Known for her successful indie flicks, Chloé Zhao took on her first big-budget film in the form of Marvel’s Eternals. Unfortunately, it earned a modest box office haul and made history as the studio’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes-scoring movie. After returning to directing after a four-year break for Hamnet, Zhao is getting real about the intense pressure that comes with not wanting to lose other people’s money.
At the London Film Festival (via Variety), Chloé Zhao was honest about how “factual and reasonable” stories are favored more than ambiguous ones for the box office. Even though the Beijing native said a movie’s financial success is not a priority to her, she said she still understands why box office returns are important:
Maybe it’s because I’m Chinese, I don’t know what is it, but I’m so afraid of owing people money. I don’t like it. I don’t like being in debt. I want the people who put the money into my films to get the money back. I don’t believe that my vision and whatever importance of my film should make people lose money. It’s just not for me. I try really hard to get financiers or studios to say, how much are you comfortable giving me so that you can survive as a company, please. And then I’ll do it within that. So I think it’s really helpful because limitations, I promise, are your best friend.
I completely understand where the award-winning director is coming from. I would have incredible anxiety about my movie not breaking even at the box office, especially considering who put their money into it. Filmmaking is always a gamble as, even with something that’s believed to be a “sure thing,” it might not hit expectations. But, at the end of the day, not every defines success by financial receipts (though they are incredibly important).
Interestingly enough, though, Chloé Zhao has proven that “reasonable” stories aren’t always box office dough. For instance, you would think that Eternals would have been a sure thing since Marvel has made plenty of hit films before its release, including several that have made over $1 billion at the box office.
Still, Zhao’s lone entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe made $402.1 million worldwide against reported a budget of $236.2 million. While it would be easy to blame the COVID-19 pandemic, MCU movies like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Black Widow were both released during that time and broke box office records. Despite Eternals being a Marvel movie and one of the most anticipated films of 2020, it didn’t exceed box office expectations, which proves that what seems safe is not exactly a guaranteed hit.
However, Chloé Zhao’s past films, which utilize the “language of ambiguity,” are small-budgeted that turned into big hits. The Rider had an “ambiguous” plot of a rodeo cowboy searching for his new identity after suffering a near-fatal head injury. The contemporary Western movie made $4.2 million globally and was apparently produced on a budget of $80,000!
Zhao’s next movie, Nomadland, also had a general plot about a widow who lives in her van. The Best Picture winner was also a box office success, as it grossed $39 million worldwide on a budget of $5 million.
All in all, it’s natural for Chloé Zhao to be nervous when it comes to wanting to bring money back to studios that invest in her movies. But, I’d like to believe her upcoming movie adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s Hamnet will bring in big box office money. Thus far, the film has also received serious awards buzz, and the emotional performances of lead actors Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley have been praised. Hopefully, the Oscar winner will to continue utilize her natural indie flair for poetic, character-driven storytelling.
We’ll see if Hamnet makes a strong impression at the box office when it opens in theaters on November 27th amid the 2025 movie schedule.