Geostorm is appropriately classified as a disaster movie. Not just because the story is about around a series of artificially-created storms tearing Earth apart, but also because of its performance in theaters. Since opening last weekend, Geostorm has been critically and commercially panned. On the critical front, the Dean Devlin-helmed blockbuster ranks at just 11% among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and on the commercial front, it's being reported that it could lose as much as $100 million during its theatrical run.
As of today, Geostorm has only made close to $67 million worldwide ($14.7 million of which comes from domestic screenings), which is nowhere near close to matching its $120 million budget. According to analysts who spoke to The Wrap, Geostormwould need to make between $300 million to $350 million worldwide in order to break even, but even with the blockbuster's upcoming release in China, that's not likely to result in a huge financial improvement. Throw in the fact that Thor: Ragnarok is coming out next weekend, and Geostorm will be lucky it it makes $200 million worldwide, which would still result in a $100 million loss for Warner Bros.
Geostorm faced a turbulent journey getting to the big screen. It was originally supposed to be released on March 25, 2016, but it was delayed three more times, finally setting up permanent shop on October 20, 2017. Due to the numerous delays, Warner Bros reportedly cut Geostorm's marketing budget, as well as opted out of holding Thursday night screenings for the movie. The movie also went through significant reshoots after poor test screenings, which is likely part of the reason its budget was so high. Geostorm is Warner Bros' second-biggest loss of the year, with King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ranking at #1 after only making a little over $148 million off a $175 million budget. Some of 2017's other big flops include Baywatch, Monster Trucks, Ghost in the Shell and Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. In terms of Geostorm's direct competition this past weekend, Boo 2! A Madea Halloween came out on top, because although it also received overall horrible critical reception (ranking at 7% on Rotten Tomatoes), it has so far made over $22 million domestically.
Taking place in the near-future when a network of satellites is used to control the global climate, Geostorm follows Gerard Butler's Jake Lawson and his allies attempting to shut down the network after it has been sabotaged before a worldwide Geostorm destroys everything on Earth. Its main cast also includes Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Ed Harris, Andy Garcia, Richard Schiff, Daniel Wu and Zazie Beetz.
You can judge Geostorm for yourself now in theaters, but if you're more interested in what else is currently playing and what's coming up for the remainder of the year, look through our 2017 premiere guide.
