The results are in when it comes to the box-office of“Rocketman” and they aren’t necessarily pleasant. Dexter Fletcher’s R-rated Elton John biopic racked up $22M in its opening weekend. Whereas last year’s Freddie Mercury trend-starter “Bohemian Rhpasody” had racked up $51M in its first three days of business. I have said this would happen all along, but the R rating stamped on “Rocketman” prevented it from becoming a profitable endeavor. Hell, at this point, I would be surprised if it even cracks the $100M mark when all is said and done.
The problem isn’t just about its R-rating but also the fact that its filmmakers have emphasized their openness at it being the anti-’Rhapsody, ‘meaning that it would be a film more open in showing its main subject’s queer lifestyle. Whether people want to admit it or not, that, more likely than not, had to have irked many mainstream moviegoers and turned them off in wanting to see the movie. I know, terrible, right? But we do live in America, there is still homophobic sentiment in many regions of the country, LGBTQ cinema is not necessarily the kiss of death at the box-office, but it sure comes close.
Now, if you’ve seen “Rocketman” you would know that the gay sex scene doesn’t last for more than a minute or so. There isn’t necessarily that much gay content but because it went viral that the creators of ‘Rocketman’ fought hard for that R rating and that they didn’t want to de-queer Elton John, well, it probably didn’t help. I’m sorry, it’s sad to say this and to think such a bigotry still exists in this county, but it does.
Following “Air,” this is Affleck’s latest stint behind the camera. He has cast himself in the lead role, alongside Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”).