Over the weekend there were a lot of articles written about the ending of Darren Aronofsky’s mother!, with many complaining it was left too open and ambiguous [read our review here]. And it seems the CinemaScore of the movie has sorely hurt its box office takings.
mother! earned just $7.5 million at the domestic box office, and another $6 million from 16 international markets. A close comparison would be the 2009 thriller The Box, which earned $7.5 million on its opening weekend with an F rating, and earned $15 million in total. Expect a 60% drop next weekend, and a short theatrical run for the $30 million budgeted movie.
mother!‘s F CinemaScore makes it the 19th movie since its inception 34 years ago to receive the rating. Other films to get the semi-coveted rating include Solaris and The Wicker Man remake starring Nicolas Cage. “A’s generally are good, B’s generally are shaky, and C’s are terrible,” CinemaScore found Ed Mintz explains. “D’s and F’s, they shouldn’t have made the movie, or they promoted it funny and the absolute wrong crowd got into it.”
It’s also the lowest opening ever for star Jennifer Lawrence earning $5 million less that the maligned 2012 movie House at the End of the Street, which made $12 million despite an 11% Rotten Tomatoes score.
mother! is directed by Darren Aronofsky with a cast that includes Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, and Brian Gleeson.
