UPDATE: A source with knowledge of the drama tells me that Masters’ piece has a few falsehoods. Warner Bros’ ‘Mickey’ did NOT test better than Bong’s and that this could just be a case of the studio trying to get ahead in the blame game. I believe them.
So, Kim Masters has an interesting paywalled piece up about Bong Joon-Ho “Mickey 17.” This film is turning into a real learning moment for Warner Bros. There’s really no other way to put it.
The report speaks of some pretty dire test-screening reactions for “Mickey 17” and how Bong dismissed Warners’ warning signs of the film “testing badly” by saying that his Oscar winner Parasite didn’t test well either. But that film cost just $10 million. “Mickey 17” was a far greater gamble with a budget rumored close to $140M.
Meanwhile, a source tells Masters that Warners had come up with their own alternative cut of “Mickey 17” that tested 10 points higher than Bong’s. However, the director had final cut and got his way.
Last June, there was a report claiming that “Mickey 17” getting its release delayed to 2025 had to do with Bong fighting hard for final cut. Bong later tackled the report by saying his contract specifically stipulated that he had full control over the editing process, and that he had submitted his completed cut in November 2023.
Based on the film’s $19M domestic opening and B Cinemascore, a source inside Warner Bros estimates that the movie stands to lose well over $100M. To make matters worse, Bong’s film might not be the studio’s biggest box office bomb of 2025.
It should be mentioned that “Mickey 17” was greenlit by previous Warners studio chief Toby Emmerich with a $118 million budget, and that his replacements, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy, were only on the job when it went into production.
Warners’ complaints about the film were valid. I’d love to see their cut of ‘Mickey’ because Bong’s version, for all its gonzo vision, meanders a lot, and feels stitched up with incompatible parts. It has a very messy and rambling narrative.