MovieChat Forums > The Tempest (2011) Discussion > why so limited release? makes no busines...

why so limited release? makes no business sense...

posted 13 years ago by inkybrown
3 replies | jump to latest

Can anyone clue me in on what went wrong with Julie Taymor's film The Tempest? I think she's absolutely brilliant! Apparently it cost $20,000,000 to make and only pulled in about $400,000 (doesn't bode well for her future prospects). Was only shown in 3 US cities and some film festivals? I've seen good reviews and terrible reviews, but have not had a chance to see the film yet. I'm aching to, though.

What gives? Has anyone seen it? Why such a limited release? Why would ANY studio spend so much $$$$ making a film, and then hardly even release it??? That makes no sense business-wise.

[–] critic-2 13 years ago

Because it's Shakespeare, and the average movie distributor has no faith in a film made from a Shakespeare play. They think it will flop, so they release it in only three cities, and by doing that, of course, the film barely makes any money.

The same thing happened to Kenneth Branagh. His 2000 film, "Love's Labour's Lost" was also barely released, and his 2006 "As You Like It" went straight to cable even though critics liked it.

[–] rfresa 13 years ago

Which really sucks for Shakespeare fans who want to see it but can't! What really baffles me is the delayed DVD release date. By now almost all the people who might have gone out of their way to see it, have forgotten about it.

[–] critic-2 11 years ago

Too much reliance on special effects, and the music was too loud. Good acting, but all for naught in this production. I much prefer the Christopher Plummer version from Stratford, Canada(out on DVD).