Burlesque

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  • Directed By: Steve Antin
  • Written By: Steve Antin
  • Release Date: November 24, 2010
  • Domestic Distributor: Sony (Screen Gems)
  • Cast: Cher, Christina Aguilera, Stanley Tucci

Box Office Info:
Budget: $55 million Financed by: Sony (Screen Gems)
Domestic Box Office: $39,440,655 Overseas Box Office: $50,216,743


Sony’s Screen Gems financed Burlesque, which was originally budgeted at $50M and it would be the low budget genre label’s most expensive production.  Burlesque was written and directed by Steve Antin, who was Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper’s longtime boyfriend of 20 years and the fights these two had during the shoot were apparently the stuff of legend.  Shoving matches, drinks poured over Antin’s head, screaming and out of control hysterical tantrums pushed the shoot to over 70 days and far over budget.  The budget estimates for Burlesque are north of $60 million — though Sony insisted the net cost was $55 million.   The film also underwent last minute reshoots to change the ending just a few weeks before its release after test screening responses.

Burlesque was dated for the Thanksgiving frame and positioned by the studio as an event holiday picture.  It marked Cher’s first big screen role since Tea with Mussolini (1999).  Screen Gems gave Burlesque a strong marketing push and it bowed against Tangled, Love and Other Drugs and Faster.  Reviews were mixed to poor and it disappointed with $11,947,744 — placing #4 for the frame led by Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1.  Burlesque had a 48.7% second weekend decline to $6,130,061 and fell 48.3% to $3,166,613  in its third session.  The domestic run closed with a weak $39,440,655.

Burlesque fared a bit better overseas with a $50.2 million cume.  The worldwide total was $89.5M and Sony would see returned about $49.2M after theaters take their percentage of the gross — which would leave much of the expensive global P&A expenses at a loss and the theatrical revenue wouldn’t touch the budget.

Sony received (or bought) a Golden Globe best picture nomination for this critically panned film and another stinker The Tourist, which didn’t seem to fool anyone into buying a ticket.  Sony cited the disappointing box office of Burlesque for contributing to a $58 million quarter loss.

12 Comments

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  1. I loved this movie and think its absolutely amazing! When I searched up “Burlesque 2”
    i was extremely disappointed to find out the movie was a flop! OMG!? I agree with the age rate but don’t understand how it was a flop! I just hope another director picks it off the ground and makes a Burlesque 2

  2. I don’t understand how it ended up a loss. It took in 90 million and the budget was 55 million. Can anyone explain, please? The comments are in complere agreement with me. Most of the comments by the so-called professionals didn’t like was because it wasn’t edgy enough for them, not so vulgar that it couldn’t be a PG13! I’m glad it wasn’t one of those that make you cringe!

  3. I was not a fan of Christina before this movie. I never knew her talent until I saw this movie !!! Cher is a long time favorite!!… her song Last of me, has become my anthem for fighting breast cancer for the second time !! Cher really gave me courage and strength!!! What she has been through, and for her to be that brave, still!! She amazes me more every time she faces another huge challenge in life. I admire her sooooo much !!! I watch this movie at least 4 times every week, as it makes me happy.

  4. This is one of my ALL TIME favorite movies. Don’t know WHO their critics were but they had NO TASTE…….TOTALLY AWESOME MOVIE

  5. We could never get enough watching Burlesque…over and over and over we watch it. Bought our own copy of the movie and still watching it in Netflix as well. Hoping that there will be part 2. The movie is great, Christina did well in this movie. Cher is a bonus. All the girls did well. If there will be another Burlesque…please make sure Julliane Hough is still there. We love Christina and Julliane Hough.

  6. I was not a fan of Chrisina until I watched this movie, twice.
    She was great.
    Fan now.
    The fact it was a box office flop.. well the PR team should be hung, drawn and quartered as it was certainly not the leads fault.

  7. I was not a fan of christina until this movie.
    She was great and the movie was fun to watch as really drew you in.
    If it was a financial flop, then the PR team should have been hung, drawn and quartered.

  8. This is what happens when you let relationships get in the way of business. The musical score was good and so was the acting of Christina Aguilera and Cher. The story really didn’t have much to bite into. Stanley Tucci was also good in this movie.. Aguilera’s singing was magnificent!! And is what carried the movie. She should have taken a page out of Barbara Streisand’s book, Aguilera is quite good, but she would have to get back down to her healthy weight of the movie.

  9. Very Sorry to hear the movie has a loss. I do not understand as the story was very good, excelent presentation bye every one, beautiful girls, magnicent presentations of Cher & Christina plus superb voces, I love gratis movies, the ones I love best usually win Awards, Burlesque is one of my favourite movies???. I have a coleccion of 3,000 movies, a sección of them are musicales of course, & I have seen Burlesque severa times, this leaves me always happy. Perhaps it was not well promoted MMM???

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