Gattaca
Rate Movie[Total: 14 Average: 4.3]
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- Directed By: Andrew Niccol
- Written By: Andrew Niccol
- Release Date: October 24, 1997
- Domestic Distributor: Sony
- Cast: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Gore Vidal, Alan Arkin
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $36 million | Financed by: Sony |
|---|---|
| Domestic Gross: $12,532,777 | Overseas Gross: $3,600,000 |
In 1993, Andrew Niccol sold his spec script The Truman Show for $1M (still a big sale today, but huge back then) and the heat around him led to a $2M payday to write and direct Gattaca for Sony. The budget for Gattaca was a sizeable $36 million, which Sony fully financed.
Sony premiered Gattaca at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 1997 and it landed mostly positive notices from critics. It was dated for a wide release on Oct 24 and this heady and unconventional sci-fi picture had no bankable leads or easy marketing hook. There was little buzz and low expectations for commercial success.
Gattaca bowed against Fairytale: A True Story and A Life Less Ordinary. It was dead on arrival with $4,320,202 — placing #5 for the weekend led by the holdover I Know What You Did Last Summer. Gattaca faded quickly from theaters with only $12,532,777 in receipts.
Overseas numbers were a very small $3.6M. The worldwide gross was $16.1M and Sony would see returned about $8.8M after theaters take their percentage of the gross — far below P&A expenses the budget would be all red. The USA network and their sister station The Sci-Fi Channel, picked up a four-year broadcast license for about $1M.
I’m filing this one in my “it deserved better” pile. Good cast (if unbankable-Jude Law specifically seems to be a box office disease but he’s a fine actor), good direction, and although the story feels derivative now that’s only because tons of sci-fi films have “borrowed” from it.