MovieChat Forums > The Walk (2015) Discussion > Why did it flop so badly?

Why did it flop so badly?

posted 9 years ago by no_imagination4815162342
16 replies | jump to latest

I loved this movie! I had the pleasure of seeing it in IMAX 3D when it came out and I thought that it was incredible and by far the best use of 3D I have seen so far.

The 3D stuff on the wire was amazing but I thought the movie around it was actually quite good as well so out of curiosity, I watched it again on DVD on my tiny TV screen in 2D. I thought the movie held up well even without the huge screen and 3D. The visuals were still good, it's undeniably a great story and it had a good sense of fun. I liked Joseph Gordon-Levitt's performance very much.

I thought it deserved to do much better than it did ($60 million worldwide on a $35 million budget - ouch!). It's Rotten Tomatoes scores are pretty decent (Critics 85%, audience 78%) so why didn't people go to see it?

"We're fighting an army of robots... and I have a bow and arrow."

[–] Harlem_Nights 9 years ago

A lot of people were simply not aware of The Walk. The marketing campaign was not effective in selling the movie as a family entertainment. A movie for all ages.

Which it certainly was.

But I'm sure there are other reasons as well. Smaller ones. I'm certain some people didn't wanna see it because of the news that the film is triggering vertigo in viewers. And believe it or not, a lot of people, especially younger ones, are not familiar with Petit's tightrope walk and they simply had no interest in the movie.

So it's a combination of factors as to why it flopped so bad.

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[–] burgershmurger 9 years ago

The bland title "The Walk" didn't help eithe. I don't understand why they didn't stick to "To walk the clouds".

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] LeonardPine 8 years ago

I suppose a bloke walking across a tightrope isn't going to be that interesting to audiences. Especially if they are unaware of the incident itself.

I was aware of Petit's amazing feat, but it was the teaser trailer that hooked me. Where he stood on the girder at the top of the WTC it looked like they were going to do his story justice.

Plus I've always loved the WTC. I went to the top of it way back in 1990.

Was it a millionaire who said "Imagine no possessions"?

[–] titanman083 8 years ago

Bad marketing for sure. I remember seeing the teaser trailer for it during an IMAX 3D movie, but other than some guy walking across the twin towers, I had no idea what the movie was really about. To me it felt like a gimmicky IMAX experience... but I just watched it on Starz and it's a terrific film.

[–] DanaShelbyChancey 8 years ago

The advertising & publicity had to be almost nonexistent, as I am a movie buff and I never even heard of it, until Starz.

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[–] chutcher 8 years ago

I never heard about it, never saw a trailer or anything, and like you, I ran across it on Starz. I absolutely loved the movie. I had never heard about his wire walk even though I was born in the 70's.

[–] tallpall 8 years ago

it flopped because it sucked

[–] IsoldeJaneHolland 8 years ago

If it's any consolation, I think it'll build up a devoted cache of admirers in the coming years. A lot of 'classic' movies - Blade Runner, Scarface, Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, Donnie Darko - flopped when they first came out.

[–] GeoDude 8 years ago

After my first viewing, I thought, "interesting movie."

After my third, I think it gets better and better. I don't often watch movies more than once.

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[–] jwkfh 8 years ago

Try the website "dailymotion" for the movie "Man on Wire", it's the documentary about the walk, told by the folks who actually did it... Real and recreated footage of the event.

[–] norman-dostal 8 years ago

Simple answer- it's not very good with a bad lead.
JG looked like a cartoon with the wig, eyes and a terrible accent.

[–] Shibez (910) 2 years ago

My guess is a combination of no one going to the movies anymore and no one remembers this stunt that happened in the 1974..had this movie come out in 1994...this movie would have been huge.