Just curious. Was a movie that didn't make back it's production costs during it's cinema run considered a flop back in 1983? It's a classic film of historical significance now. So many movies that are considered flops now are quickly shelved, hidden, and forgotten about.
"The end of the shoelace is called the...IT DOESN'T MATTER!"
I believe it was. So much that it shut down The Ladd Company, Cheryl Ladd's personal production company.
Ironically enough this was one of two films they put on the market that year. They didn't think that "Twice Upon a Time" would do that well, so threw all their marketing dollars behind "The Right Stuff", which in spite of the effort and critic acclaim, didn't do that well.
...The Ladd Company, Cheryl Ladd's personal production company....not Alan Ladd Jr...? share
That was not her production company. LOL
shareYes, it was a huge flop and surprised most everybody who thought for sure it would be a big hit. A major financial disaster for The Ladd Company that really never recovered. It destroyed their business relationship with Warner Bros.
shareI'm curious what made them think it was going to be a big hit? Don't get me wrong, it's an excellent film, and I love it, but it doesn't have a traditional narrative that people were used to.
shareYou would have figured you were going to get every guy between the age of 25 and 35. At school, we used to watch the lift-offs and splash downs on tv. I knew all the Mercury and Gemini astronauts names'. The space program was such a huge deal for that generation, how could it miss?
shareEh, I knew the Apollo astronauts, some of the Gemini astronauts, but hardly any of the Mercury astronauts. And I remember things like the moon landing and linkup with the Soyuz in orbit.
I don't know, I think I see their thinking on it, but I'm not sure it was a well thought out marketing strategy.
A terrific film, either way. I really cherish my copy of it, and was inspired to read lots of books on the subject, even though I grew up with it.
I think one thing that really hurt its box office was that it was more of an ensemble film, and there were few if any actors who were well known at the time it was released. There was no A list star like Tom Hanks headlining the movie like Apollo 13 that guaranteed it would be a hit. Ed Harris and Scott Glenn and Fred Ward were virtual unknowns at the time the movie was released, but due to this movie within a couple years all three were all over Hollywood and became stars. Sam Shepherd was known as a playwright who acted on occasion but wasn't very well known unless you followed Broadway. Dennis Quaid was probably the biggest name but hadn't been in a couple movies and wasn't a really big star.
shareHow absurd. It's one of the best films from the eighties.
shareYou're right. It is one of the best films of the 80's. I had heard of it, but had never actually seen it until it briefly showed up on Netflix. It was wonderful and I was surprised that it wasn't a hit at the box office.
"The end of the shoelace is called the...IT DOESN'T MATTER!"
The Ladd Company had 3 huge flops in a row. Outland, BladeRunner and The Right Stuff. People were fed up with most space films especially if they were serious.
William Goldman talks about this film in one of his books as he was originally contacted to write it. Thought the script didn't work with Chuck Yeagar in it, but couldn't think of a way to write it WITHOUT Chuck Yeagar. His final analysis was that it was a Great Book but not a good book to turn into a film. Everyone ignored him.......
Blade Runner is not considered to be a flop as such. What caused it not being able to earn back the money, is because Riddley Scott did not stay within the original planned budget, but actually went over it by millions.
The movie was actually pretty close of getting the production canceled because of it, but they chose to continue on because it already was too late in to the production.
Riddley Scott did then also not have to many friends left within cast and production crew after the movie finally was finished.
Its all in the extras of the Blu-ray release, in my case on disc 2 of The Final Cut release.
I was around in 1982. I can assure you it was a HUGE flop. What saved it was the emerging VHS market and a group of fans who were craving serious and visually stunning Sci Fi.
shareThomas Wolfe’s book, The Right Stuff, was ABOUT John Glenn and all of the Mercury 7 astronauts. The film never defines what “the right stuff” is, but the book does. Remember, the Mercury 7 astronauts (star voyagers) were all test pilots, against the wishes of . . . well, almost everyone. Test pilots are their own person. They follow their own rules. In the book, Wolfe defined The Right Stuff as being something like, “When the plane is in a tailspin and crashing toward Earth, the pilot keeps saying on the radio, ‘Further instructions? Further instructions?,’” until the radio goes silent. In short, The RIGHT Stuff is a test pilot who rides his aircraft to the ground, if need be.
This movie was so good that it scared the feces out of the Republican Party, which was frightened that it would get Senator John Glenn—a massive American hero—nominated for POTUS and win, not that Ed Harris’ performance was freaking FANTASTIC or anything, so
they pulled out all the Elephant stops to sink this.
The Right Stuff, combined with the Tom Hanks HBO series, From The Earth To The Moon, is the best video chronicle I’ve seen of America’s triumph in Space, the final frontier.
This in no way scared the Republican Party. It did have a positive effect on Glenn's campaign, but he did not even win the nomination; it was Walter Mondale. Also it's POTUS not PODUS. Mondale lost by a landslide to Reagan and the same would of happened to Glenn. The Republican Party had nothing to do with the film bombing. It failed at the box-office due to its competition (Never Say Never Again, Mr. Mom, The Big Chill, and The Dead Zone) along with its over three hour running time. It is a shame since it is a very good movie, but honestly you are just making up lies in your post.
shareI remember it actually got political at the time. John Glenn was campaigning for something and his opponents complained about the boost this film would give him. Then it didn't become the hit expected and neither did John Glenn.
shareUS Senator John Glenn of Ohion was actually running for president at the time, and the film was widely seen as a advertisement for Glenn's candidacy. Which was undoubtedly wrong, Glenn was more likely taking advantage of a film that was finished at a year before a national election, but the coincidence of the candidacy and the film's release drove a lot of people away from the movie theaters.
Which is a double shame, a lot of people missed out on a damn good movie, and the USA could have done worse than Glenn. He was a genuinely good man, although he was probably a better man before he got into politics...
Yes, I remember it was considered a flop back in 1983. I was just 18 and had just been stuck at an Air Force Base in the middle of nowhere in the Missouri countryside. The closest quality theater was 50 miles away in Kansas City, Mo. One night me and my newly found Airmen friends drove up to see The Right Stuff at Blue Ridge East theater. It fit right in to our Air Force life except we were working on a nuclear missile base we literally had a runway with no planes.
Anyway, the movie was good but it was really long, there were times I started to fall asleep. Plus, it didn't really have a satisfying ending. The last astronaut to go into space alone? How is that fantastic? Plus it said that for a few moments, Gordo Cooper was the greatest pilot ever seen. But Gordo was a head case in real life. He got kicked out of the space program because he was nuts.
Finally, the whole movie was tough to understand because there were many sub-plots to go along with the main story-line.
1. Is it about Yeager breaking the sound barrier?
2. Test Pilots crashing in the California desert?
3. Beginning of the Space Race?
4. Media hounds and astronaut wives.
I think Yeager story-line could have been a separate movie.
But yeah, I think over 3 hours long is why it was a flop.
Interesting conversation going on in here.
I just saw this movie a few days ago for the first time and I thought it was quite impressive. I was surprised to hear that it flopped at the box office.
I decided to watch this after watching the first season and a half of 'For All Mankind' on the AppleTV app.
There's a lot of similarities between this film and For All Mankind. In fact, I would almost be willing to say they got the idea of this TV show from this movie. They even have a crazy astronaut named "Gordo" on the show. lol...
I thought the first season was excellent but I lost interest during the second season, but people seem to be enjoying the 3rd season. So, I might go back to it... we'll see... I might watch that show Astronaut Wives Club next, which is based on the wives of the Mercury astronauts.
But yeah, The Right Stuff is an interesting movie, the book sounds good too. I was too young to remember these astronauts at the time. So, not only is it a good film but apparently its a pretty good history lesson. I didn't know Glenn ran for president. Hmmm.. interesting. I'll have to read up on the history of this.
Anyhow, I'll give TRS a very solid 8.0 out of 10. Great movie in my view.. Although I do think a few scenes could have been taking out as it just didn't add that much to the story. Like when two of the astronauts are walking around with douche-nozzles up their asses. Ummmm... yeah, that scene should have been cut... lol.
It didn’t make a single solitary cent in 1983.
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