'Welcome to Marwen' Bombs Over the Holiday
by EG
Moviegoers weren't in the mood for an unusual fantasy drama over the holiday, so they didn't go see Steve Carell's Welcome to Marwen. The big-budget film is on track to lose tens of millions of dollars for its studio. Read on for details.
Universal isn't having a very merry year-end holiday at the box office, save for The Grinch.
Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen, starring Steve Carell, got wiped out over the weekend in its domestic box office debut with a scant $2.4 million from 1,191 cinemas, tying with Johnny Knoxville's Action Point (Paramount) to mark the worst opening of 2018 for a major Hollywood studio release.
The dramedy is expected to fade fast and will lose $50 million for Universal, DreamWorks and other partners on the film, according to box office experts. They will essentially forfeit the money they invested in the production budget of Marwen, which cost about $49 million before marketing, according to sources. Universal insiders, however, put the budget at around $40 million.
Marwen follows the disastrous opening of the Peter Jackson-produced Mortal Engines the previous weekend. That big-budget pic will lose $125 million or even more for Universal and MRC, who co-financed the film. MRC has the larger share after Universal partnered on its half with Legendary and China's Perfect World. (MRC is a pision of Valence Media, which also owns The Hollywood Reporter.).
Heading into the weekend, Welcome to Marwen was tracking to post a three-day launch of $7 million to $9 million. The pic — heavily promoting that it was from the same director who helmed Forrest Gump — had hoped to serve as an alternative to more commercial tentpole fare, such as Aquaman, Bumblebee and Mary Poppins Returns.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
Did you see Marwen? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.