LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 12: Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt attend the UK Premiere of “Babylon” at the BFI IMAX Waterloo on January 12, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by David M. Benett/Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Max Cisotti/Dave Benett/WireImage
A 2022 drama starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie that flopped in theaters is coming soon to Netflix, where it will try to find a bigger audience than it did in theaters.
The two A-listers, of course, have been among Hollywood’s most bankable stars over the years, with smash hits like Robbie’s Barbie in 2023 and Pitt with F1: The Movie earlier this year. Once in a while, however, each of the stars are prone to a misfire, where not even a collaboration with an Oscar-winning director will help get people to theaters.
That was the case in 2022 with Pitt and Robbie’s starry period drama Babylon, which was directed by La La Land Oscar-winning director Damien Chazelle. And while it’s true that the COVID-19 pandemic hampered theater attendance in 2022, moviegoers still turned out in droves for such blockbusters as Top Gun: Maverick, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Batman and Avatar: The Way of Water.
Unfortunately for Pitt and Robbie, Babylon — which begins streaming on Netflix on Sunday, Dec. 7 — didn’t have the same sort of theatrical allure that other films did. An awards season hopeful, Babylon opened in theaters on Dec. 23, 2022, earning $3.6 million in its three-day Christmas holiday opening weekend. By the time Babylon ended its run in North American theaters on Jan. 26, 2023, the film earned nearly $16.6 million.
The film performed much better internationally, however, earning $47.7 million in ticket sales, which boosted the film’s final worldwide tally to $64.3 million.
Babylon, however, had a production budget of $80 million before prints and advertising, IndieWire reported, while Collider claimed that the film reportedly had a $110 million budget with another $50 million tacked on for P&A.
Considering that most film productions split their ticket sales 50-50 with theater owners, Babylon, using that formula, earned about $32 million in ticket sales against much larger budget and marketing costs.
What Is Brad Pitt And Margot Robbie’s ‘Babylon’ About?
The official summary for the film reads, “Babylon is an original epic set in 1920s Los Angeles led by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva, with an ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Jean Smart.
“A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.”
Adding insult to Babylon’s box office injury was a tepid reception by Rotten Tomatoes critics, who collectively gave the film a 57% “rotten” score based on 364 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus reads, “Babylon‘s overwhelming muchness is exhausting, but much like the industry it honors, its well-acted, well-crafted glitz and glamour can often be an effective distraction.”
Viewers on RT also had issues with Babylon, too, giving the film a 52% “rotten” score on RT’s Popcornmeter based on 1,000-plus verified user ratings. The RT audience summary for the film reads, “Babylon has some entertaining moments and its ambition is impressive, but the movie’s chaotic and disjointed execution makes it difficult to really enjoy.”
Rated R, Babylon begins streaming on Netflix on Dec. 7.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/12/02/brad-pitt-and-margot-robbie-film-flop-coming-soon-to-netflix/
