'Interstellar' Box Office News: Big Debut Globally But Trails 'Big Hero 6' In U.S.
"Interstellar" just debuted to a big global haul of $132.3 million, but its domestic total placed it only second behind "Big Hero 6," which earned $56.2 million. "Interstellar," in comparison, netted $52.15 million at the US box office.
This is both good and bad news for "Interstellar" as film industry insiders had earlier projected that the film would not be as successful as Christopher Nolan's previous film "Inception." That film went on to earn around $825 million in total. Like "Interstellar," 'Inception" also had a convoluted plot.
"Interstellar" has debuted with much lesser earnings than any other Nolan film, including the Batman trilogy. Industry watchers have since pointed out that one reason for "Interstellar" coming in second is that the movie is pretty long at 169 minutes, while last year's space-related film "Gravity" was only 91 minutes long. Added to this is the fact that "Interstellar" is not a 3D film and as such could not benefit from the higher ticket price that such films command.
Forbes notes that "Interstellar" also does not have enough big names in the cast like "Inception" which starred Leonardo DiCaprio. "Interstellar" instead had to rely on the lesser star power of Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, all of whom are Oscar winners, to keep the audience interested through its long run time.
Finally it goes without saying that "Interstellar" is pretty much science fiction and is a movie about grand theories. Forbes in fact notes that it is "not based on anything live-action adventure" and it does not have any of the death-defying action that was common place in "Inception."
Instead "Interstellar" relies on debate fueled by science, the separation of families and the physics and problems of space exploration to drive the plot.
Forbes finally notes that the "fact that 'Interstellar' debuted well below 'Inception' does not mean that it is a tragedy." Instead it could still be an average blockbuster.
