Still, the hype was enough and the film opened to a massive $91 million Fri-Sun take (still the largest R-rated opening of all-time) and a $134m Thurs-Sun opening weekend. While they loved the Hong Kong and anime-influenced action set-pieces in the first picture, they screamed 'too much CGI' and ignored some of the most impressive practical-action scenes (the tea-house fight, the freeway chase) of the past decade. But while fans loved the philosophical ramblings of the first picture, they turned on the sequel's sometimes confusing theological moralizing. The initial reviews were overwhelmingly positive, but audiences quickly revolted. The Matrix sequels - The first Matrix sequel was expected to dominate summer 2003 and once again set the bar for action spectacle. You want to knock an over budget Kevin Costner epic? Pick on The Postman, but leave Waterworld alone. It's a generally satisfying action film that made its money back the hard way.
It's no masterpiece, but it's no mega-flop either. It was no mega smash, but the film eventually broke even thanks to home video and cable sales. Amassing $175 million in international dollars, the picture limped out of the red with a respectable $266 million in global box office. While the film suffered from bleh word of mouth (it was basically a character-driven sci-fi downer with two massive bookend action scenes) and eventually cashed out at $88 million in the US, overseas grosses saved the day. The film debuted to mixed reviews and a good-but-not great $22 million opening. Dubbed 'Kevin's Gate' and 'Fishtar', the film battled rounds and rounds of bad press concerning cost overruns due to the difficulties of filming on water, as well as the behind the scenes squabbling between Reynolds and Costner. Waterworld - Even 18 years after its release on the very same weekend as Wolverine, Waterworld is still held up as the king of the bombs, which wasn't true then nor is it true now. At a then-record cost of $175 million, the Kevin Reynolds-directed and Kevin Costner-starring 'Mad Max on water' adventure picture was tagged as a flop before it even opened. But The Wolverine is not the only film to suffer this sad and unfair box office diagnosis. Even if the film eventually does $350-$400 million worldwide and ends up profitable (quite likely with Fox's overseas muscle), the initial accusations of failure will likely stick forever. SICK of blockbusters, right? Sadly, such an accusation can be nigh-impossible to wash off. The tracking swore it would do $65-$70 million and the fact that it did "only" $53 million means that it's a stinker that offers more evidence that audiences are sick. Never mind that the film had the eighth-biggest opening of the summer and that, at a cost of just $120 million, has already grossed its production budget back and then some ($140 million) worldwide in three days. Hugh Jackman in 'The Wolverine' (Click for more photos)ĭid you hear the news? Apparently The Wolverine, which opened with $53 million last weekend, is a flop! Oh, don't take my word on it, check out these various pundits which call it a " disappointment", " underwhelming", " disappointing", and " the latest blockbuster to flop".