Lucky Numbers
Rate Movie[Total: 135 Average: 1.4]
- Directed By: Nora Ephron
- Written By: Adam Resnick
- Release Date: October 27, 2000
- Domestic Distributor: Paramount
- Cast: John Travolta, Lisa Kudrow, Tim Roth
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $65 million | Financed by: StudioCanal; Paramount |
|---|---|
| Domestic Box Office: $10,042,516 | Overseas Box Office: $847,706 |
“Completely wrong. A disaster on every level. Just a bad, bad movie.”
–Screenwriter Adam Resnick
The budget for Lucky Numbers was $65 million and European giant StudioCanal was recently expanding into Hollywood co-productions and put up over 50% of the expenses.
Paramount took domestic rights and covered the remaining production expenses. Known for her light, frothy comedies, Nora Ephron committed to directing duties for this dark comedy and it would be the second pairing of Ephron and Travolta after Michael (1996).
John Travolta’s career resurgence hit a brick wall on May 12, 2000 when the humiliating disaster Battlefield Earth cemented its place in the pantheon of bad movies — and Lucky Numbers was first dated just two months later for July 14, but it was pushed back to October 27. Paramount booked the pic into 2,497 theaters and it bowed against Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 and The Little Vampire.
Reviews were awful, but not Battlefield Earth awful and after the toxic stench of that previous film, Lucky Numbers couldn’t draw flies. It was dead on arrival with $4,536,625 — placing #7 for the weekend led by Meet The Parents in its fourth frame. Audiences gave Lucky Numbers a rare and truly hateful F cinemascore. It sank 54.8% the following weekend to $2,051,958 and plummeted 64.7% in its third session to $723,802. The domestic run closed with only $10,042,516. Paramount would see returned about $5.5 million after theaters take their percentage of the gross, barely denting the P&A expenses and leaving their half of the budget in the red.
After the atrocious US run, the numerous overseas distributors who handled the film, dumped it throughout 2001. The recorded overseas gross is an anemic $847,706.
LOL – saw the first 5 minutes of this from the DVD (secondhand) of it, can see why it tanked (sucked, bombed) – and considering Battlefield Earth was silly as (successful-on-day-one-alien-invaders-teaching-ONE-human-how-to-defeat-ALL-OF-THEM), I’m sure Hubbard would’ve hated it too LOL!
Dang, 123 votes?! I mean, I’ve never seen this movie, so I can’t comment on its quality, but am I the only one who finds it oddly suspicious that many people voted on this? (I think only Blade Runner 2049 has more, but since that was more recent and higher profile, it makes a little more sense.)