Although I personally enjoyed the film, Emily Blunt’s “Sicario” is looking like a bust at the box office and a substantial write off for Lionsgate. The edgy drug war thriller that boasts no fewer than three stars (Josh Brolin and Oscar-winner Benecio Del Toro co-star with Blunt) has a total budget of $58 million. After two weeks in wide release, by Monday “Sicario” will sit at less than half that amount, just $26 million.
Overseas, Blunt’s film has picked up another $10 million, but in order to break even “Sicario” will likely have to gross between $130 – $140 million worldwide.
The promotional campaign for “Sicario” was going just fine until star Emily Blunt sabotaged it with a highly-publicized and divisive attack against the Republican Party as a whole, and America.
The Sicario star said during a conversation about who would make a good president, “I became an American citizen recently, and that night, we watched the Republican debate and I thought, ‘This was a terrible mistake. What have I done?’”
It appears as though Americans and Emily Blunt now have something in common: both regret her becoming a citizen.
Only in Hollywood is insulting the customers part of the marketing plan. And this is why movies have not been a growth business in more than a decade. When half your customer base hates you back, it’s gunna affect the bottom line.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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