There is some hot debate around the commercial prospects of Leonardo DiCaprio's upcoming film One Battle After Another with director Paul Thomas Anderson. Some claim that it will be a flop given the film's budget and the track record of Anderson as a filmmaker. The writer-director is known for his more thoughtful films discussing serious matters, such as The Master and There Will Be Blood. Anderson's upcoming film has a reported budget of around $150 million, but there is a general impression within the film industry that it will only gain about 15 per cercent of its budget in the opening week of its release. In the meantime, Strange Darling filmmaker JT Mollner weighed in on the debate, saying it misses the whole point. Mollner reminded viewers that, after all, One Battle After Another is a film by Paul Thomas Anderson, an auteur with many critically acclaimed titles to his credit. "Only one thing matters... it is GOOD," wrote the filmmaker, who is helming Stephen King's The Long Walk adaptation next.
"It's important to remember that very often the best and most sophisticated s**t (especially these days) doesn't do well at the BO (box office). Sometimes quality is inversely proportionate to gross. This is not to say good movies can't sometimes do good box office," Mollner added.
Mollner is talking from experience as his subversive thriller from last year, starring Kyle Gallner and Willa Fitzgerald, did not perform as well as it could at the box office.
On the other hand, One Battle After Another also stars Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. The film has already opened to positive reviews from early screenings, making it some consider it one of the Oscar Best Picture contenders. It is slated for a September 26 release in theatres, including IMAX screens.
