Despite how good the holidays can be to most films, every year there is at least one lump of coal (last year we had two with Downsizing and Father Figures) and this year the lump of coal belongs to Welcome To Marwen, which is about to make Universal Pictures take a sizeable loss.
Welcome To Marwen, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Steve Carell, opened to a dismal $2.3 million at 1,911 theaters stateside to kick off its holiday run. This represents the lowest wide-release opening for both Zemeckis and Carell and audiences didn’t seem to warm up to the film either with a so-so “B-” CinemaScore. The film, an attempt to adapt the 2010 documentary Marwencol about Mark Hogancamp, who after being brutally attacked, heals his PTSD through art therapy constructing miniature WWII scenes of mostly female dolls, looked to tug on the heartstrings for those in the holiday spirit but it seems that the film hasn’t resonated with most on that level.
Critics ripped the movie apart with a dreadful 27% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the film’s blend of fantasy and drama may have turned off casual moviegoers who would probably be me more likely to give the film a chance at home via streaming rather than forking over the cash at the multiplex. One has to wonder if this was worth it for Universal because, with a budget of $40-50 million, the studio is reportedly going to lose about $50-60 million when it’s all said in done. The budget doesn’t include marketing costs which are said to be $60 million for global P&A
Universal was actually going to put $120 million P&A into the project but eventually asked to bring down costs because they saw that the film wasn’t going to be what they intended it to be. On the surface, the film appears to be perfect awards fodder but during its first pre-release screening back in mid-November, the reaction made it clear this would not be an awards darling. Marwen had an original release date of November 21 and was then pushed a month to this past weekend as Universal prioritized Green Book for awards season, launching the Peter Farrelly-directed movie at TIFF where it won the fest’s top prize, the Grosch People’s Choice Award.
Perhaps the real story, presented in the 2010 documentary, is the best way for this story to be told. Some stories don’t translate well to the big screen and perhaps Zemeckis and Universal overreached a bit. That being said, Universal can’t really complain about their year as they’re finishing third amongst the studios thanks to such hits as Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($416.7 million), The Grinch ($254 million), Halloween which was co-financed by Blumhouse and Miramax ($159.3 million), Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ($120.6 million), and Fifty Shades Freed ($100.4 million). Every streak can’t be perfect and Welcome To Marwen looks to be one of their few missteps.
