Praised by horror fans and movie critics alike, Grindhouse was well-received by movie audiences all over the country. The Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino splatterfest was an impressive tribute to the cheap and sleezy "grindhouse" B-movies that were popular in the '60s and '70s. Presented as a double feature, the first film, Planet Terror, was written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The second, Death Proof, was written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. Between these features were fake movie trailers that nostalgically reflected the "grindhouse" movies of the time.
With an estimated budget of around $50 million dollars (vastly larger than any of the "grindhouse" films of the day), the Rodriguez/Tarantino collaboration was projected to gross somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million dollars its opening weekend (based primarily on the directors' previous films, Sin City and Kill Bill). And yet, despite the rave reviews Grindhouse only took in a disappointing 11.5 million dollars over the weekend.
So what went wrong?
Most likely, there were a number of reasons why Grindhouse fell short. One factor could certainly be the timing of its release. With the Easter holiday on Sunday, many people likely spent the weekend with their family. The young, "thirty-something" couple that would normally spring for a babysitter on a Saturday night, probably spent the weekend entertaining in-laws and other relatives. Those people who decided to see a movie over the weekend were more inclined to see the family friendly Disney release, Meet the Robinsons, or even Ice Cube's family oriented comedy, Are We Done Yet?, rather than a racy exploitation double-feature. Perhaps Grindhouse would have been better off postponing its release to the following weekend. After all, what better weekend to release a horror movie double-feature than a weekend that starts on Friday the 13th?
Another factor to consider would be the amount of times the movie was shown over the weekend. Grindhouse was shown in 2,624 theaters across the country, 811 less than Meet the Robinsons (3,435 theaters) and 786 less than the Will Ferrell/Jon Heder comedy, Blades of Glory (3,410 theaters). And with a running time of over 3 hours (twice as long as any of the top 3 grossing films of the weekend), Grindhouse could only be shown a limited number of times
Lastly, the average movie-goer and the intended target audience of 18-35 year olds may not be as nostalgic about the heyday of exploitation films that accompanied the "grindhouse" movie era as Rodriguez and Tarantino. Even during the pinnacle of the "grindhouse" movie days, these films were outside the Hollywood movie mainstream, and were appreciated primarily by hardcore horror movie fanatics. Moreover, with the passing of the "grindhouse" era in the early '80s, even 35 year olds
today may be too young to remember the age of exploitation films. During a recent conversation with a friend of mine (who is in his mid-30s), he said something like "Grindhouse looks pretty cool [based on the movie trailer], but the girl with the gun on her leg makes the film look kind
of cheesy." Not being familiar with the "grindhouse" movie era, he clearly did not understand the film's intentional B-movie homage.
Nobody can predict with any real consistency how much money a movie will make, and again, multiple factors likely played a role in the disappointing box-office receipts over the weekend. It's a shame that such an ambitious effort by Rodriguez and Tarantino may go unrewarded, as Grindhouse is truly a remarkable film. Hopefully, through word of mouth, the film will generate long-term revenue
in the weeks to come and avoid becoming a financial loss.
- The Horror Reporter
