoes consensus stating, “Whether Moonfall is so bad it’s good or simply bad will depend on your tolerance for B-movie cheese – but either way, this is an Emmerich disaster thriller through and through.” Considering the budget of the movie, which both rivals that of many Marvel films and is mega in size compared toJackass Forever’spitiful $10 million budget, and the star names like Halle Berry, Donald Sutherland and Patrick Wilson being attached to it, it is hard to understand how the film seems to have failed with most reviewers, and it seems audiences.
As the reviews note, it is without doubt an Emmerich movie, and you can almost line the film up alongsideIndependence Day, 2012andThe Day After Tomorrow, and line up the clichéd story points like a chart of the points on Orion’s Belt. Those that like those movies may get a kick out of seeing the same plot played out in a different scenario, but for everyone else, it seems that rather than franchise movies killing off disaster movies, the real reason for their demise is perhaps a little closer to home.
