“I still can’t figure out why people hated it”: Margot Robbie Feels Her Biggest Flop With Brad Pitt Doesn’t Deserve the Hate It Got

SUMMARY

• While Margot Robbie delivered a record-breaking blockbuster with Barbie, her equally large-scale film Babylon unfortunately bombed.
• Directed by Damien Chazelle and co-starring Brad Pitt among others, the film barely broke even and had a budget of $80 million.
• Robbie mentioned in an interview that she was surprised by the film's box office performance and still loved the film despite the bias.

Margot Robbie has starred in many acclaimed films and delivered incredible performances. Last year, she co-produced and starred in Greta Gerwig’s Barbie, which broke several box office records and became a pop cultural phenomenon. Her breakout role was in The Wolf of Wall Street, where she worked with Martin Scorsese.

However, Babylon was one Robbie film that was hated upon release but has since gained acceptance from fans. Damien Chazelle’s exploration of the Golden Age of Hollywood and all the excess it promoted was a big-budget disaster at the box office and received polarizing reviews. However, Robbie defended the film and said she did not understand the slander.

Margot Robbie questions Babylon’s hate and says she still loves the film

A still from Babylon | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Damien Chazelle’s films have always explored the darker sides of ambition. His second feature film, Whiplash, explored the artistry of a jazz drummer and the complex relationship he shared with his toxic teacher. His next film, La La Land, explored the relationship between two artists, one, a budding jazz musician and the other, an aspiring actress.

Chazelle’s magnum opus Babylon probably depicted his view on the excess of Hollywood as well as his love for cinema in the most spectacular fashion. The Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie starrer followed the story of actors from the silent era who struggled to transition to talkies. However, the film was a huge flop, earning only $64 million against an $80 million budget (via The Numbers).

Margot Robbie in Babylon | Credits: Paramount Pictures

Upon release, the film was also polarizing with many criticizing its excess. Margot Robbie, who played Nellie in the film, mentioned to Variety that she was shocked by the film’s reception and still called it a favorite. She said,

I love it. I don’t get it either. I know I am biased because I am very close to the project and I obviously believe in it, but I still can’t figure out why people hated it. I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait, Babylon didn’t do well at the time?’ Like when you hear that Shawshank Redemption was a failure at the time and you’re like like, ‘How is that possible?’

The film has been receiving better reception in the recent past as many have appreciated the film for its ambition and themes. The ending montage has also been a favorite among cinephiles.

Damien Chazelle addressed Babylon’s flop and mentioned how it would be difficult for his next film

Damien Chazelle | Credits: YouTube/FuturePreviewsLLC

Damien Chazelle is currently rumored to be working on an Evel Knievel biopic with Leonardo DiCaprio. Although none of the details of his next project have been officially confirmed, Paramount Pictures, the studio behind Babylon announced that they would be backing Chazelle’s next film (via Variety).

However, Chazelle has previously stated how the box office failure of Babylon may have impacted his career and how the flop affected his creative process. He said on the Talking Pictures podcast that while he was working on a new project, he was not sure if he would command a similar budget to that of Babylon after the film’s flop. He said (via Variety),

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

He also mentioned at the time that he would only know how severely the failure of Babylon had affected his career when he tried to mount the project. However, all seems to be good now with the new film being announced.

Babylon is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Written by Nishanth A

Articles Published: 1678

Nishanth A is a Media, English and Psychology graduate from Bangalore. He is an avid DC fanboy and loves the films of Christopher Nolan. He has published over 1,000 articles on FandomWire. When he's not fixating on the entire filmography of a director, he tries to write and direct films.