“Why people hated it” Margot Robbie still doesn't understand the failure of this film, she wants to believe that in 20 years everything will have changed!

News culture “Why people hated it” Margot Robbie still doesn't understand the failure of this film, she wants to believe that in 20 years everything will have changed!

A surprising failure

In 2022, Damien Chazelle returns to theaters with Babylon. The filmmaker behind Whiplash, La La Land and First Man reconnects with his first loves and offers a hair-raising film-spectacle, a tale of a fantasized Hollywood of the 1920s where all excesses are permitted, carried by a cast of stars at the peak of their powers. art. But against all expectations, the film is a flop at the box office. For a colossal budget estimated at $80 million, Babylon grossed $78 million worldwide. An incomprehensible failure for many, starting with Margot Robbie, the star of the film. Guest on the podcast Talking Picturesthe actress expressed her disappointment over the failure of Babylon.

I don't understand. I know my opinion is biased because I am involved in the project and I believe in it, but I still don't understand why people hated the film. I wonder if in 20 years people will say ” What? Babylon didn't work when it came out?” Like when you hear that Les Évadés was a failure in theaters. Today you say to yourself “But how is that possible?

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The party is over

If in France the film rather convinced the public (press rating of 4/5 and spectator rating of 4.2/5 on AlloCiné), Babylon was more divisive across the Atlantic. On Rotten Tomatoes in particular, the feature film received a press score of 57% and a spectator score of 52%. Opinions were sufficiently mixed to definitively prevent the project from achieving success. But it is certainly Damien Chazelle that this failure cost the most.

Crowned with success after the release of La La Land for which he notably won the Oscar for best direction, the Franco-American filmmaker admitted to having difficulty digesting the flop of Babylon and said he was worried about the sequel to his career. Invited a year before Margot Robbie, the director declared on the Talking Pictures podcast: “I feel this sort of worry, but I have no illusions. I won't have a budget equivalent to that of Babylon anytime soon, or at least not on the next (film). Certainly, in financial terms, Babylon did not work at all. You try not to let it affect your creativity, but on some level it can't not have an effect. But maybe it's acceptable? I have very divided opinions on this subject. Who knows. Maybe I won't be able to make this one. I have no idea. We'll have to wait and see.“