James Gray is still proud of Armageddon time but admitted that the film was not a box office success.
In a recent interview with GQfilmmaker known for projects like Advertising Astra and We own the nightreflected in the run of advertisements for the TV series Focus Features. Armageddon time, which opens in October after its Cannes premiere, stars Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong in a story inspired by Grey’s growing up. The film has grossed $5.6 million worldwide to date.
“Commercially, the film was a flop,” Gray told the publication. “But it’s all the same. I mean, I know that’s not true. Black Panther: Wakanda forever Not. But now you are in a situation where literally every one of these [non-franchise] movies don’t perform well, and in a way it’s a great equalizer.
He continued, “But you also know being a filmmaker is completely unrelated to the long-term reaction to a movie. I’m a filmmaker, and I don’t know what the box office is, you know, An orange watch or something. So I also try to separate myself from that. Because I can’t do anything about it.”
During the conversation, Gray said that he feels satisfied about Armageddon time and cites a number of reasons why a film like his has a poor theatrical record, including that older audiences still feel hesitant about returning to crowded theaters due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He also mentioned that smaller art house theaters that could have supported the film have had to close in recent years.
Also, Gray was aiming for Rotten tomatoesin which his film had an approval rating of 76 percent: “It’s nuanced and really encourages the three-star rating people give you as opposed to the kind of divisive argumentative discourse that is great. the one we used to love, right?”
The director went on to say that distributors can now consider a theatrical film a loser, in the sense that even if a movie doesn’t thrive at the box office, it’s still likely to do business. better on PVOD and streaming than a failed movie. In the theater. But in the end, Gray doesn’t feel the box office should be the main focus when discussing a project.
“It tells you something about how much we have indoctrinated capitalism that someone would say, like, ‘His movies don’t make a dime!’” he said. “Like, do you own shares in Comcast? Or are you just such a slut that you think that’s really valuable to anyone?”
In his review, Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney’s lead film critic praises the personal nature of Armageddon time: “An unpainted family snapshot, tracing the seeds from which the artist grew and the harsh lessons about life’s injustice that helped shape his character. , it’s a refreshingly soft-spoken drama whose lightness makes everything bittersweet.”
