Better Man isn't the hit Paramount was hoping for - at least not in the US.
The film, a biopic of British popstar Robbie Williams in which he's played by a CGI monkey, staggered to a meagre $1.1 million in ticket sales from 1,291 locations. That's against a reported production budget of $110 million, on top of the $25 million it cost for Paramount to acquire it.
It came off worse in the weekend battle with Pamela Anderson drama The Last Showgirl, which collected $1.5 million from 870 theaters, and Golden Globe-winning drama The Brutalist, which grossed $1.4 million from just 68 locations before it expands in the next few weeks.
Gerard Butler crime thriller Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the weekend winner, however, with a $15.5 million opening. That's $300k more than the 2018 original across the same span of time.
Director Michael Gracey's previous feature, 2017's The Greatest Showman starring Hugh Jackman, managed an impressive $459 million worldwide.
Better Man didn't do much better in the UK where Williams is a household name, with just under $5 million to date. Things seem to be going from bad to worse for the film, with its standout song Forbidden Road getting pulled from the Academy's short list.
"Listen, the rules are the rules, and you have to go by them," Williams said on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, as reported by The Independent. "And it would've been nice, but as an introvert it's another party that I don't have to go to. I went through it, I'm on the other side and it's all good. I'm at the Globes and they're showing me loads of love."
Better Man reviews
Better Man nonetheless has glowing reviews and positive buzz, with 88% on Rotten Tomatoes after 121 reviews, and an even higher 94% audience score.
"Better Man is a thrilling biopic that resists the usual cliches," writes Peter Travers at ABC News.
"Better Man is a notable step up for Gracey," writes Wendy Ide at The Guardian. "The synthetic, rather soulless panache of The Greatest Showman demonstrated his skills as a slick visual stylist, but here he directs from the heart, tapping into the rawness and vulnerability beneath the CGI monkey suit."
Williams came to prominence in British pop group Take That, which formed in 1990. After a highly publicized split from the band, Williams forged a successful solo career that includes sold-out stadiums, millions in ticket sales, and seven UK No. 1 singles.
Of course, he's less known in the US, but then you could argue that's precisely why the film portrays him as a monkey.
English (US) ·