“I Won’t Get a Budget of Babylon Size”

Babylon director Damien Chazelle has addressed his fears for his next release following the poor performance of the Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt-led movie at the box office. In a time when cinemas are struggling to entice large audiences through their doors, a financial and critical bomb like Babylon is often remembered longer than having a run of hit movies.

Chazelle is no stranger to success, having helmed huge hits such as La La Land and Whiplash. Despite boasting a cast of Oscar-winners and acclaimed stars, the bloated three-hour-long Babylon’s Christmas 2022 release ended up being the naughty child’s lump of coal in a crowded December. Competing with James Cameron’s blockbuster sequel Avatar: The Way of Water, and other success stories including Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Violent Night, Babylon’s dive into a story of Hollywood excess, decadence and depravity fell flat.

Speaking on TCM’s Talking Pictures podcast, Chazelle shared his candid opinion on what the poor performance of Babylon means to him, and what impact it could have on his upcoming projects. He said:

“Certainly, in financial terms, Babylon didn’t work at all. You try to not have that affect what you’re doing creatively, but, at some level, it can’t help but affect it. But maybe that’s OK? I have a very mixed mind about it. Who knows. Maybe I won’t be able to get this one made. I have no idea. We’ll have to wait and see.

“ I’ve been head in the sand. I’ve been sort of busy writing. So I’ll get a real taste of how it’s changed or not [since ‘Babylon’] once I get to finish this script and try to actually get it made. I’m in a sort of trepidatious state of mind, but I have no illusions. I won’t get a budget of ‘Babylon’ size any time soon, or at least not on this next one.”

Babylon Was Not Positioned to be a Box Office Smash

Babylon’s attempt to depict the decadence and transformation of early Hollywood was hugely ambitious. However, it came with a hefty budget, thanks in part to its big-name cast, but early reviews put the film on the back foot when it had enough problems to contend with when Avatar: The Way of Water choked the box office.

Although Babylon never set out to be a big action blockbuster, its three-hour runtime did not seem warranted to audiences, who were already sitting through that to see Cameron’s Avatar sequel, and would do so again the following year when Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer hit cinemas. Arriving at a time when many people really needed a special reason to head out to cinemas, Babylon simply couldn’t provide that, even with the likes of Robbie and Pitt on board.

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Why the star-studded film Babylon dramatically bombed at the box office, and what it may mean for the future of cinema.

While Chazelle considers his next move, cinema releases still face a lot of uncertainty, even those that appear to be guaranteed big-hitters. The debate over streaming versus theatrical release is one that has quite a way to go yet, and 2024’s slate of big sequels will be a huge indicator of the future of the cinematic experience.