Pop Goes The News — Three movies made in Montreal have had disappointing debuts this season.
Stonewall, Pawn Sacrifice and The Walk have all flopped or fizzled at the box office.
The biggest flop is Roland Emmerich’s Stonewall, which was shot in the summer of 2014 in Montreal with a reported $17 million budget (all figures in US dollars).
The critically-panned drama, savaged by gay rights advocates for whitewashing actual events, has made only $187,000 since opening in theatres on Sept. 25.
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Stonewall is the third movie Emmerich has made in Montreal. The Day After Tomorrow grossed $544 million in 2004 and White House Down earned $205 million in 2013.
The Bobby Fischer biopic Pawn Sacrifice, starring Tobey Maguire, has managed to make only $3 million since debuting Sept. 16. Parts of the film were shot in Montreal in October 2013.
The movie was made with a reported $19 million budget.
Director Robert Zemeckis’ The Walk, in which Joseph Gordon-Levitt portrays high-wire artist Phillippe Petit, was shot in Montreal in the summer of 2014 with a $35 million budget.
Since opening Sept. 30, the movie has collected only $13.5 million.
Made-in-Montreal movies have typically done very well at the box office. In addition to Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow ($544 million) and White House Down ($205 million), 2007’s 300 grossed $456 million worldwide; 2011’s Immortals made $227 million and Source Code did $147 million; 2012’s Mirror Mirror made $183 million; 2013’s Warm Bodies earned $117 million; and 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past earned $748 million.
X-Men: Apocalypse, which was filmed in Montreal this past summer, is scheduled to open in cinemas on May 27, 2016.