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With a reported production budget of $150 million, one of the biggest sci-fi box office bombs in recent memory grossed just over $67 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Released alongside Paramount's slapstick comedy Jackass Forever, the film brought in $9.9 million in its opening weekend. While it managed a second-place finish, it unfortunately suffered a brutal 70% decline in its second weekend, pulling in just $2.9 million. However, years after its disastrous theatrical debut, the star-studded disaster epic is getting a second chance to find its audience on Prime Video.
Directed by the "master of disaster" himself, Roland Emmerich, the filmmaker behind genre staples like Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow, and 2012, the 2022 release follows an unlikely team racing against time after a mysterious force knocks the moon out of orbit, sending it on a collision course with Earth. Unsurprisingly, the sci-fi flop leans heavily into Emmerich's signature blend of world-ending catastrophe and increasingly outrageous narrative twists, which ultimately alienated a large portion of critics and viewers alike.
Prime Video Gives 'Moonfall' a Second Chance
Titled Moonfall, the movie arrived in North American and UK theaters on February 4, 2022, courtesy of Lionsgate and Entertainment Film Distributors, respectively. It debuted to mixed-to-negative reviews, with critics slamming its complicated plot despite praising its visual effects. Now, Prime Video subscribers are deciding for themselves whether the movie deserves a better reception than its box-office receipts and critical ratings suggest. At the time of writing, Moonfall has broken into the top ten most-watched titles on Prime Video overall, and at the same time comfortably sits in the top 5 movie charts on the streamer in the U.S.
Featuring an ensemble cast led by Halle Berry, Moonfall is proving to be one of those big-budget spectacles that doesn't need a successful theatrical run or a coveted "Certified Fresh" Rotten Tomatoes score to be appreciated. Currently holding an underwhelming 35% Tomatometer score, its arrival on Prime Video has clearly sparked renewed interest. Although this streaming comeback might not sway everyone's opinion about the film's odd choices, the data shows there's still a large audience for high-budget, low-stakes disaster movies. Alongside Berry, Moonfall also stars Patrick Wilson, John Bradley, Michael Peña, Charlie Plummer, Donald Sutherland, and Eme Ikwuakor.
Moonfall is streaming now on Prime Video.
