On paper, it would be reasonable to assume that a star-studded fantasy blockbuster based on bestselling source material would be in with a shot of finding box office success, but it would also be entirely true to say that the insatiable trend for turning every YA literary series into a would-be franchise resulted in a great deal more misses than hits, with Inkheart one of the countless titles to fall at the first hurdle.
Never mind the fact the world’s most wholesome man Brendan Fraser was back at the forefront of an effects-heavy adventure, the supporting ensemble was dripping with esteem and gravitas after director Iain Softley recruited the likes of Paul Bettany, Helen Mirren, Andy Serkis, Sienna Guillory, Jennifer Connelly, and Stephen Graham to populate the roster.
As always tends to be the case, there were already tentative sequel plans afoot with the rights to sequel stories Inkspell and Inkdeath having been acquired with eyes on a trilogy, only for the opening chapter to flop in theaters by just about recouping its $60 million budget, which plunged it into the red once marketing and distribution costs were factored in.
Critics and crowds were equally apathetic, which is fair enough when Inkheart is about as formulaic as the subgenre can get, so much so that it might genuinely cause physical pain if you’ve seen enough films cut from a similar cloth. Nonetheless, Netflix subscribers have opted to dive into the magical world of a family who possess the ability to bring storybook characters to life simply by reading aloud, with FlixPatrol naming it as one of the most-watched titles on the streaming service’s global charts.