Can The Political Drama ‘Vice’ Succeed At The Box Office Despite ‘The Front Runner’ Failure?

Lost in the shuffle of prestige films making strong debuts and massive studio films breaking records is the interesting, and downright terrible, box office run of Jason Reitman’s “The Front Runner.” The film, which stars A-lister Hugh Jackman, tells the story of the political scandal surrounding ‘80s Presidential candidate Gary Hart. And frankly, the box office results, thus far, for the film point to a sizeable flop for Sony. However, the real question that remains is why “The Front Runner” has failed, and what it might mean for the upcoming politically-charged Oscar contender “Vice.”

But before we tackle the Adam McKay and Christian Bale drama, let’s take a deeper dive into the box office performance of Hugh Jackman’s film. “The Front Runner” has all the makings of a sure-fire fall hit film. A-list star? Check. High-profile director? Check. Interesting/relevant story with a message? Double check. So, what went wrong?

READ MORE: ‘The Front Runner’: Hugh Jackman & An Impressive Ensemble Navigate Scandal [Telluride Review]

Well, first the timing of the film’s release seems to be questionable. Sony decided to play off the recent US mid-term elections and release the political drama on the same day as voting. When the film failed to produce big numbers, many analysts just wrote the totals off as a misfire in scheduling. Perhaps, people were too busy voting to go see the film? But what happened next seems to defy logic.

That first weekend, after debuting on a Tuesday, only produced a Per Theater Average (PTA) of $12,886 in 4 locations. That’s just a dismal number when you take into account the sheer star power involved. To put that in perspective, the Japanese film “Shoplifters” (with hardly any marketing, no recognizable stars, and subtitles) earned $17,853 PTA in 5 locations in its recent debut.

The following weekend was even worse, as “The Front Runner” expanded to 22 locations and only earned a $3,426 PTA. Ouch. And that brings us to this past weekend. The Hugh Jackman film got its widest release yet, at 807 locations nationwide, and earned a PTA of $783. Nope, I didn’t miss a comma. That’s seven hundred and eighty-three dollars.

READ MORE: ‘The Front Runner’: Director Jason Reitman On Prescient Politics, Hugh Jackman, Charlize Theron & More

Okay, but maybe, just maybe, people weren’t aware that Hugh Jackman had a new film in theaters? That’s unlikely, as the star has been doing all the major publicity rounds, appearing on numerous TV shows and on social media. The trailer has been a fixture at theaters in recent weeks, as well. And yes, the film has gotten mixed reviews, so far, but when has that ever stopped people going to see a Hugh Jackman film?

So, what’s the issue with “The Front Runner” and why should “Vice” be concerned? Well, there could be one explanation that connects both films and could lead to a lower box office total for “Vice” than what people are expecting. It could be that the reason why “The Front Runner” did poorly can be chalked up to pure political fatigue.

READ MORE: ‘Vice’ Reactions: Christian Bale, Amy Adams & An “Exceptional” Movie Point To A Surefire Oscar Contender

With the current political climate so divisive and toxic, fueled by headlines and social media being dominated by Donald Trump and whatever he said now, there’s just a healthy portion of the population that doesn’t really want to sit and “escape” with a film focused on yet another political scandal involving a Presidential figure.

Unfortunately, that’s basically what “Vice” does as well, except focusing on the highly-controversial political career of former Vice President Dick Cheney (played in the film by Christian Bale). Even though it’s hard to imagine a more politically divisive time than now, back in the early-2000s, when Cheney and George W. Bush were running things in the White House, the country was still pretty divided. And while, from all accounts, Bale, director Adam McKay, and the rest of those involved in “Vice” do superb jobs (leading many to consider it an Oscar front-runner), is the public really ready to sit down and watch two more hours of content that will likely enrage them?

READ MORE: ‘Vice’: Adam McKay Talks Trump Vs. Cheney & Christian Bale Explains Why He Wasn’t Allowed To Meet The Former VP

However, unlike “The Front Runner,” “Vice” does have a couple advantages. Adam McKay and Christian Bale are at the top of their respective games, which means that “Vice” will have significantly more awards buzz than “The Front Runner,” perhaps making the film a “must-see” for film fans. Not only that, but “Vice” has a Christmas release date, which provides a bit of a buffer from the recent elections and is a time when many people go and see films.

That being said, if film fans are sick of political films in this divisive time, we could be looking at another major prestige film underperforming at the box office this year. We’ll just have to wait and see.

“The Front Runner” is in theaters now. “Vice” opens on December 25.