Trump movie fails

TPO - Despite making a splash at the Cannes Film Festival, “The Apprentice” - a biopic about Donald Trump - has had trouble reaching the public. When it was released in theaters, the film faced dismal box office revenue.

The Apprentice officially hit theaters on October 11 in the US. Contrary to the noise the film caused before it was released to the public, the film had a dismal opening weekend box office performance. Box office statistics for the weekend (October 11-13) showed that The Apprentice only ranked 11th, with $1.58 million from 1,740 locations. The Apprentice was directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, a journalist who specializes in covering Donald Trump. The film recounts the early years of Trump (Sebastian Stan) entering the business world as a real estate developer and his relationship with controversial lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who died of AIDS-related illness in 1986. The Apprentice depicts the American billionaire as a fraud who disregards all ethical limits in business. He did not hesitate to squeeze contractors and cut deals with mobs to complete his buildings.

The Apprentice failed at the box office despite being highly acclaimed by critics.

The biopic received mixed reviews from critics and audiences. However, the film did not fare badly, receiving a B- from CinemaScore and a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. When it premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival on May 20, it was met with critical acclaim and received an 11-minute standing ovation.

Variety writer Owen Gleiberman also praised the performances of the two male leads. “It must be said that Sebastian Stan's performance as Trump is extremely excellent, sometimes mysterious. He has the tough body language, along with the liberal demeanor of Trump when he is gentle, polite and handsome enough to be compared to the actor Robert Redford. And if you are one of those people who is fascinated by Roy Cohn, with his mystical, demonic persona, Jeremy Strong's performance - the killer eyes, the machine-gun mouth, the way he breathes power - is the most attractive thing in the film,” Gleiberman wrote. So, why does a watchable film, exploring the theme of a famous figure in politics, business and entertainment, become a bomb? Gleiberman said The Apprentice is a film he likes, but does not love. While the film is entertaining and insightful, it fails to explore the many interesting things about Trump that the former US President has portrayed in real life. The Trump character in the film is young, just starting out in the business world and learning the tricks of the cunning Roy Cohn. Considering the film’s target audience is anti-Trump Democrats, at this point, they don’t need a movie to confirm what they already know. As for Trump Tower supporters, they will definitely boycott the film.

Mr. Trump in real life is said to be more attractive than his character in the movie. Photo: Getty Images.

Not to mention, from the very beginning, The Apprentice was blocked from being widely released to the public by Mr. Trump.

In May, Steven Cheung, Trump campaign communications director, criticized the film as “garbage” containing blatant fabrications, with the purpose of smearing, maliciously defaming Trump and interfering in the upcoming US presidential election. Trump’s representatives did not forget to emphasize that they would take strong legal action against the production team of The Apprentice . At the time, this warning really carried weight. It was not just a matter of a potential lawsuit, but also a bigger one as people began to lean towards the possibility of Trump being the next president (Joe Biden was eliminated from the race and there was no more promising candidate). Distributors feared the impact. What would happen if Trump won? What would he do with them? After making a splash at Cannes, the film struggled to find a buyer until Briarcliff Entertainment decided to take the “hot potato”. Businessman Tom Ortenberg may have been the savior of The Apprentice crew, but he has become the villain of his own “brainchild.” Variety called the situation unusual and worrying, given the stifle of artistic freedom. Simply put, Hollywood thinks and acts as if it is living under a dictatorship.

Tienphong.vn

Source: https://tienphong.vn/phim-ve-ong-trump-that-bai-post1682311.tpo