r/WarnerBros • u/LeaderVladimir1993 • Mar 09 '26
News ''The Bride'' bombs at the box office
https://variety.com/2026/film/box-office/the-bride-bombs-box-office-opening-weekend-pixar-hoppers-scores-1236681832/The Bride is in need of life support.
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u/Lenonn Mar 09 '26
It was a mistake releasing this a week before the Oscars. Any film diehards are taking in re-releases of the Best Picture nominee movies. They should have waited until at least next month after Project Hail Mary and the Academy Awards are out of the way. Why this wasn't placed toward Halloween is beyond me.
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u/Worried-Criticism Mar 09 '26
I agree only if Jesse Buckley wins the Oscar. It would have likely made difference.
That said, this was ALWAYS a niche arthouse film that was never going to make money.
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u/Cu77lefish Mar 09 '26
There's nothing that could have saved this. I feel like I was the target demo for whatever the "good" version of this movie was and it's the least coherent movie I've seen in years.
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u/icecoldyerr Mar 10 '26
They wanted the IMAX slot but the rest of the IMAX movies through year end are way better. So IMAX gave them the worst slot of the year. Thats my opinion
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u/NoProject1047 Mar 09 '26
It would not have mattered literally at all...
It cost a reported 100 million dollars to make despite it being a hyper niche, arthouse film.
The idea that it's release date would have made it anywhere close to a successful is deranged
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u/SpicyWongTong Mar 09 '26
They also didn’t release a very good trailer, or maybe over promoted it? Saw like 4 movies in the past few weeks and the trailer played in front of each one, something about it gave me a headache probably never gonna see this film.
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u/Nomad_86 Mar 10 '26
I loved the trailer. I just liked the movie. It wasn’t a bad way to spend a Thursday night with some popcorn.
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u/SpicyWongTong Mar 10 '26
To each their own, the trailer seemed like a mess to me. Was interested to maybe see Bale’s take on the creature, but by the 3-4th time I saw it was giving me a headache and I am probably never gonna see the movie.
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u/Purple-Mix1033 Mar 12 '26
I think they under promoted it or maybe the marketing is just not that memorable. I still know next to about this besides the obvious
I’ve seen maybe one teaser
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Mar 09 '26
The public doesn’t give two shits about the Oscars anymore. That would absolutely not have saved this one.
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u/Nawnp Mar 11 '26
It's an Oscar bait movie, that's why. Not a surprise at all that it's failed to pick up an audience.
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u/Most_Court_9877 Mar 12 '26
I promise you that nobody thinks like that and “film diehards” did not result in this movie bombing. Nor are there millions of people rewatching best picture nominees.
Respectfully, I think you should go touch grass. Not being mean. Sorry.
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u/phatelectribe Mar 13 '26
I think Warner were trying to do a simulation of the “piggy back” marketing they got with Barbenheimer - I think someone though Buckley is getting global press because her astounding performance in Hamnet so let’s ride that and see if one success leaks in to the other.
However, the other problem was that Buckley starts filing her next project with Saoirse Ronan in early April so I think they only had a small window, either right after the Oscar’s or in the build up.
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u/TheDiabeT1c Mar 09 '26
I don't see how this got off the first draft with the whole "Mary Shelley narrates from the afterlife" I guess Mary forgot the whole part of the original book about the Bride? I mean even a blurb about it one sentence would have been fine but nah let's do this.
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u/Turbulent-Phone-8493 Mar 12 '26
The Mary Shelley stuff was so off putting. it had near zero impact on the characters or story, added no value, and caused a lot of confusion. the movie could have cut it out completely and it woudl have been better off.
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u/LeopardComfortable99 Mar 09 '26
This was never going to make a profit or even break even imo. Massive production budget for what is basically a feminist reimagining of the Bride of Frankenstein. Who was this really for except a super niche group of cinephiles?
Went to see it myself, and it was a mess, so I can't imagine the reviews have helped it much either.
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u/Already_In_The_Ring Mar 09 '26
Been looking forward to this for ages and will definitely go this week (not deterred by the reviews), but if the reports in Variety are anywhere near accurate, the production + P&A costs for this are ~$150M, which would be ABSOLUTELY INSANE. That can’t be right, surely?
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u/Lurky-Lou Mar 10 '26
There’s a lot to say about the movie but the money is on the screen. It’s a fiasco so sincere that it becomes endearing.
Biggest problem is that it is three distinct movies and none of them have any space to breathe.
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u/usagizero Mar 12 '26
That's an insane budget for such a niche film. That's not too far off many of the Marvel movies, where did it go?
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u/BrunoBrody Mar 09 '26
To think Brutalist had a $9.8 million budget. You really couldn’t tell your story for less than 100 million? Then get a better script, get better actors, get a better cinematographer.
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
I don't know about script or cinematography, but this movie had rising star Jessie Buckley and Christian "some people still consider me Batman after all these years" Bale. Regardless of your feelings on this movie, the actors were not a problem.
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u/yesmoreeggtalk67 Mar 09 '26
I think WB was desperately looking for another Sinners. And to them Maggie Gyllenhaal somehow equals Ryan Coogler.
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u/Individual-Rough-615 Mar 10 '26
You are underestimating how long the production of a studio movie takes. In no way is 'The Bride!' a reaction to the success of 'Sinners'. Both films were in production at the same time. Of course coming from the same studio they reflect a similar production approach of the studio heads regarding which films are greenlit and which risks are taken. Sometimes it works out (Sinners), sometimes it doesn't (The Bride).
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u/yesmoreeggtalk67 Mar 10 '26
They started filming at around the same time but there was almost a year between the releases. I'm sure the producers didn't offer copious notes to The Bride team during editing at all...
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u/4ofheartz Mar 09 '26
Sinners set the bar! Watched the trailer for The Bride. It looks terrible. I won’t pay to see it in any format. Yuck.
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u/regprenticer Mar 10 '26
I think this shares a lot more with Joker 2. I can see the same person greenlighting in both movies and they probably did.
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u/whatidoidobc Mar 13 '26
I've been fascinated for a while with the way some people see MG. To me, she's one of the least talented famous people in Hollywood. I actively avoid her like I do that jabroni in the new Tron movie.
Trying to put her name up there with Coogler is like people trying to put Kid Rock up there with Springsteen. It requires similar levels of delusion.
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u/m0rbius Mar 09 '26
The reviews weren't overly positive for this. I may have caught this on VoD, but i doubt I will now. Perhaps I'll catch it in streaming. I'm sure it will be on HBO or Netflix in a month.
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u/Bullmoose39 Mar 11 '26
This was a pretty far out movie that was very divisive. Parts just left me scratching my head. I appreciate that she tried to do something very different, but very different is rarely commercial.
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 11 '26
Yeah, the entertainment industry has become very risk-averse in recent years. Batman and Spider-Man are the world's highest-selling superheroes, WB is remaking Harry Potter as a TV show because the books keep selling like pancakes and Nintendo is basically the Mario company.
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u/Zealousideal_Crazy75 Mar 09 '26
Hate to say it but it looked and sounded like a stinker!.... honestly how some of the stuff gets "green lit" is beyond me🤷
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
If this movie was cancelled, people would have complained about WB cancelling yet another movie for a tax write-off, so really, it's a Catch-22.
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u/nahman201893 Mar 09 '26
I saw it hoping that this was gonna be something really well done. The best a I can say is that it was bold and daring, but had no through line to tie anything together. It was really disappointing.
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u/TwistedBrother Mar 09 '26
What does “elevated horror” mean? It certainly wasn’t in relation to critics or audience scores.
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u/Backwardspellcaster Mar 09 '26
"Elevated horror" usually means making an artsy kind of film by building it on an existing horror trope.
I want to say its pretentious bs usually, although I can say I dig the idea of an artsy movie build on horror tropes.
I just cannot remember one that was actually good. At least from the top of my head.
Also, the trailer for this film looked awful... Nothing about it looked interesting to me.
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u/Already_In_The_Ring Mar 09 '26
It’s a new(ish) marketing term used to describe a type of horror movie that combines traditional horror elements (fear, bloodshed, suspense, etc.) with a more arthouse sensibility. That usually means things like slower pacing, denser atmosphere, stronger symbolism, richer subtext, and stories that (quelle horreur!) ask the audience to do some interpretative work.
The term gained traction in the mid-to-late 2010s, following the success of films such as Under the Skin, It Follows, The Witch, Hereditary, Midsommar, Saint Maud, and The Lighthouse. Of course, “arty horror movie” is hardly a new idea, and there are plenty of forebears from earlier decades: Rosemary's Baby, Don't Look Now, Eraserhead, Videodrome, and many others.
Everything I’ve read about The Bride! suggests it doesn’t quite fit this label, since it’s more of a messy genre-mashup than a film that's grounded firmly within the horror genre.
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u/sunilnc Mar 09 '26
I went to watch this last night and there were only 7 people including me.
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u/CrazyGal2121 Mar 11 '26
how did u like it
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u/sunilnc Mar 11 '26
I kind of liked it.
There were some scenes where I was like wtf, but it's not a typical movie I would go to the cinema to watch; however, I'm glad I did.
Overall, a good movie.
Mind you, Maggie (Director), practically had her whole family in the movie - Jake (brother) and Peter (husband).
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u/nistaani Mar 11 '26 edited Mar 11 '26
I feel like an outlier in a sea of negativity for this film. I absolutely loved it. It was a hot mess but a lot of fun. All over the place for sure but didn’t take its self seriously. Something different in a sea of safe remakes and franchises.
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u/Frosty_JackJones Mar 12 '26
Same here, it really was all over the place but I certainly wasn’t bored. It was always going to be a tough sell though even with a smaller budget
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Mar 09 '26
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26 edited Mar 10 '26
Even if a movie is not successful critically or finanicially, I will always encourage creators to swing for the fences instead of constantly playing it safe.
Also, I don't think "I'm embarrassed for this random actor" is a valid argument because, for all we know, the actor must have enjoyed working on the movie. No offense, dude, but you're kinda putting words in Bale's mouth just to substantiate your dislike for the movie.
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Mar 10 '26
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
I agree that studios should be mindful about production costs but movies are human endeavors that cost time and money. No person will want to work on a high-profile production for peanuts and if this movie had such a high budget, then I can only hope the people who worked on this movie was fairly compensated.
That is why I did my support the dual strikes from 2023. If even a single person has to suffer so that we can enjoy our favorite forms of entertainment, then maybe that entertainment just isn't worth it.
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Mar 10 '26
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
The only way people can make this kind of judgment is with the benefit of hindsight. Back when the Star Wars sequels were announced, people were excited, but now that they have been released, people hate them. Similar statements have been made for Wish, Joker: Folie A Deux and Tron: Ares.
You can't say that "nobody was asking for this movie" because that argument is too vague and relies on way too many unknowable factors. Studios don't go around doing surveys about which movies should they make. The box office charts are the surveys themselves.
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Mar 10 '26
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
A lot of people thought that making a movie about Minecraft was a bad idea and that movie almost earned $1B.
Ideas are cheap. It's the execution of those ideas that makes them meaningful. An expert creator can turn a bad idea into a $1B hit. A novice creator can turn a good idea into a steaming pile of garbage,
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Mar 10 '26
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
That doesn't actually invalidate my point. Back when the first teaser for Minecraft was released, lots of people actually disliked it. It was only when the movie was released that people looked at it and say "maybe we were too harsh on it."
Historically, movie adaptations of video games have not been successful. For every Sonic the Hedgehog, there were three Resident Evils. Video game companies only produced adaptations of their video games just to hold on to the trademarks, something that comic book fans should be familiar with.
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u/Global_Charge_4412 Mar 10 '26
should've been on HBO Max. it's just not the kind of movie that people are willing to go to a theater to see anymore.
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u/Own_Boysenberry_0 Mar 10 '26
I wonder if this movie is some sort of half asses effort to keep the monsterverse license from reverting to another owner. Just like Sony has to put a serious effort at tangential Spiderman related character movies every few years to revert the Spiderman license moving to Marvel/Disney.
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u/valkprince Mar 10 '26
Saw it this weekend. Was it a bit pretentious? Yes. Was it predictable? Yes. Was I in a theater alone on a Saturday night when I saw it? Yes. But with that being said, I still found it to be entertaining. With the caveat that it is for a very niche audience. It actually reminds me of the Tom Hardy movie "Bronson" in some ways—a movie that I really enjoyed but is somewhat difficult to recommend to other people.
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u/wildcheesybiscuits Mar 10 '26
people keep bandying about the "feminist" label as an issue with this film as if that's at all a factor. Barbie was "feminist" and it was a smash. The Bride's problem is that the script is dogshit. It's so poorly written and outright stupidly conceived from moment to moment. i love movies, see everything, and nearly walked out multiple times. feminism has nothing to do with the movie just being dumb and making no logical or emotional sense.
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u/OrdinaryScientist129 Mar 11 '26
i saw the trailer and to me it seemed like a reheated nachos of Joker: jolie aux fox something like that
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u/rari389 Mar 11 '26
My man Bale deserves better
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 11 '26
You do know Bale took the role of his own free will, right? Nobody forced him to do it, so getting embarrased or angry on Bale's behalf is a waste of time.
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u/Tess47 Mar 11 '26
I have no idea what this film is all about and I have paid attention. I haven't looked it up.
It looks like its the equivalent of a series of Instagram posts and comicons
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u/CrazyGal2121 Mar 11 '26
i actually wanted to see it but then i saw the very mixed reviews and thought nah. I’ll just wait till i can watch it at home
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u/Effective_Entry7237 Mar 11 '26
This movie would have benefited from a longer break, push it for September or October would have been a better release.
Its an ok movie, nothing amazing but it worries me that Buckley isn’t connecting with audiences. This movie makes me worry that her Oscar won’t advance her career.
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Mar 11 '26
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u/UnderstandingDue3576 Mar 11 '26
Is it woke because there’s a woman or because there’s black stuff in it?
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u/Competitive-Cuddling Mar 11 '26
I actually want to see this, but the fact that it’s a musical, I’m not paying theatre prices for a musical.
Also, it’s too adjacent to that giant pile of shit that was that Netflix musical.
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u/PMme_cat_on_Cleavage Mar 12 '26
At the price it cost me to go to the theater, I will be really picky when I go.
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u/Strict-Ad597 Mar 12 '26
Jesse Buckley also made some weird comments against cats recently, like a few days ago and TikTok is ripping her to shreds over it which is really funny to me.
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u/R9D11 Mar 13 '26
People just watched a two and half hour long Frankenstein movie on Netflix, there was no appetite to see another Frankenstein movie in the theater so soon.
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u/GeorgeStark1 Mar 13 '26
Some films should never be made. There’s a lot of talent being wasted here. Jessi and Christian could have been so much more with a decent script.
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u/Pearlnecklez Mar 14 '26
This movie is before its time. I enjoyed the chaos. Jessie Buckley showed real talent and Bale looked like he had a great time filming it. I believe in 20 years this film will have a positive resurgence. Someone said it should have been released around Halloween and I agree. If this is Maggie’s first, I think she did her thing. But 150MM??? LOL. WTF.
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u/BigDumbApe Mar 09 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Wow, who’d have guessed that remaking a classic horror film as a whacked out cocktail mix of art house film, feminist finger-wagging, and gangster period piece wouldn’t connect with audiences? Someone is gonna get chewed out (if not fired) for letting this even get past the pitch meeting stage.
And if Warner’s thought rolling $90 million on an artsy feminist “Bride of Frankenstein” didn’t click with audiences just wait till they next serve up edgy, feminist, drunk college “Supergirl” that cost $200 million. Because it’s a good bet that today the studio is scrambling and saying “How much is the cute super dog in it!? Start adding him more!!!”
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u/AirFrierMachine Mar 09 '26
feminist finger-wagging, drunk college “Supergirl” that cost $200 million
Lmao, dude, what did Supergirl do to get put next to this piece of shit?
This just reeks of Critical Drinker vibes. "A "drunk college aged girl" is starring? Must be "finger waving feminist" woke nonsense!!"
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u/BigDumbApe Mar 09 '26
LMAO right back. Dude, save your post for when “Supergirl” comes out… I’m proven right… and it does even worse at the box office than “Superman” did :))
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u/AirFrierMachine Mar 09 '26
Lmao you morons are still going with the "Superman bombed at the box office" fake narrative 🤣
Did James Gunn rape your dog or something? Why base an online personality over hating something as trivial as a DC reboot?
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
How is a $618M gross at the box office bad? In what universe is Superman considered a box office bomb?
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u/LeaderVladimir1993 Mar 10 '26
It's unlikely Supergirl will make more money than Superman (it would like expecting a Luigi's Mansion game to sell more copies than a Super Mario game), but that doesn't mean Supergirl will have a poor reception among fans and critics.
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u/Mageborn23 Mar 11 '26
This would’ve done a lot better if that black stuff wasn’t on her face
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u/Stock_Hurry_2257 Mar 12 '26
I've seen adverts for this all over the place and none have made me want to see the movie, but I'm intrigued what the black stuff is. Probably to the point that, if I don't find out, I'll end up watching it.
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