If you’re a fan of keeping up with box office stats and trends, then this weekend is interesting for one reason — “Ad Astra.” The James Gray film, starring Brad Pitt, seemingly has all the components of a big hit film. There’s flashy CGI and an incredible outer space setting. Brad Pitt is one of the biggest stars on the planet, coming off a big performance in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.” And to top it off, “Ad Astra” is getting incredible reviews, with some saying it’s a sure-thing awards contender. But yet, there’s still a big question mark about its financial future.
However, for Brad Pitt, who not only starred in the film but produced it under his Plan B banner, the money aspect of a film’s release isn’t how you should judge its success. Speaking to GQ, the actor/producer says there’s a lot more that contributes to a film’s overall success than how much money it makes the opening weekend.
“Well, for the financiers, whether it be studio or independent, [success] will be monetary,” said Pitt. “And most of our films, which I feel is a mistake, get defined by the opening weekend. They’ll say it’s a hit or it’s a miss. But all of my favorite films, I found them well after the fact.”
He added, “I guess that doesn’t answer my fiduciary responsibility. But it does! Actually I disagree with that. Because I’m looking at the film: Does it have anything to say in 10 years or 20 years? Could it still have legs? Could it still be around? History is rife with films that we love today that were abysmal ‘bombs’ on their opening weekend. And we find them later, or we catch up with them.”
Now, you may think it’s unreasonable for the man that started his own production company, which by definition needs to be profitable to ultimately survive, wouldn’t care about how much money is made on a film. However, as he explained, Plan B wasn’t started because he wanted to make money. In fact, it started because films like “Ad Astra” weren’t getting funding.
“There was this whole gap between $10 million and $70 million where films suddenly were having a really difficult time getting made,” Pitt explained. “And really difficult, talented voices, great storytellers that we had loved—we started supporting those. It wasn’t any design to be a successful production company. I had started developing my own stuff, so I might as well do those in-house. But that wasn’t the primary focus.”
Obviously, Pitt is an uber-successful actor and producer, with tons of great credits to his name. So, even if “Ad Astra” isn’t a James Cameron-sized box office behemoth, he’ll likely be happy to know that he helped bring one of the best films of the year to audiences.
“Ad Astra” arrives in theaters tomorrow.