Steven Spielberg He earned the nickname of Hollywood’s King Midas due to the enormous success of many of his behind-the-scenes works such as ‘Jaws’, ‘ET, the extra-terrestrial’ or ‘Jurassic Park’. That does not mean that throughout his long career he has suffered more than one setback and today he has to make a stop in all of them.
For its selection I have resorted to a fairly clear criterion: all those titles that did not enter at least double their budget during their passage through theaters. It is the measure that is usually used as a reference -although it is not entirely reliable, since marketing expenses must also be taken into account- and this has reduced the list of the flops of Steven Spielberg to 5 filmswhich we will review below:
‘Friendship’ (1997)
Address:Steven Spielberg. Distribution: Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Nigel Hawthorne, David Paymer, Pete Postlethwaite, Stellan Skarsgård
Spielberg’s first big box office disappointment didn’t come until nearly 30 years after his first feature film. This historical drama based on true events around the subject of slavery was well received by critics and was even a contender for 4 Oscars, but the public turned its back on it. And it is that it was not very expensive, since it had a cost of 39 million dollars, but his worldwide income barely reached 58 million.
Criticism of ‘Friendship’
‘The Fabelmans’ (‘The Fabelmans’, 2022)
Address:Steven Spielberg. Distribution: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Judd Hirsch
Critically acclaimed and could take up to 7 Oscars at the next Academy Awards in Hollywood, but this wonderful film with autobiographical touches has not managed to connect with the public. A tight budget of 40 million dollars has been of little use when later it barely accumulates 28 million worldwide. It is clear that this figure will grow even more, but it would take several miracles for it to enter theaters for more than double its cost.
Criticism of ‘The Fabelmans’
‘My friend the giant’ (‘The BFG’, 2016)
Address:Steven Spielberg. Distribution: Mark Rylance, Ruby Barnhill, Penelope Wilton, Jemaine Clement, Rebecca Hall, Rafe Spall, Bill Hader
This adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel was a true blockbuster due to the enormous expense for the enormous expense in a visual display that later on top of that doesn’t look so good either. It did have a much more positive than negative critical reception, but for my part I consider it to be one of the worst films by his director. And the public did not support it here either, since it cost 140 million dollars and its worldwide box office did not exceed 195 million.
Criticism of ‘My friend the giant’
‘Munich’ (2005)
Address:Steven Spielberg. Distribution: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciarán Hinds, Mathieu Kassovitz, Hanns Zischler, Geoffrey Rush, Ayelet Zurer
There are not a few who place it as the best Spielberg film of the 21st century, something that I do not share (I would prefer ‘Catch me if you can’). The filmmaker closed in on her in a twisted true story (Israeli retaliation for the 1972 Olympics massacre) with an intense play that managed to gross $131 million. The problem is that it cost 70, so during its passage through theaters he lost money.
Review of ‘Munich’
‘West Side Story’ (2021)
Address:Steven Spielberg. Distribution: Rachel Zegler, Ansel Elgort, Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, Mike Faist, Rita Moreno
Second adaptation of the popular 1957 stage musical in which Spielberg displayed all his talent with a prodigious staging. In passing, he updated some elements of the musical work to shape an exciting film. Of course, there are many who do not share it, as a Sylvester Stallone that he did not hesitate to make it clear how little he had liked it.
Criticism of ‘West Side Story’
In Espinof: 11 Movies From 2022 That Unfairly Flopped In Theaters And Are Worth Streaming Back