One of the regular questions I get via mail is when Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon” will be available on VOD.
Well, today we had it confirmed that on February 21st it’ll be available on-demand. Of course, you have to watch the film on the big screen, it’s meant to be seen in theatres, but I do know not everyone has the luxury of doing so.
Audiences seem to like Chazelle’s epic way more than critics: a 7.6 on IMDB and 3.9 on Letterboxd. Don’t miss it. However, “Babylon” only made $15 million domestically, on a budget rumoured to be anywhere between $80-100 million.
Last we heard, Paramount stood to lose close to $200 million on the damn thing. Those estimated losses of $200 million will be up there with the very worst ever. “John Carter” ($200 million), “The Lone Ranger” ($190 million), “Mortal Engines” ($184 million). The only difference between those and Chazelle’s epic is that “Babylon” is actually a good movie.
When I compared “Babylon” to Michael Cimino’s “Heaven’s Gate” last month, I was being very serious. This was a major gamble for Paramount and thank the cinematic heavens they had “Top Gun: Maverick” make $1.7 billion this year because otherwise they’d be in a slightly disastrous situation.
While James L. Brooks teased last year that "we'll soon be seeing" Jack Nicholson, 89, act again, and that he was "reading scripts," that idea has now been shut down by his close friend Michael Douglas, 82.