A remake of The Crow has been talked about for at least a decade and a half, and it finally flew into theaters this weekend. However, it earned only $4.6 million in North America, debuting at #8...on a budget of at least $50 million.
Deadline has taken a closer look at where it all went wrong for the film, revealing that moviegoers who went to Thursday previews may have contributed to that dismal opening weekend thanks to negative word of mouth. That's evident from the remake's 1* rating on Comscore/Screen Engine's PostTrak (and a B- CinemaScore).
Lionsgate limited the damage by acquiring the North American theatrical rights to The Crow for only $10 million with an additional $15 million on marketing. The studio will lose money but not as much as on Borderlands (that loss should reach around $30 million when all is said and done).
As the trade puts it, "The Crow franchise's legacy always stood in the shadow of its late star, Lee, who died on the set in 1993 after shot with a prop gun. Similar to his father Bruce Lee, who died suddenly in 1973 in 1973 at 32, Brandon Lee promptly developed cult-icon status following his death, which fueled great interest in the movie."
"Adding to that was the pic’s milieu itself, a great nod to the goth and industrial alternative sensibilities of the 1990s prevalent in music at the time." While the 1994 movie made only $50.7 million at the domestic box office two decades ago, when that's adjusted for inflation and today's ticket prices, it becomes $152.9 million (not bad when The Crow only cost $23 million).
This report also points to the poor performance of sequels to The Crow as an indication that a remake was a bad idea and reminds us of this movie's difficult journey to the screen. Bradley Cooper, Mark Wahlberg, Channing Tatum, Ryan Gosling, Jack Huston, Luke Evans, Alexander Skarsgård, and Jason Momoa have all been attached at various points, with the latter leaving alongside filmmaker Corin Hardy before Rupert Sanders stepped in.
"The latest version with Sanders directing came together during the first half of 2022, with production commencing in July that year in Prague," the trade adds. "But complications ensued - chiefly, I’m told, the filmmaker and producers did not see eye-to-eye."
The negative response to the teaser trailer and original The Crow director Alex Proyas' negative comments also lessened interest, contributing to the movie having an online reach across social media roughly 45% below the action-horror norm.
Social media analytics group RelishMix explains, "Negative convo on The Crow touches ordinary comparative notes with 'disappointment' toward the new adaptation and 'disrespect' toward the original."
"Fans express strong attachments to Brandon Lee’s iconic portrayal and are disappointed by the casting choices and perceived tonal shifts in the remake: 'The original had a certain feeling, a certain atmosphere, I just don’t think this is hitting in the same way as the old one did.'"
One insider connected to The Crow has defended its inability to connect with audiences by saying, "Opera is hard. Opera is not about logic, it’s about emotion."