A Legendary Director’s Ongoing Battle — GeekTyrant

The recently released film Ferrari marked Michael Mann’s return to the director’s chair, his first film since 2015’s Blackhat, and it’s one I’ve been waiting for. I recently had the opportunity to watch it and it’s another great film from Mann, but the film, which stars Adam Driver as the legendary car-maker Enzo Ferrari, is struggling to find its audience. The movie is bombing hard at the box office.

On its opening weekend, the film only made $3.9 million, and so far, in its total run Ferrari has accumulated just $11.8 million domestically, with an additional $4 million from overseas markets, totaling just under $16 million in global revenue.

The stark contrast between these numbers and the film’s $95 million production budget raises significant concerns for its distributor, NEON, as they hope for a miraculous turnaround in the weeks ahead. That turnaround most likely won’t happen.

It’s not hard to recognize that less than $12 million in its opening week for a film with a $95 million budget is far from ideal. While January’s release calendar offers limited competition, allowing room for potential growth, the road ahead remains challenging for Ferrari. The film is still set to debut in several key international markets in the coming weeks, which could provide some relief.

However, Ferrari faces a daunting shadow from the success of 2019’s Ford v Ferrari, which grossed an impressive $225 million worldwide just a few years ago. The box office disappointment is especially poignant given Michael Mann’s status as a legendary filmmaker, with classics like Thief, Last of the Mohicans, The Insider, and Collateral, under his belt.

Ferrari was a passion project he had been wanting to bring to life for years, making its early struggles all the more disheartening, especially considering the positive reviews the movie has received. Unfortunatley, the marketing for the film hasn’t been very strong. And maybe audiences just aren’t interested in the life of Enzo Ferrari.

Mann has had a rough go at the box office over the past two decades. The last commercially successful film he made was the 2004 film Collateral which grossed $217 million worldwide against a $60 million budget. Films like Miami Vice ($165 million worldwide/$135 million budget), Public Enemies ($212 million worldwide/$102 million budget), Blackhat ($20 million worldwide/$70 million budget), Ali ($87 million worldwide/$109 million budget) and The Insider ($60 million worldwide/$68 million budget) all underperformed financially, as you can see.

While Mann is a great filmmaker, with a box office track record like that, the director is sure to struggle convincing financiers to back any future projects such as Heat 2. This is a bitter pill to swallow for fans of the director, who continue to root for his films.