The recent box office failure of Jupiter Ascending have many wondering if the Wachowski siblings have reached a crossroads. Does the duo continue to produce groundbreaking films at the risk of losing money? Or, do they cut their losses and move on from the big budget film world?
If you are going strictly by the pair’s most recent films then option two might be the best decision. Despite seeing major success with the first two installments of the Matrix, the Wachowski siblings have failed to make a steady profit on any of their films.
They swung and missed on Speed Racer, which only grossed $93 million on a $120 million budget. Cloud Atlas made $130 million, but cost more than Speed Racer to produce. Then you have Jupiter Ascending, which is proving to be their biggest loss to date. These box office blunders might mean the end of the duo’s run in American Cinema. Lana Wachowski spoke out to the Wall Street Journal regarding the situation.
“We’re drawn toward difficult subjects, like the disparity of rich and poor. We’ve been lucky. People at studios have been interested in our crazy, strange brand of complexity. And we’ve been allowed to keep making them. Will that continue? Probably not.”
Things don’t sound too optimistic for the Wachowski siblings future. It’s sad because money isn’t the driving force behind their films, it’s about the love of making movies.
Even if they were flawed the films entertained, and that’s what makes a movie great. It’s just too bad the world doesn’t see what the Wachowski’s do.