The Kitchen
Rate Movie[Total: 22 Average: 1.5]
- Directed By: Andrea Berloff
- Written By: Andrea Berloff
- Release Date: August 9, 2019
- Domestic Distributor: Warner Bros (New Line)
- Cast: Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Haddish, Elisabeth Moss
Box Office Info:
| Budget: $38 million | Financed by: Warner Bros; BRON Studios; Creative Wealth Media Finance |
|---|---|
| Domestic Box Office: $12,180,032 | Overseas Box Office: $3,800,000 |
Fresh off of her Oscar nomination for co-writing Straight Outta Compton (2015), Andrea Berloff was hired by Warner Bros’ sibling New Line in June 2016 to adapt the DC Comic The Kitchen. Berloff then pitched the studio her take on the project as a potential director and she was hired to helm her debut film in February 2017.
The budget for The Kitchen was $38 million. In December 2018, WB landed a $100M co-financing arrangement with BRON Studios and Creative Wealth Media Finance and the $100M would be invested into six WB productions. The Kitchen fell under this pact.
The movie was first dated for September 20, 2019 but was pushed forward to August 9 as a summer counter-programmer for adults. It bowed against Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, The Art of Racing in the Rain and Brian Banks. Marketing material for The Kitchen was weak and looked like every mob/crime cliché strung together and the premise was also very similar to the better reviewed but commercial disappointment Widows (2018). The picture was tracking for a sub-$10M opening and critics savaged the film.
The Kitchen was dead on arrival with $5,527,410 — placing #7 for the weekend led by the holdover Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. It marked the lowest grossing wide opening of Melissa McCarthy’s career, which was previously held by the turkey The Happytime Murders (2018) from the previous summer. The Kitchen sank 60% to $2,208,290 in its second frame and then promptly lost most of its theater count. The domestic run closed with a terrible $12,180,032.
The Kitchen is currently at the tail end of its overseas run and has pulled in just $3.6M. More as the offshore numbers come in…