Remember The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure? No? Well, I do, largely because the interactive kiddo film from 2012 holds the record for the worst-ever wide-release box office weekend of all time. I’m talking tragic numbers. Have I seen the film? No, so who knows whether those Oogieloves, whatever they are, deserve it, but it does fascinate me broadly as someone interested in the financial side of filmmaking. This is Dread Central, though, so what about the horror films that didn’t just crash but burned their way through an opening weekend? And how does Max play a role?
Recently, A24’s The Front Room, despite being a Max charter, failed to get any guests into its abode when it was released in September of last year. And cult classic The Empty Man (great movie) had a disastrous box office run, though that film was unfairly dumped into theaters in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, one of the worst-performing horror movies ever doesn’t have the cult factor or A24 brand to salvage it, though it’s still managed to crack its way into the Top 10 chart on Max this week.
Watch the trailer for Morgan, now streaming on Max
Per Max: A risk-management specialist is sent to her company’s remote lab to evaluate a genetically engineered young girl.
I did see Morgan. I saw Morgan theatrically. I was a big fan of Anya Taylor-Joy, and as a staunch defender of the Scott clan, I was curious about Ridley’s son Luke making his directorial debut. Was talent genetic? Sort of, yeah. While Morgan’s tale of artificial intelligence run amok does absolutely nothing groundbreaking with its concept, sort of veering into the slasher antics of M3GAN without the fun, Luke Scott’s filmmaking prowess was evident. Morgan was nicely shot, and reasonably paced, and the performances were appropriately committed even as the material risked veering far off course.
It’s an odd film to see resonate so long after release, though not entirely undeserving. It’s not going to shake your world by any means, but it’s a solidly contained thriller with striking performances at its core. Plus, it’s an interesting part of film history. As a self-appointed champion of Bad Cinema, I love having a chance to check out the films whose legacies are unfortunately tethered to poor reception more than anything else. Luckily, Morgan doesn’t quite deserve so much hate.
What do you think? Any plans to check out Morgan? Let me know over on Twitter @Chadiscollins what you think.
Categorized:News
