Yikes. I didn’t realize “Winter’s Tale” was almost completely pulled on Thursday from distribution in the U.S. As far as I can tell, Akiva Goldsman’s allegedly $60 million flop is playing in 56 theaters in the whole country– including Canadian venues. Otherwise, it’s completely vanished from theaters everywhere else.
“Winter’s Tale” has made, through last Thursday, $12.9 million. Warner Bros. says it cost $60 million but that doesn’t seem possible. Thanks to numbers that came out in an MPAA press release just as the movie opened, “Winter’s Tale” is on the record for spending almost $60 million in New York state alone. Adding in above the line costs, promotion, below the line costs like special effects, plus prints, promotion and expenses, $100 million is not a far off estimate.
Of course, Warner Bros. is doing very well right now with “Gravity” and “The LEGO Movie,” not to mention “300: Rise of an Empire.”
“Winter’s Tale” is a failure on the level of “Jack the Giant Slayer” or Kevin Costner’s “The Postman” years ago. Usually even the biggest duds make it through a four week window in theaters. “Winter’s Tale” was released on February 14th. For it only to last until March 6th– ouch!
Meantime, “Endless Love,” the other Valentine’s Day release turkey, will have the ignominious distinction of being a bigger flop than its 1981 predecessor as it backs out of theaters next week. With just about $23 million in the till, the new “Endless Love” will fall short of the original’s $31 million– and that number isn’t adjusted for inflation. Universal had hits with “Ride Along” and “Lone Survivor,” so this episode will not be spoken about again in public.
