I guess you could say the debate over LeBron and Michael Jordan is settled.
I'm referring to the "Space Jam" debate, of course.
"Space Jam: A New Legacy," starring LeBron James, is reportedly on track to lose more than $100 million.
Making the film cost $150 million (over $200 million when you include marketing). However, it "will likely only make $60-70 million without China," Travis said.
The film's box office struggles are largely due to China's refusal to show the movie, which is hilarious because James has publicly pandered to the Chinese Communist Party.
How's that for irony?
But, let's be fair. There have been some excellent movies that still flop at the box office for whatever reason(s), especially during the "Lockdown Era."
So, how good (or bad) is "Space Jam: A New Legacy" on merit?
"I've never seen anything like it. I also hope to never see anything like it again, and I wish I could unsee what I have seen," said Richard Roeper at the Chicago Sun-Times.
"You will be amazed by how little the basketball game resembles an actual sport, and how hard it is to sit through," said Mary Sollosi at Entertainment Weekly.
"It is a film that has no reason to exist except as a vehicle for reminding people that various pieces of content, all of them merchandisable, are available for instant streaming now," said Alex Shephard with The New Republic.
"Truly, it has everything, except an actual heart," said Kate Erbland at IndieWire.
"The movie is full of jokes but almost bereft of humor," said Richard Brody at New Yorker.
In short, the critics think the movie is trash.
What about the rest of the audience?
Roughly 53 percent of the "Audience" (non-movie critics) rated the movie with 3.5 out of 5 stars or higher. The average "All Audience" score on Rotten Tomatoes was 3 out of 5 stars.
All kinds of factors contribute to box office failures that studios can't control, such as China not showing the movie, fewer theaters being open, and competition with streaming services.
But there's no excuse for bad content. A bad movie is a bad movie.
"You can't blame the coronavirus, not when Black Widow opened to $80 million last week. If Black Widow can open to $80 million, so can Space Jam – and it didn't," said John Nolte at Breitbart.
"What's more, the overall box office was down -22 percent over last weekend. So people stayed home, not because of the virus, because of the product."
LeFLOP James: THE KING OF THE FLOP!
