His City… And Box Office, Screams
Frank Miller’s big screen adaptation of the classic Will Eisner comic The Spirit has crashed and burned at the Christmas box office. Deadline Hollywood Daily reports an anticipated 4-day holiday weekend take of around $10 million, or barely enough to cover Samuel L. Jackson’s hairpiece allowance.
The film was critically panned and being a cult comic, Spirit didn’t bring in the automatic viewers that a Spider-Man or Superman could use to fill seats regardless of bad press. Variety called it “relentlessly cartoonish and campy,” while the Hollywood Reporter invokes the name of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
The scuttlebutt goes that Miller initially turned the project down out of respect to Eisner, a legendary influence in the world of comics. But after thinking more about it, Miller decided he wouldn’t let anyone else do it. Legions of comic fans are now wishing he had.
It’s a sad end to a year that saw the comic book movie elevated to new heights by Iron Man and The Dark Knight. There are rumors circulating now that Miller’s blunder here might put the brakes on a recently announced Buck Rogers movie. At the least, it may be worth removing the screenwriting chores from Miller’s plate.
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