Robbie Williams isn’t really a thing here in America. I’m sure he has some fans here, but there’s something about him which simply didn’t translate from the UK to America. He’s a HUGE pop star in the UK and throughout Europe, and I believe he’s big in Asia and Australia as well. I could see how some people would have believed that Robbie is big enough to do a general bio-pic, but I’m flabbergasted at the series of bad decisions which led people to convince themselves that Robbie needed a high-concept pseudo bio-pic in which he plays himself, except he’s a chimpanzee. Bonkers concept, and of course absolutely no one wanted to see it.
Another newcomer, Paramount’s musical biopic “Better Man,” in which a CGI monkey portrays the British singer Robbie Williams, hit all the wrong notes with a paltry $1 million from 1,291 venues, albeit a smaller screen count than the average nationwide release. The film, directed by “The Greatest Showman’s” Michael Gracey, captures the rise of the best-selling local artist through the lens of a chimp because, as Williams puts it, he always felt “less evolved than other people.” Even across the pond, where Williams is more well known than he is in the States, “Better Man” faltered with $1.9 million to start and $4.7 million to date. Those ticket sales aren’t a good sign for commercial prospects, although “Better Man” has been well reviewed.
“Better Man” was produced independently for roughly $110 million and acquired by Paramount for $25 million. Musical biopics have been on the upswing, with films about Amy Winehouse, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston and Bob Dylan in theaters in just the past three years, but some (“Back to Black” was another misfire) are destined to sing off key at the box office.
“Robbie Williams played by a digitally animated chimpanzee [is] an outlandish choice. For anyone complaining that the industry plays it too safe, this is your movie,” says Gross. “The risk-taking is excellent, but $110 million is not realistic for the genre and for this musical artist. $25 to $30 million would have made more sense.”
“Better Man” opened in 14th place, way behind specialty releases that were playing in far fewer locations. A24’s “The Brutalist.”
They lost me at “produced independently for roughly $110 million.” These people are lunatics!! WTF?? I could actually understand (maybe) doing an animated film about a pop star who is beloved outside of America. I could also understand doing a straight bio-pic or maybe even just a documentary or docuseries – I would actually watch a docuseries about Robbie Williams’ life and career. But blowing through $110 million on a fruity bio-pic where “Robbie” is played by an animated monkey?? Come on. What the hell were these people thinking?
Photos courtesy of Better Man’s IG and Cover Images.
