The new science fiction movie starring Robert Pattinson is set to lose many millions of dollars. Pattinson has only recently begun to seriously dabble in the sci-fi genre, as he kicked off his career in fantasy franchises including Harry Potter and Twilight. As his career progressed, he began to take on more daring roles, including starring in Claire Denis’ 2018 sci-fi horror project High Life and Christopher Nolan’s audacious 2020 time travel epic Tenet.
The majority of the big-budget Robert Pattinson movies that have been put out in non-pandemic-depressed theaters have been financially successful. In addition to his lead role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise, which netted more than $3.3 billion between its five installments, he also starred in the DC blockbuster The Batman. That 2022 movie grossed $772.3 million against its roughly $200 million budget, garnering an upcoming sequel in addition to becoming the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year worldwide. Altogether, the star’s movies have grossed nearly $6.9 billion worldwide, though his newest movie has not contributed quite as much.
Mickey 17 Is Projected To Lose Money
The Movie Cost More Than $100 Million
Mickey 17 is ᴅᴇᴀᴅ on arrival at the box office. The movie, which stars Robert Pattinson as a worker who is cloned every time he dies while testing the dangers of a new planet which humanity is colonizing, is the first feature directed by three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Bong Joon Ho since the 2019 Best Picture winner Parasite. The Mickey 17 release is marked by ups and downs, as it has earned the director’s best domestic opening weekend of all time and become his highest-grossing English-language movie, but remains hampered by its huge $118 million budget.
Typically, movies need to earn two and a half times their budgets in order to turn a profit, because theaters keep half of ticket sales and advertising costs are not factored into production budgets.
Per Variety, updated box office projections for Mickey 17 reveal that the Robert Pattinson sci-fi movie is most likely on track to lose between $75 and $80 million by the end of its theatrical run. Its adjusted projections show it legging out to $46 million at the domestic box office and $96 million in international markets, with a cumulative $143 million worldwide gross that falls far short of the movie’s estimated $300 million break-even point.
This total comes from sources in the know about box office. While their report also features a comment from a source with knowledge of the project who argues that the loss will be considerably lower, said source still acknowledges that the movie is expected to lose money.
What This Means For Mickey 17
Its Legacy Could Be Damaging
Ultimately, it is unclear if Mickey 17‘s underperformance will impact the production of upcoming sci-fi movies with similar approaches. This may not be an issue, as the Robert Pattinson movie had a notably risky budget, as not many untested properties are given quite as high of a price tag to begin with. While it may give some studios trepidation about the genre or Bong Joon Ho, its $143 million gross would have made it a success if it had been a mid-level movie with a budget of about $50 million, so this may just encourage caution moving forward.
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Source: Variety
