It pains me to see Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” doing so poorly at the box-office, but it was to be expected. The film is not at all for mainstream tastes, and rather a slow burn. In other words, it’s not “Ford v Ferrari.”
A month ago, “Ferrari” was described as a $90 million arthouse film. That’s fairly accurate. It’s not like it isn’t playing wide enough either — Neon launched “Ferrari” in over 2300 theaters on Christmas Day — it’s just that nobody went to see it. In four days, “Ferrari” has only made $6.8 million domestically.
As mentioned, “Ferrari” cost $90 million to make; it likely won’t get its money back and will, sadly, probably, lose plenty. Neon acquired the film in July for $15 million, and they might also net some losses from their purchase.
All of this doesn’t really matter to Mann because he’s still very likely going to direct ‘Heat 2,’ which could very well just be an IP since the original film has become immensely popular on home video over the years. Warner Bros won’t even blink at greenlighting the sequel.
I spoke to a friend yesterday who hated “Ferrari” and claims that Mann “lost the sauce and it’s never coming back.” There’s many who believe this, especially after “Blackhat,” but I digress — he might be 80, but he’s no slouch behind the camera.
Mann still has a great film left in him, and know what? “Ferrari” flirts with greatness. I might be in the minority here, but I liked it quite a bit. The performances, framing, staging and atmosphere created by Mann was wonderfully realized. Also, the racing scenes are some of the best I’ve ever seen.
I should warn you: based on everything I’ve heard, this teaser is a total misdirection. The movie is not at all what it’s being portrayed as here. In fact, most of the footage in the teaser comes from the first few minutes of the film.