Australian-born Hollywood superstar Cate Blanchett looks to be heading for a box office disaster with her latest film Borderlands.
Audiences appear to be turning away in droves from the big-budget film, which has taken a beating from critics.
Based on the video game of the same name, the Eli Roth-directed sci-fi action comedy cost an estimated $182 million (AU) to make but only grossed a paltry $13.3 million (AU) after opening in the US over the weekend on more than 3,000 screens.
And critics have not been shy about slamming the film in which Blanchett, 55, plays a futuristic “bounty hunter.”
On the aggregator’s site Metacritic The film earned a pathetic rating of 27 out of 100, based on 30 reviews from some of America’s top critics.
Meanwhile, in Rotten tomatoesThe film received a score of 9 percent in a global poll of 99 critics.
“There are still plenty of failed films headed our way before the year is out,” wrote one critic of the Toronto Star.
“But this sci-fi devourer mixes inept direction, a terrible script, indifferent acting and awful computer special effects into a bore so overwhelming that it seems like nothing could top it for badness.”
Cate Blanchett is headed for a box office disaster with her latest film, Borderlands, as it has taken a beating from critics.
David Fear of Rolling Stone He also didn’t hold back, telling readers: “It’s not a film for critics, as the saying goes. Nor is it suitable for consumption by most gamers, movie lovers or the 99 percent of carbon-based life forms.”
Still, some critics found Blanchett’s performance to be a bright spot amid the box office failure.
“In her chameleon-like career, Cate Blanchett has taken on many guises,” wrote the film publication. International Screen.
“But he’s never had the chance to be a gun-toting, ass-kicking action star before. Sadly, Borderlands isn’t a worthy vehicle for his cocky performance.”
Blanchett, who has won two Oscars in her thirty-year career, co-stars in the film alongside celebrated American comedian Kevin Hart and Hollywood veteran Jamie Lee Curtis.
According Box Office MojoBorderlands will have a hard time recouping its high budget.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned a score of 9 percent in a global survey of 99 critics. Pictured: A scene from the film
The film posted a paltry average of US$656 ($951 AU) from 3,125 US theaters on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Blanchett has racked up thousands of rave reviews over the past 27 years after working tirelessly on dozens of projects in theater, film and television.
A fixture on the international awards circuit, Blanchett has received major awards from around the world, including two Oscars, three BAFTAs, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, an Order of Australia and, in France, a Chevalier, for her contribution to the arts.
Born in Melbourne, Cate began her film career in Australia but quickly made an international breakthrough in 1998 with one of her first films, the historical drama Elizabeth.
In the early 2000s, she was known to global audiences for the hit Lord of the Rings series. She later appeared in The Hobbit trilogy.
She received widespread praise and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for portraying Hollywood great Kate Hepburn in Martin Scorsese’s 2005 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator.
In 2013, she won her first Academy Award for Best Actress for Woody Allen’s film Blue Jasmine.
In 2013, Blanchett won an Oscar for Best Actress for Woody Allen’s film Blue Jasmine.
