Tom Hanks Comes Unglued, Attacks Critics As He Defends His $50M Movie That Flopped

Earlier this week, we reported that the Hollywood star Tom Hanks’ new movie Here, which cost $50 million to make, was flopping with both critics and at the box office. Now, Hanks is unraveling as he lashes out at the critics who have been attacking his film.

Hanks Sounds Off On Critics

“Let me tell you something about these […] who write about movies,’ Hanks, 68, said while appearing on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. “Can I say that?”

“My father writes about movies, and his name is […],” host Conan O’Brien joked in response, both using an expletive meant to convey a sexual act.

“Somebody who wrote about [That Thing You Do! wrote] that ‘Tom Hanks has to stop hanging around on with veterans of TV because this is just like it’s shot on TV, and it’s not much of anything,’ ” Hanks recalled. “That same person then wrote about the cult classic That Thing You Do!. Same exact person. All you need is 20 years between now and then, and it ends up speaking somewhere.”

Hanks went on to admit that negative reviews are “the thing we all signed up for.”

“That’s, you know, that’s the carnival. That’s the contest,” Hanks explained. “Right? I got faith in that, that’s alright.”

Related: Tom Hanks’ Newest $50M Movie Bombs At Box Office

Here Flops

For Here, Hanks, 68, reunited with his Forrest Gump (1994) director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Robin Wright, 58. Despite the success of Forrest Gump, which won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor for Hanks, there was a time when the star was not sure it would succeed.

“We had worked so hard so much and we were only about 40% done with the movie,” Hanks recalled. “We had shot 27 straight days in a row in which included helicopter rides to places in America where Forrest runs across the country with a beard, without a beard. You know, we’ve been all over the place. And I’m exhausted.”

Here covers the events of a single spot of land and its inhabitants well into the future. It is “a generational story about families and the special place they inhabit, sharing in love, loss, laughter, and life,” according to its IMDB synopsis.

Unlike the 1994 classic Forrest Gump, however, Here is bombing at the box office. After costing $50 million to make, Here opened to just $5 million. Critics have panned the movie, which has a meager 36% Rotten Tomatoes score. Audiences haven’t been any kinder to it, giving the film a B- CinemaScore, 57% RT audience score, and a 69% positive on PostTrak.

Related: Tom Hanks Son Chet Says He Felt ‘Worthless’ Growing Up With A Famous Father – ‘It Was A Battle’

Zemeckis Speaks Out

Sources told Deadline that all studios passed on Here, as they saw just how difficult it would be to market the movie to broad audiences.

“I have to give all the credit to (former Miramax Head) Bill Block who had the courage and had the vision to understand the movie and make it,” Zemeckis said last week. “He’s the one guy who had the conviction to do this. That was fantastic. Thank God that he was there to do it.”

“I think the theatrical movie business is in a stressful situation right now,” he went on to lament.

Unfortunately for Hanks, not every movie can be a hit. If you’re curious about Here, be sure to check it out in theaters now. Hanks would really appreciate it!