We previously reported that Jennifer Lopez was garnering Oscar buzz for her new movie musical Kiss of the Spider Woman. Unfortunately for her, however, it appears that this may not be happening after all, as the film has flopped at the box office.
Last week, we reported that Lopez was left “heartbroken” by the failure of this film. Now, insiders are saying that Lopez is so devastated by this flop that she is “done.”
Lopez Is ‘Done’
Kiss of the Spider Woman reportedly cost between $30-40 million to make. In its first two weeks in theaters, however, the movie has grossed just $1.6 million at the box office. This essentially makes the movie a box office bomb.
Lopez had reportedly been hoping that this film would finally get her an Oscar nomination. Despite many close calls over the years, Lopez has never been acknowledged by the Academy. Now that Kiss of the Spider Woman is failing miserably, however, Lopez is already jumping ship and trying to distance herself from the film.
“She’s done,” one insider told Rob Shuter. “She made the call — no pressure, no spin. She saw the flop and bailed.”
Lopez Is ‘Pivoting’
Lopez, 56, had been set to appear at the Savannah Film Festival this week. There, she was to receive the Virtuoso Award in person. Hours after learning that the planned screening of Kiss of the Spider Woman had been axed at the festival, however, Lopez canceled her appearance altogether.
“She’s not celebrating failure,” the insider added. “She’s pivoting.”
Those close to Lopez aren’t surprised at all by how she’s handling this. Indeed, it seems that this is par for the course for Lopez when it comes to handling setbacks.
“Jennifer doesn’t linger,” said one friend of Lopez. “She learns, she moves, she reinvents.”
This friend went on to explain that this decision wasn’t emotional. Instead, it was completely strategic.
“She dumped Spider Woman before it could drag her down,” the friend concluded. “Classic JLo — she calls the shots, and she’s already on to the next big thing.”
Lopez Had Been ‘Waiting’ For This Role
Just a few months ago, however, Lopez was singing a very different tune when it comes to Kiss of the Spider Woman. Back in August, Lopez claimed that she had been waiting her “whole life” for “a role like this.”
“I had never seen Kiss of the Spider Woman onstage,” Lopez told Extra at the time. “I had never seen the movies from the ’80s… When I read it, I was just like, ‘I can’t believe I was laughing. I was crying, I was reading it out loud, and I knew it was something like I had been waiting for my whole life, a role like this.”
Lopez had to fight back tears when the movie received a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life,” she explained. “The reason I even wanted to be in this business is because my mom would sit me in front of the TV and [West Side Story] would come on once a year. I was mesmerized and was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ This is the first time I actually got to do it.”
Unfortunately for Lopez, it doesn’t seem like Kiss of the Spider Woman will be getting her the Oscar love that she’s clearly wanted for years. It will certainly be interesting to see if Lopez will be able to bounce back from this!