‘The Kid Who Would Be King’ Could Lose Up To $50 Million At The Box Office
By Hoai-Tran Bui/Jan. 29, 2019 2:00 pm EST
Only a month into 2019, The Kid Who Would Be King marks the lowest launch for a wide-release from a major studio this year. According to Variety, rival studios estimate that the fantasy-adventure could lose around $50 million, taking marketing and production costs into account.
That’s a big hit to Cornish, on whom anticipation was riding high for his second feature after the critically acclaimed sci-fi hit Attack the Block. But the long wait between his first film and his follow-up may have muted excitement for the director, and the film’s difficulty marketing toward families may have hurt the film. Variety notes that marketing for a family movie tends to be pricier for an average film as well, because studios have to pitch to both children and parents. And it’s still in question whether that advertising succeeded — the trailers failed to impress, and many were left wondering who the audience was for this King Arthur retelling.
It’s unfortunate, because The Kid Who Would Be King is a genuinely sweet and charming film that deserves more than its more box office showing. A spiritual throwback to ’80s kid adventure films, The Kid Who Would Be King delivers the kind of sincere, earnest movie that you rarely see nowadays: a family film that doesn’t try to talk down to kids.
Hopefully, this won’t harm Cornish’s budding career as a director. The Ant-Man and Adventures of Tintin writer is a bonafide talent. Perhaps the next Star Trek sequel could help him get this box office clunker out of the stone.
