Better Man director Michael Gracey reportedly put his own money into the production budget for the box office bomb. Conceived in 2021, and released theatrically in the United States on December 25, 2024, Better Man is a biographical musical film, chronicling the life and career of British popstar Robbie Williams. The movie is unusual in that Williams is portrayed by a CGI chimp, performed by Johnno Davies via motion capture, and voiced by Davies and Williams. The film has proven to be a box office bomb, grossing just $12 million globally to date, against a production budget of $110 million.
Per reports in Puck, Gracey was one of six main investors, recruited by producer Paul Currie, CAA Media Finance, and Australian company Elevate Production Finance, who invested some of their own money into the project. It seems Gracey had a very hands-on role in the movie, serving as director, co-writer, co-producer, and co-financier, and it is likely that the success of his directorial debut, The Greatest Showman, allowed him to achieve this.
What This Means For Better Man & Gracey
Flops Happen But This One Is More Personal
It is unclear how much money Gracey put into the project, but it feels unlikely that he would be making any kind of return from the movie. A director financing their own movie is considered taboo outside independent productions, but it also suggests that the movie represents something of a pᴀssion project for Gracey, so there is a good chance he will not be particularly bothered that the movie has tanked financially, as long as he is happy with the finished outcome.
But the biggest stumbling block, I believe, was the choice to cast Williams as a chimp; this made it less appealing for fans of the former Take That singer, and harder for audiences to invest.
Better Man certainly takes risks, and the decision to not have Williams himself appear in the film, as well as having him played by a computer-generated chimp was a quirky gamble that has clearly not paid off. How much this factor alone has affected the box office is anyone’s guess, but it’s bound to have contributed. This process will be a learning curve for Gracey, who is still only on his second feature film – discounting 2021 documentary Pink: All I Know So Far – and may be reluctant to finance future projects himself.
Our Verdict On Better Man’s Box Office Flop
Casting Decisions Meant The Movie Failed To Connect With Audiences
Multiple factors can lead a movie to struggle theatrically, and Williams’ failure to break America will have contributed to Better Man‘s failings, coupled with the fact the star is also in the twilight of his career. But the biggest stumbling block, I believe, was the choice to cast Williams as a chimp; this made it less appealing for fans of the former Take That singer, and harder for audiences to invest. It’s nice to see Gracey thinking outside the box and trying something unique with Better Man, but it feels unlikely he will use an animal subsтιтute in subsequent movies.
Source: Puck
