‘Anaconda’ Crushes One of the Biggest Sci-Fi Fantasy Disasters of All Time at the Box Office

4 days ago 13

Balem listening to someone secretly in Jupiter Ascending

Rahul Malhotra is a Weekend News Writer for Collider. From Francois Ozon to David Fincher, he'll watch anything once.

He has been writing for Collider for over two years, and has covered everything from Marvel to the Oscars, and Marvel at the Oscars. He also writes obsessively about the box office, charting the many hits and misses that are released weekly, and how their commercial performance shapes public perception. In his time at Collider, he has also helped drive diversity by writing stories about the multiple Indian film industries, with a goal to introduce audiences to a whole new world of cinema.

Swing and a miss > measured victory. Also, #JusticeForHan. (He/Him).

The last few movies directed by the Wachowski sisters — this includes The Matrix Resurrections, which was directed solely by Lana Wachowski — have all unfortunately flopped at the box office and divided critics. What unites them, however, is the cult appreciation they've garnered over the years. The streak began immediately after The Matrix trilogy's conclusion, when the Wachowskis directed Speed Racer. The movie has cultivated a loyal fanbase that swears by it. The same is true for the 2015 sci-fi fantasy flop Jupiter Ascending, which is exactly the kind of movie that the protagonists of the new Anaconda meta-sequel would try to replicate with rudimentary tricks in their backyard. Funnily enough, Anaconda has overtaken Jupiter Ascending's entire domestic box office haul in just two weeks.

The movie is currently sitting at around $48 million domestically, putting it ahead of the $47 million that Jupiter Ascending concluded its run with. However, Anaconda cost a relatively lean $45 million to produce, as opposed to the Wachowskis' ambitious epic, which has a reported price tag of $210 million. Jupiter Ascending grossed $184 million at the global box office, resulting in massive losses for Warner Bros. Starring Mila Kunis and Channing Tatum in the lead roles, not to mention Eddie Redmayne as a truly memorable villain, Jupiter Ascending was received poorly by critics. It currently holds a 27% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, "Pleasing to the eye but narratively befuddled, Jupiter Ascending delivers another visually thrilling misfire from the Wachowskis."

'Anaconda' Features an Eclectic Cast

It remains the filmmakers' final movie together. Anaconda, on the other hand, is a meta sequel to the 1997 cult hit, which featured Jennifer Lopez and Jon Voight. The new movie is directed by Tom Gormican and headlined by Jack Black and Paul Rudd. Anaconda opened to mixed reviews and is currently sitting at a 52% critics' score and a 76% audience score on RT, where the consensus reads, "The premise might be ripe for a raucous action-comedy, but this meta reboot of Anaconda can't detach its jaws wide enough to swallow so many conflicting tones." Also featuring Steve Zahn, Daniela Melchior, Thandiwe Newton, and Selton Mello, the movie is on track to pass the $100 million mark soon. You can watch Anaconda in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.