Margot Robbie Still Stunned by 'Babylon' Flop: Why Did It Fail?
Margot Robbie continues to express her confusion over the box office flop of Babylon , the 2022 film directed by Damien Chazelle. The film, set in 1920s Hollywood during the transition from silent films to talkies, had a star-studded cast, with Robbie playing the ambitious actress Nellie LaRoy, and Brad Pitt starring as a veteran silent film star. Despite all the elements for success, Babylon bombed, grossing just $15 million domestically, far below its $80 million budget. Robbie recently appeared on the Talking Pictures podcast and reflected on the film's poor reception, admitting that she still can’t figure out why audiences rejected it.
"I love it. I don’t get it either," Robbie said when the podcast host Ben Mankiewicz brought up the film's lackluster response. She acknowledged that, as someone closely involved with the project, she might be "biased" in her view of the film, but the disappointment still stings. She even wondered aloud, “I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait, Babylon didn’t do well at the time? That’s crazy,’ just like when you hear that The Shawshank Redemption was a failure when it first came out."
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Directed by Chazelle, who had already made a splash with his Oscar-winning La La Land , Babylon promised a bold, sweeping look at Hollywood’s early days. But despite its grandeur, lavish set designs, and compelling performances, it struggled with audiences and critics alike. With a polarized critical reception, Babylon currently holds a 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Robbie, however, has nothing but positive memories of working on the film. She recalls working closely with Chazelle, who was relentless in pushing for more from his actors. Robbie even shared how she created 51 different versions of her character’s accent, ranging from a Bostonian drawl to a mix of Snooki from Jersey Shore and Joe Pesci. "It was like doing a one-woman show," Robbie explained.
Despite the film's failure at the box office, Robbie is still hopeful that it will be appreciated in the future. She referenced how movies like The Shawshank Redemption were initially ignored by audiences, only to gain a massive following years later. As for Chazelle, he too has spoken about how the reception of Babylon affected him. The director admitted in a 2023 interview that while Babylon didn't meet expectations financially, he still believed the film sparked important conversations and that not every movie needed to be universally loved.
In hindsight, both Robbie and Chazelle seem to embrace the polarizing nature of Babylon , with the actress still believing that the film's impact will be recognized in time, even if it didn't receive the immediate success they hoped for. It’s clear that Babylon has found its place in cinema history, whether it is now or in the years to come.
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