“Cats” is becoming an absolute disaster for Universal as the big holiday musical release is bombing with critics, at the box-office and has now been taken out of Universal’s awards campaign.
The movie, based on the classic Broadway hit, has been officially cut from Universal’s official For Your Consideration page. Additionally, it is being reported that the movie is not even available any more on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ streaming platform, which is where Oscar voters can watch films contending for Oscars.
Negative reactions to the film actually started with the first trailer back in the summer. It’s only gotten worse as “Cats” has turned into one giant meme. Having made just $15.3 million worldwide in its first six days, the film is in danger of becoming one of the all-time box-office bombs with a reported budget of $100 million to its name.
Last week, in a rather strange turn of events, Universal notified thousands of theaters that they would be receiving an updated version of the film with "some improved visual effects," according to a copy of the memo obtained by THR.
As you might suspect, this was a rather unorthodox move by the studio, but, again according to THR, this was being done at the request of the film’s director, Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”). This only enhanced the toxic buzz that the film has gotten ever since being pulverized by critics and receiving a mediocre C+ CinemaScore from moviegoers.
Hooper hasn’t been shy in his assertion that he could not finish “Cats” on time for its December 16th premiere in NYC. The CGI-heavy film seems to have needed more tweaks, including some unfinished shots, like “missing fur” (as per THR).
Lest we forget, there is a reason why it’s taken over 38 years to finally bring “Cats” to the big screen. It’s a musical that has, for the longest time, been deemed “unfilmable.” Based on the hit musical, the longest-running one in Broadway history, the film is the latest Oscar-bait vehicle for director Hooper. If you remember, he also gave us “Les Miserables,” “The Danish Girl” and “The King’s Speech.” Andrew Lloyd Webber reprises his own score as well in the movie.
The movie, due to release in 2027, is described as “a haunting Western thriller that follows a retired U.S. Marshal whose forty-year search for his wife’s killer leads him to an outlaw losing his memory.