“Cats” was an absolute disaster for Universal as the big holiday musical release bombed with both critics, at the box-office. The movie, based on the classic Broadway hit, had its first negative reactions actually begin to trickle in when the first trailer was released back in the summer. It only got worse as “Cats” turned into one giant meme once it was released in December.
Having now a final gross tally of just $27.2 million domestically, with a reported budget of $100 million to its name, “Cats” has become one of the all-time box-office bombs. It is expected to have losses in and around the 72% range. That doesn’t even include marketing. It likely already lost over $100m. Ouch. You either die a Broadway play or live long enough to be adapted into a box-office flop.
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 Tom Hooper. If you remember, he also gave us “Les Miserables,” “The Danish Girl” and “The King’s Speech.”
And just like that, after Venice and Telluride, the Best Actor race is taking shape, with Andrew Scott (“Elsinore”) and John Malkovich (“Wild Horse Nine”) emerging as major contenders.