Margot Robbie still can’t understand why this $80 million movie failed two years after its release

Damien Chazelle’s comedy-drama Babylon was one of the most anticipated movies of 2022, but neither critics nor audiences left the theaters overly enthusiastic.

The film, starring Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and Diego Calva, received nominations for prestigious awards - including four Golden Globes nominations and three at the Oscars, but a negative vibe clung to it and never quite let go.

Babylon flops at the box office

In an interview with the podcast Talking Pictures, actress Margot Robbie opened up about the mixed response to Babylon and admitted she doesn’t understand why it wasn’t well-received.

“I love it, I don’t get it either," she said. “I know I’m biased because it’s a project very close to me and I obviously believe in it, but I still can’t understand why people hated it. I wonder if in 20 years people will say, ‘Wait, why didn’t it do well at the time?’ Like when you hear that The Shawshank Redemption was a flop in its day and you think, how is that possible?”

Margot Robbie on Damien Chazelle’s efforts to make Babylon work

The actress praised director Damien Chazelle’s work: “Do you want to know what I loved about working with him? He always wanted more - even during rehearsals.

“When we were trying to figure out what accent the character should have, I gave him 51 versions,” she adds. A Boston accent, Arkansas accent... a bit of this, a bit of that, a bit of Joe Pesci, some Jersey Shore. “That’s how specific we got. I counted the number of accents I offered him, and it reached 51.”

‘Babylon’ is set in 1920s Los Angeles, weaving a tale centered around Hollywood and characters who experience firsthand the ambition, stardom, and pressing decadence that surrounds them. In this microcosm, money and excess set the pace and have disastrous consequences. The film serves as a critique of the most glamorous side of Hollywood, which, despite its golden glitz, hides dirt and decadence under seemingly pristine red carpets.

At the box office, the movie grossed $15.4 million in the United States and Canada, and $48 million abroad - way below the figure need to break even. Rotten Tomatoes give it a rating of 57% based on 363 reviews.

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