'Jupiter Ascending' Flops At Box Office
By Selena Fragassi in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 8, 2015 8:00PM
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment
The planets were not aligned for the release of Jupiter Ascending this weekend, a new “space opera” written, produced and directed by the Wachowskis (The Matrix, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas) starring Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis and Eddie Redmayne in an epic battle over the ownership of Earth.
By all accounts the two-hour film was a major flop and continues the Wachowskis' cinema slump since V for Vendetta and the final Matrix installments nearly a decade ago by keeping up the trend of producing big budget films that don’t return on investment. While Jupiter cost a whopping $176 million to make and is projected to bring in just $19 million at the box office this weekend, the seemingly neverending Cloud Atlas had a budget of $102 million and grossed an estimate of $9.4 million in its opening weekend.
In his review of the new film, RedEye’s Matt Pais said what many have been thinking, calling it “the latest evidence that the Wachowskis should have quit after The Matrix and said it was “an epic achievement in boredom.”
Though most of Jupiter Ascending was filmed in and around Chicago, that did not sway other local reviewers who unanimously panned the film.
The Wachowskis spent part of 2013 filming "Jupiter Ascending" in Chicago. (Photo credit:Chris Wilson)
Chicago Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper gave Jupiter Ascending zero stars and already tagged the movie as a definite contender on his list of the Worst Films of 2015. Of the “hot mess in space,” he said, “It is so bad I almost want you to see it. Almost.”
The Chicago Tribune’s Michael Phillips was less scathing in his two-star review but still said, “The script struggles to tell a dull story straight.”
According to Bill Zwecker you might be better off seeing another Chicago-filmed movie that was released this weekend, One Small Hitch, a low budget rom-com starring Aubrey Dollar (Battle Creek) and Shane McRae (The Help). Or, just stick to our gallery of the 12 Best Movie Scenes From Chicago to remember the glory days.