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

Tom Hanks has been one of the most successful Hollywood stars for decades. Indeed, the two-time Oscar winner has scored hit after hit, so he’s not used to his films not doing well financially.

That’s why it has to have come as a massive shock to Hanks that his new $50 million movie Here is spectacularly bombing at the box office.

Here Bombs At Box Office

For Here, Hanks, 68, reunited with his Forrest Gump director Robert Zemeckis and co-star Robin Wright, 58. So it’s not as if the film suffers from a lack of star power!

The drama 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  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.

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.

Hanks and Wright star in the movie as a couple in a dead-end marriage that are suffering from middle class problems. This means that the film provides virtually no escapism in a chaotic time in which most Americans want to get away from the problems of the world when they go to the movies.

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

Zemeckis Sounds Off

“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.”

But it’s not all fun and games. As many readers are aware, the movie theater business is changing thanks to streaming, and the big companies are still trying to figure out how to make consistent hits.

“I think the theatrical movie business is in a stressful situation right now,” Zemeckis lamented.

Here is a unique movie in that it is all shot from the same singular camera angle. It also uses subtle digital effects to show Hanks and Wright at different ages.

Check out a trailer for Here in the video below.

Related: Henry Winkler Reveals The Truth Behind His Decades-Long Feud With Tom Hanks

Hanks Speaks Out

“It was both strange and profound to watch myself go through different life stages on screen,” Hanks told CBS News.

Hanks went on to express his hopes that audiences would connect to Here.

“I hope they see themselves,” he said. “I go to the movies, no matter the gender of the characters or the culture that it’s shot at, I wanna see some aspect of my own struggles up there because when I do, it’s like, I’m going through that same exact thing.” 

Unfortunately for Hanks, however, it doesn’t seem like audiences are connecting to this movie at all. Better luck next time, Tom!