I hope Ari Aster is satisfied with his latest film, Eddington, because it’s likely the last time he’ll get a budget this big for a good, long while.
I know art isn’t all about the money, of course, and I feel comfortable saying that Eddington might be my new favourite Aster film. It’s a big swing, a nearly three-hour Western-style film set in a small town at the dawn of COVID. It’s got big stars (Joaquin! Pedro! Emma! Austin!) and the usual Aster violence (the man loves his head trauma). The story of a mayoral battle between the COVID-conscious incumbent and the town’s mask-hating sheriff is reasonably straightforward. Really, Eddington is Ari Aster’s most accessible film yet. However, it will also be his least financially successful work.
Aster’s first film, 2018’s instant classic Hereditary, was a box office success, making $87 million off a $10 million budget. That film ran a relatively tight 127 minutes and featured a performance from Toni Collette that left everybody screaming bloody murder when she didn’t get an Oscar nomination. He followed Hereditary in 2019 with yet another new classic in Midsommar, with an astounding Florence Pugh in the lead. Again, Aster delivered the box office goods, with Midsommar delivering $48.5 million off a $9 million budget. Here’s where things get tricky for the director, because his next movie, 2023’s Beau Is Afraid, was a critical and commercial bust. Although it stars Oscar-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix in the lead role, the film’s three-hour runtime and general weirdness didn’t attract an audience, and Beau Is Afraid made just $12.9 million, a far cry from breaking even on its $35 million budget.
I loved Beau Is Afraid and seeing a director take on something so strange and engaging; I certainly felt similarly while watching Eddington, a far less peculiar movie. With a sprawling cast and multiple storylines weaving in and out of each other, the film reminded me of Robert Altman’s glorious Short Cuts, based on the work of Raymond Carver. And yet, Eddington is not drawing in an audience. The film is expected to debut this weekend with approximately $5 million. It will have a challenging time recouping its reported budget of $25 million, which does not include the costs of printing and advertising.
In theory, Eddington has a lot going for it, with some of Hollywood’s biggest actors starring. However, a three-hour drama in the heat of the summer box office season is going to be a tough sell for anyone outside of die-hard, devoted cinema fans. Throw in a COVID setting, and its willingness to shine a light on both sides of the political spectrum in the U.S., and it may just be too soon for others.
It’s all unfortunate, because Eddington is ultimately an excellent film worth seeing. Hopefully, it finds an audience when it makes its way home.
