Ender's Game finished No. 1 at the box office this past weekend with an estimated take of $28 million. Yet the movie only surpassed Bad Grandpa — in its second week of release — by $7.5 million. With a reported budget of $110 million, it seems difficult to project that Ender's Game will make that back in ticket sales, though international box office and video sales will eventually factor into the final tally. Especially with Marvel's Thor: The Dark World sure to suck up all the moviegoing money next weekend.
Last year at this time, Wreck-It Ralph drew $49 million. That's not an entirely fair comparison, as an animated film is sure to bring more families to the theater. And the video game premise of the story tapped into some nostalgia among the generation that grew up playing arcade games. But a big sci-fi blockbuster with children at the heart of the story seems like something that could potentially be a major hit among kids and adults alike.
There are many reasons why Ender's Game may have fallen below expectations. Maybe the movie wasn't promoted well, with trailers and commercials emphasizing grumpy old Harrison Ford, rather than the title character. Did those ads explain the story well enough? Perhaps the source novel, a beloved sci-fi book, is just a bit too old to resonate with younger audiences, having been published nearly 30 years ago. Think if it had come out in the last 10-15 years with the wave of popularity for young adult fiction.
But what about sentiment against the book's author, Orson Scott Card? How much might outrage over his expressed views against homosexuality and gay marriage have factored into the opening weekend box office? Could that have made any difference at all? As the old saying goes, there's no such thing as bad publicity. But maybe there was when it came to Ender's Game.
Most of the publicity the movie received over the past six months or so has resulted from gay rights organizations calling for a boycott of the film in response to Card's anti-gay stance. Card's beliefs affected another of his projects, a Superman comic book. That particular issue was postponed indefinitely in March when the book's artist, Chris Sprouse, backed out due to concerns over negative media reaction to Card's involvement.
This prompts a whole other discussion about linking art with the artist. I'm sure all of us have listened to music, read a book, seen a movie or watched a TV show created by someone who held different political or moral views, yet we just don't know about it because those artists didn't express their beliefs publicly like Card did. This extends outside the artistic circle, of course. Some of us won't eat a Chick-fil-A sandwich because of the CEO's moral views.
Personally, I think I can still enjoy something even if I don't like the views or actions of the person who created it. But for others, that's a huge issue and there's obviously nothing wrong with that.
A few years ago, a dinner with friends turned awkward when I said I really liked Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer and someone said she could never support a Polanski film because he raped a 13-year-old girl. I totally understood that stance, as long as I wasn't being criticized for seeing the movie. Ultimately, maybe paying money to see his film is supporting Polanski, but it's also supporting the actors, writers and crew who worked on the project. And from a far more selfish standpoint, I don't want to deprive myself of seeing a really good movie.
Is there a line I would draw on a particular action or issue? Sure, though I haven't encountered such a scenario yet. I admit that Card's views did make me consider not buying his Superman comic book, had it been released. (Though I really like Sprouse's artwork.)
But I'd already bought the Ender's Game novel more than 10 years ago because one of my best friends has been telling me to read it for at least that long. The least I could do was see the movie during its opening weekend when she was going to see it too and wanted to know what I thought about it. (I almost slipped and admitted there were several themes in the movie that I'm sure are explored more deeply in the book, which made me really want to read it now. That would surely have prompted an object being thrown at me.)
Ultimately, boycotting the movie may not even have the desired effect. While Card is a producer on the film adaptation of his novel, he received a flat fee for signing over the rights to his book with nothing attached to the movie's box office revenues. Money is neither being put into nor taken out of his pocket based on ticket sales. But film studio Summit Entertainment may not invest in blockbuster sci-fi or fantasy movies anymore if Ender's Game tanks. Director Gavin Hood's ability to make certain films could be affected, as could the future earning power of the actors, crew and special effects teams who worked on the project.
Of course, more people might buy Card's original novel because of the movie's existence. Perhaps some filmgoers will have read it in anticipation of the film or will want to do so after going to the theater. That would yield the author some financial gain. Affecting that would take a different kind of boycott.
If indeed outrage toward Card affected (and continues to affect) the box office totals of Ender's Game, it would be kind of a shame. I thought the movie was pretty good, more so than the critic consensus at Rotten Tomatoes, where the film earned a 61 percent positive rating. The special effects are impressive, lead actor Asa Butterfield does a fine job and the story tackles some complex issues such as exploring the qualities that make a leader, how far should a military go to defend itself and does a nation (or world, in this case) have the right to pre-emptively strike another to prevent being attacked?
That should scratch a few adult brains while kids enjoy fantasizing about participating in Battle School, playing laser tag in zero gravity and being trusted to lead starship fleets. (Kids can also ponder the deeper issues, of course.) In other words, Ender's Game seems to be the sort of movie that should entertain children and their parents, along with sci-fi fans and moviegoers who just like huge cinematic spectacle (with a dash of stuff to think about).
Maybe Ender's Game will eventually find the audience I think it deserves. However, previous genre films that generated the same level of revenues didn't fare so well. If the movie failed on its own merits, so be it. That's entirely fair. No one should go see a bad movie or one that doesn't fit his or her tastes. I just hope that's the reason for the less-than-rousing box office performance here.