A bombshell Deadline piece claims that, when all is said and done, David O. Russell’s “Amsterdam” might lose around $100 million. That is a devastating blow for not just 20th Century but, sadly, Russell himself.
Before the nasty reviews, “Amsterdam” was projected to open in the $21 million range, but after the toxic buzz, ended up making $6.5 million this past weekend. Based on a projected global gross of $35M, and an estimated $70M global P&A spend, Deadline is projecting losses of close to $97 million for the film.
Actors want to work with Russell, and some even worked for scale on “Amsterdam.” He’s directed many actors who wound up with Oscar nominations and, no doubt, when “Amsterdam” got greenlit, that was probably the end goal. Then problems arose after Russell became a targeted man due to past behavioral issues.
The problem is that it’s not just Russell’s behavior. “Amsterdam” is, sadly, not that great of a movie. Of course, it’s not as bad as critics are making it out to be either — a 34% on Rotten Tomatoes is unfairly low for what is essentially a well-made, and well-acted yarn.
Audiences are fairly mezzo-mezzo when it comes to “Amsterdam”, but they don’t hate it either: The film currently has a 6.2 IMDB user rating and a 60% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It isn’t that surprising that Russell quickly booked his next project, just a few days before this weekend’s bad box-office numbers. According to Puck News, he is set to direct the pilot for a Paramount+ limited series titled “FIFA.”
Russell hasn’t directed any television in his career, and I wrote last month that maybe Russell should go to the small screen next after “Amsterdam.” It’s clear that there’s a bit of a bias against him right now, that his name is less of a draw, and that almost anything he does, film-wise, will be met with sharpened knives by critics.