Michael Mann’s FERRARI struggles at the box office: the ongoing battle of a legendary director

The recently released film Ferrari marked Michael Mannis his return to the director’s chair, his first film since 2015 Black hat, and that’s what I’ve been waiting for. I recently had the opportunity to watch it and it’s another great Mann film, but the film stars Adam Driver like legendary car maker Enzo Ferrari, he is struggling to find his audience. The film is bombing hard at the box office.

In its opening weekend, the film grossed just $3.9 million, and so far, overall, Ferrari has amassed just $11.8 million domestically, with another $4 million from foreign markets, for a totaling just under $16 million in global revenue.

The stark contrast between these numbers and the film’s $95 million production budget raises significant concerns for its distributor, NEON, which is hoping for a miracle breakthrough in the coming weeks. This turning point will most likely not happen.

It’s not hard to recognize that less than $12 million in the opening week for a film with a $95 million budget is less than ideal. While the January release calendar offers limited competition, leaving room for potential growth, the road ahead remains challenging Ferrari. The film is still expected to debut in several key international markets in the coming weeks, which could provide some relief.

However, Ferrari faces a daunting shadow from 2019’s success Ford-Ferrari, which grossed an impressive $225 million worldwide just a few years ago. The box office disappointment is especially poignant given Michael Mann’s status as a legendary director, with similar classics Thief, The last of the Mohicans, The infiltratorAND Collateralbelow the belt.

Ferrari it was a passion project he’d wanted to bring to life for years, making his initial struggles even more daunting, especially considering the positive reviews the film received. Unfortunately, the film’s marketing wasn’t very strong. And perhaps the public simply doesn’t care about Enzo Ferrari’s life.

Mann has struggled at the box office for the past two decades. The last commercially successful film you made was the 2004 film Collateral which grossed $217 million worldwide against a $60 million budget. Movies like Miami vice ($165 million worldwide/$135 million budget), Public enemies ($212 million worldwide/$102 million budget), Black hat ($20 million worldwide/$70 million budget), Wings ($87 million worldwide/$109 million budget) e The infiltrator ($60 million worldwide/$68 million budget) all underperformed financially, as you can see.

While Mann is a great director, with a box office record like that, the director will surely struggle to convince financiers to back any future project like Heat 2. This is a bitter pill to swallow for the director’s fans, who continue to root for his films.