Is Box Office Triumph Assured?

Quentin Tarantino has always been a pull at the box office, with his irreverent ideas and direction always compelling audiences to give his latest a try. His 2019 film, «Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,» made a whopping $377 million in an era that supposedly didn’t reward R-rated, adult-oriented, star-heavy films. (That narrative has since been dispelled thanks to the $850 million — and counting — gross of Christopher Nolan’s «Oppenheimer.») To date, the director’s highest-grossing entry is 2012’s ultra-violent «Django Unchained,» which nabbed a whopping $449 million worldwide. 

With a substantial tax credit from California’s film commission, which is one of the highest subsidiaries given out in recent memory, «The Movie Critic» has what it takes to be another big-budget financial juggernaut for Tarantino. With qualified expenditures north of $128 million, it’s possible that «The Movie Critic» boasts one of the largest budgets Tarantino has ever received. For reference, 2019’s «Once Upon…» nabbed $18 million in tax credits, with a final budget of reportedly $90 million. Seeing as «The Movie Critic» is on track to receive more credits than Tarantino’s last pic, it wouldn’t be unfair to assume that his latest poses a significant budget. 

While «The Movie Critic» does seem like one of Tarantino’s more intimate and «grounded» projects, a sizable budget could signal an expansive and star-studded cast, not unlike «Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood,» which featured the likes of Margot Robbie, Brad Pitt, and more. It’s unclear who will join Tarantino for his latest, but a sizable budget could mean one of two things: a star-studded cast and lavish, authentic visuals. Seeing as «The Movie Critic» is set in the ’70s, it stands to reason that it’ll make use of vintage cars and sets, which can certainly prop up its budget.