Even though Damien Chazelle’s Babylon has already secured its status as the biggest box office bomb of 2022, the commercial disaster and pretentious ode to Hollywood excess is still playing in theaters around the world.
Predicted to need at least $250 million in ticket sales to break even, the ambitious failure has instead barely squeaked past $30 million globally, even if the Academy Award-winning filmmaker doesn’t seem too bothered about the voluminous amounts of cash he’s been costing studio Paramount.
You get the sneaking suspicion he might change his mind should his next project be placed under financial constraints as a result, but it looks as though Babylon is in with a shot at turning the tables – albeit on a fairly small scale. As you’d expect given its self-indulgent and overblown nature, the period-set caper has been performing above expectations in France.
So well, in fact, that it could even dethrone Avatar: The Way of Water at the top of the country’s box office charts this weekend. That’s right; an epic failure that’s set to incur a nine-figure loss stands a very real chance at overtaking the fifth highest-grossing film in the history of cinema.
Babylon emerged at the head of the back when the Friday night numbers were tallied, and while the Na’vi could still stay on top by the time the dust settles on Sunday, any sort of victory would be much welcome for the maligned fiscal flop at this stage. Then again, this is Avatar we’re talking about, so normal business may well resume.