Thursday, October 10, 2024

James Marsden in “The Loft” Opens to a Rare Zero (0) Rating Among Critics

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We see low numbers on Rotten Tomatoes. But zero– that is, 0– the goose egg, is rare. But such is the rating for “The Loft,” a lamentable release starring James Marsden (X Men, Hairspray), Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy on the rebooted “Star Trek” movies), Wentworth Miller (“Prison Break”) and Eric Stonestreet (“Modern Family”).

This is the first American movie for Belgian director Eric van Looy. Open Road and Universal are releasing “The Loft” here, although they will regret it. The budget is listed at $14 million.

Currently there are 13 reviews, and they are all negative. Steve Golin and Anonymous Content are listed as the producers.

Recently, “Mortdecai,” “The Boy Next Door,” and “Taken 3” all scored very low, but at least in the teens. A real zero is hard to get. Congrats to all involved!

Despite the horrid reviews, Open Road put “The Loft” in over 1,800 theaters this weekend. Compare that to Barry Levinson’s wonderful film “The Humbling” starring Al Pacino. Millennium/Alchemy had it in just 19 theaters last week. It’s not even listed in the boxofficemojo system as a release. Oscar winning actor, Oscar winning director, based on a book by legendary writer Philip Roth, costars are two time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest, hot young up and comers Greta Gerwig and Nina Arianda, herself a Tony winner. And Millennium/Alchemy just killed it, threw it overboard, buried it alive, drove a stake through its heart.

And “The Humbling” had at least a 52%. Go figure. I worry for Nicole Kidman’s “Strangerland” which just sold to Alchemy.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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