Ever since her breakout role in Martin Scorsese’s 2013 filmThe Wolf of Wall Street,Margot Robbiehas been one of the most popular actors in the world. The Australian-born actor is best known for her roles as the chaos-causing Harley Quinn in various DC movies, the misunderstood skater Tonya Harding inI, Tonya, and the destined-for-fame Sharon Tate inOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood. However, 2023 was a massive year for her, asshe starred in and producedBarbie, which earned over $1.4 billion at the worldwide box office.
Based on her previous roles, Margot Robbie has proven that she can play heroic roles that will inspire manyand characters that have a bit of an edge. This is on full display in herportrayal of Harley Quinnand can be seen in a 2022 movie that did not do well critically or commercially. The2022 movie starring Margot Robbie only made $63 million on a budget of $80 millionand has an underwhelming score of 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. Regardless, Robbie is still shocked it wasn’t more of a success.
Margot Robbie Is Shocked That Audiences Didn’t Like Babylon
BabylonReceived Disappointing Audience & Critic Reviews
Babylonis directed by Damien Chazelle, who previously directed critically acclaimed, Oscar-winning films, such asLa La LandandWhiplash. The story ofBabylonfollows several actors and producers during Hollywood’s transition from silent films to movies with sound during the 1920s and 30s. InBabylon,Robbie plays Nellie LaRoy, an up-and-coming actor who struggles to make the transition away from silent films. In addition to Robbie, thecast ofBabylonincludes Brad Pitt, Diego Calva, Samara Weaving, and Tobey Maguire.
9 Reasons Babylon Divided Both Critics & Audiences So Much
Babylon was a huge $80 million movie with two movie stars in the lead roles, but the film divided both audiences and critics, and here’s why.
Although it was expected that Robbie and Pitt would entice people to seeBabylonin theaters, the film was a major flop at the box office. Two years after the release ofBabylon, Robbie revealed on theTalking Picturespodcast that she’s still shocked audiences didn’t enjoy the movie.She wondered if people would appreciateBabylonmore as the years went byand discussed what she liked about working with Chazelle. Read Robbie’s full comments below:
I love it. I don’t get it either. I know I am biased because I am very close to the project and I obviously believe in it, but I still can’t figure out why people hated it. I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait,Babylondidn’t do well at the time?’ Like when you hear thatShawshank Redemptionwas a failure at the time and you’re like, How is that possible?'
Damian is so thorough. Do you know what I loved so much about working with him? I felt like no one had really put their foot to the floor with the gas, but he wanted that all the time. He wanted more always. Even when we were prepping.
When we were trying to figure out what the accent should be for that character, I gave him 51 different versions of an accent. It was like doing a one woman show. We started off with like Boston. Nellie is from Boston. Here’s what she sounds like if she’s from Arkansas. Then I got specific. Here is Nellie if she was a mixture of Snookie from theJersey Shoreand Joe Pesci. Now I’m going to be a little bit of Fran Drescher mixed with Snookie. This is how specific we got. At one point I counted all the voice things I offered him at that point and it was 51.
Our Take On Babylon’s Box Office Flop
Babylonwas a passion project for Damien Chazelle, and all the actors, especially Robbie, excelled in the movie. Given the amount of talent in front of and behind the camera, it is shocking thatreviews forBabylonwere not stronger, and that itwas not more successful with audiences and critics. Upon its release,it truly seemed like the movie was destined for major awards season success, but it just never resonated with audiences. It wouldn’t be surprising if people started appreciatingBabylonmore as time goes on.
Babylon
Cast
Babylon is a film by director Damien Chazelle (La La Land) that focuses on characters during the great Hollywood boom - when silent films moved to talking pictures, and the medium was reinvented. During this era of decadence and glamorous lifestyles in pure excess, Babylon explores the rise and fall of fictional Hollywood greats that mirror nonfictional actors and actresses throughout American history.
