Universal’s Dark Universe has endured a rocky start – you know it, I know it and, frankly, the studio’s top brass knows it, too. And that’s despite those frankly ridiculous claims by Alex Kurtzman that he built The Mummy for audiences, not critics. The box office numbers say otherwise.
Alex Kurtzman and Tom Cruise’s fantastical reboot opened to a paltry $31 million domestically, and though Cruise’s international pull will help offset the inevitable loss, it seems things are only going to get worse for The Mummy. Citing a number of industry analysts, Deadline reports that Universal’s Powers That Be are now bracing for a $95 million loss. As things stand, Alex Kurtzman’s bold franchise-starter is expected to end its theatrical run in the region of $375 million – a figure that falls far short of internal expectations.
Those findings account for the film’s distribution expenses ($150 million), not to mention that eye-watering $195 million production budget. Making matters worse is the oncoming arrival of Transformers: The Last Knight, which is all but set to dominate international markets for the next two-to-three weeks – if not longer. Perhaps the so-called ‘Cruise Control’ effect is to blame for the film’s failings? We’ll leave that one to you.
The Mummy was summoned into theatres earlier this month and was quickly trampled by the so-hot-right-now Wonder Woman. That’s not to say that Universal’s embryonic Dark Universe is outright doomed, simply that the studio now faces a tall order if it is to turn things around. Other projects cramming up the pipeline include The Invisible Man (Johnny Depp), The Wolfman, and Bill Condon’s Bride of Frankenstein, but we’re more intrigued to discover if (when?) The Mummy‘s lowly performance has an effect on the DU from here on out.
