“American Ultra” screenwriter Max Landis (“Chronicle”) tweeted out some thoughts on the movie business to his 44,500 plus followers over the weekend after seeing the awful opening the film had at the box office this weekend.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, the stoner comedy/actioner (directed by “Project X” director Nima Nourizadeh) took in only $5.5 million at over 2,700 screens. Landis, son of legendary director John Landis (“Animal House,” “The Blues Brothers”), asked openly on Twitter why films that weren’t as well received by critics than “American Ultra” did better this weekend?
Here are a few of his tweets:
...American Ultra was also beaten by the critically reviled Hitman Agent 47 and Sinister, despite being a better reviewed film than either..
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...which leads me to a bit of a conundrum: Why? American Ultra had good ads, big stars, a fun idea, and honestly, it's a good movie...
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...so I'm left with an odd thing here, which is that American Ultra lost to a sequel, a sequel reboot, a biopic, a sequel and a reboot.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
...it seems the reviews didn't even matter, the MOVIE didn't matter. The argument that can/will be made is: big level original ideas don't $
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
This is nothing new to the recent movie landscape. Even the movies that have done well so far this year that weren’t from a franchise (most recently “Straight Outta Compton”) had a built-in audience. Granted, N.W.A.’s last album came out in the early 1990s, but their existing members went on to make landmark work in the decades that followed which kept interest in the group.
Landis ends his rant this way:
I feel like I learned a lesson, here, but have no idea what it is. I once joked "there's only so many times people will go see Thor 2."
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015
Now, I'm not so sure.
Got to get back to work on my TV shows.
Which are both adaptations.
Go see American Ultra, it's really good.
— Max Landis (@Uptomyknees) August 22, 2015The film will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
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