elisabeth1974

I just read it will open on the 27th of February. How sweet does Teddy look, so 'normal' considering many celebrity daughters looking far older due to their make up and dresses

If the movie did something it is at least making his name known in the US market. I love all your analysis, people on here.

Interesting thoughts, Alex. Good luck this week.

I like to read your analysis, Katheryn. The discussion about Rob being a legend or not is one I do not understand since I became a fan. Why is George Michael more a legend, Rod Stewart? I also think that the coquettish way of using terms like 'narcissism' was not helpful. The monkey part I understand as I disliked this as only bit from the start but understood it as trigger, which unfortunately did not pan out.

Laura, this is what I do not understand. His concerts are still very much liked especially considering the lack of new music. But I understand that the movie also flopped in the UK and this is his home market. I do not see anything from Germany yet, but despite best critics do not see it being a success there either as not all cinemas show it. I assume the monkey is putting people off. On the other side it was for sure one reasons for the very great reviews.

Indeed the movie is 20 years too late when it comes to the popularity of Rob. Everytime he has toured the last 10 years I worried that he would not sell enough tickets. It seems though that his reputation as an entertainer is still good enough even with no real new music published successfully since Candy. The most positive I take from the movie are the good reviews and him being in the limelight again. Since being a Robbie fan I haave learned that he polarizes a lot especially in the UK: Either you love or absolutely hate him. With social media and the discussion in the USA carried by mostly males (I hear) I would lose all self assurance about the way the vitriol is spread there. I have been always very critical about Gary Barlow in the past as I felt about him as arrogant and had expressed this also in many posts (before I got calmer :-) ). However, what you read on twitter is partly toxic and I never checked tiktok. I wonder how Rob feels about it. I cannot imagine hat it passes him untouched to realize that he is seemingly too mediocre for the USA and his fan base has shrunk immensely. I also think that the times are tough for many people looking at the economic situation many face in Europe these days. Rob had thrown himself that much in the campaign. Well, I think it is indeed time for a support hug.

As I am a person worrying far too much :-) I also worried for the movie and the case it might not be successful. Well, Jennifer Lopez movies in the last years were all flops as far as I know and nevertheless she goes on being called a huge star. Rob has however always considered himself with low self esteem so I hope he will thrive on the critics and his guts to try. I also think that he never had a good timing for 'breaking' America....they do not even like Justin Timberlake anymore.

both of your posts, Katheryn and nirvana, make a lot of sense. if there would be a young actor - as example - the girls could adore, it might have been something else. So is there anything positive we can take out of this? In the moment all we see is that the Americans have now officially said 'no'

I had some time on my hand today and looked up some youtube videos of Robbie: Angels, Let me entertain you Knebworth, come undone etc and a lot of new comments of ex-fans, non-fans, fans and Americans checking him out. If BM has achieved something than it is bringing Rob back from commodity to being interesting

I am still not getting it, maybe because I never followed movies' success rather what I see bypassing. So in the US we consider the movie a flop despite it is only 2 days officially released US wide? In Europe and Australia the numbers are not great, too?

I think it will be a tabloid side sentence....."Robbie Williams whose latest attempt to break America failed" or "Robbie Williams whose movie was a massive bomb". I think it would be worse if it would have been a critics disaster. Anyways, what would have been considered a success? I don't think the figures for the Uk are bad as example. But again, I have no real idea about that.

Saw a very foul mouthed tweet that the movie failed in the UK and Australia either. I thought the UK figures are quite fine. But what do I know?

I am still in astonishment about how good the majority of the reviews are. If Rob's next music album will have the same good reviews then I guess he will be very happy.

There are quite some nice reactions in twitter from Americans who went and were positive surprised. I think even when the movie will not do so well he is known ow in the USA :-)

has anyone an idea if there will be a release in South America?

I think the figures from Germany where the release had been 2nd January I think will be late. There had been great reviews here and many will watch I have seen in comments. Still we are early in figures. Next week we will see more reliable ones, I guess.

I remember that too, Tess. I also read somewhere that he is co-producer? What is amazing that almost all reviews are excellent. Who would have thought this. I would have been happy for him to be a commercial success either. On the other hand it might influence his album sales positive.

I think this is interesting: Yahoo. uk Has Better Man been a success for Robbie Williams? The musician tells his life story in the movie, but are people tuning in? Roxy Simons·Entertainment Editor Updated Thu, 9 January 2025 at 12:57 pm CET·5-min read Robbie Williams biopic Better Man landed in cinemas not with a bang but with a bit of a whimper, or at least without the uproarious fanfare the singer might have hoped for. The British musician tells his life story in the movie, from his start with Take That to his stratospheric rise to fame as a solo singer, and the inner demons he battled amidst his struggle with drink and drug abuse. But despite Williams being a huge star in his own right the box office numbers for the biopic tell a very different story. In the UK the film had a strong showing, earning $1.9m since it was released on Boxing Day, according to Box Office Mojo the second biggest territory for the movie was Australia where it has earned $724k. Where the movie has struggled to make landfall so far is the US, with the movie earning just $96k since it was given a limited release on Christmas Day. However it is important to note the film will receive a wider release on 10 January, 2025 so its box office numbers may well increase significantly, though whether it will or not is uncertain. The musician tells his life story in the movie, and what it has been able to do well is bring Williams back to the forefront of people's minds. (Getty Images) What the film has been able to do well is bring Williams back to the forefront of people's minds, the public are talking about the singer more now than they have done in years. In the US, for example, the film has sparked passionate debate online about why American people should even care about the singer when they don't know anything about him (he was unable to break America at the height of his career). The singer has reflected on how making a biopic was the only way to "remind people you're here" and prolong his career, and while it might have seen odd for him to be depicted as a CGI monkey in the movie it was also an incredibly smart decision because people can't stop talking about it. The public have been asking themselves why Williams is a monkey ever since it was first revealed, and that is a clever way to drum up interest in the film and differentiate it from other biopics out there. That being said, has Better Man been a huge success for the singer? Currently it has done okay numbers in the UK box office but nothing extraordinary to write home about. According to World of Reel the film has a budget of $110m, largely because of its use of CGI to depict Williams as a monkey, so is it likely to make back that money? So far it doesn't seem that way, but that doesn't mean it won't. The film has sparked passionate debate online, for example in America people have questioned why they should even care about the singer let alone watch the biopic when they don't know anything about him. (Paramount) This isn't the first time that Better Man director Michael Gracey has seen a film be a slow burn success as that's exactly what happened with The Greatest Showman. The musical starring Hugh Jackman became a huge hit but not right away, the film had tough competition with Star Wars: The Last Jedi and earned a disappointing $8.8m in its opening weekend right before Christmas, but then people went to see it — and then they went again, and again. Read more: 'I made a song with Robbie Williams for Better Man, he's fearless and doesn't hold back' What Better Man got wrong or missed out from Robbie Williams' life Robbie Williams admits new film Better Man 'throws people under the bus' Better Man shares a similar story, it came out on Boxing Day with tough competition from family films like Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. So it is well primed to have a similar success story to The Greatest Showman as a slow burn hit. RELEASE DATE: December 20, 2017 TITLE: The Greatest Showman STUDIO: Twentieth Century Fox DIRECTOR: Michael Gracey PLOT: Inspired by the imagination of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.STARRING: Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya. (Credit Image: © Twentieth Century Fox/Entertainment Pictures) Better Man is doing okay numbers at the box office but has difficult competition from films like Mufasa. Michael Gracey's The Greatest Showman faced similar, but proved a slow burn hit. (Twentieth Century Fox) But The Greatest Showman has something that Better Man does not: universal appeal. The fact that The Greatest Showman wasn't tied to a specific franchise allowed viewers to come into it without any prior knowledge, in that sense it is evergreen in a way that Better Man is unlikely to be. Better Man's performance in cinemas relies heavily on viewers wanting to look back at Robbie Williams' life and career. To put it bluntly, if film fans don't care about the singer, or don't even know him, then why would they decide to watch a film that tells them all about his life? It's a shame, because Better Man is a fabulous film on every level. It is deeply touching one moment and hilarious the next, and Williams' ability to be unapologetically himself and share even the darkest part of his past with the public is admirable. The singer is fearless in a way few others are, and that's what makes Better Man such a compelling watch — it is a triumph of a film and well worth watching. But unfortunately the jury is still out on whether it will be a success for Williams.

I am very cautious about Reddit no matter what subject. Some posts make it also onto the twitter feed of Rob and that is already enough. Anyways, there are so many US superstars I would have never heard off and if Rob's songs are called easy listen cheap pop quite everything America is producing these days and call music come to my mind. (heard some old music lately of Joan Baez and CCR and was sighing despite this was pre to my time either :-) ) You will not change ignorant people's mind with arguments.

I thought the same.

Coldplay could crack the US with bland, inoffensive stadium rock, but Robbie, with his demons and his tattoos and his hedonism? Absolutely not, and it’s their loss.” Well said

yes, If the movie would have done great it would have been later the year. Now he uses the promo he did for the movie to extend into the album

He did not win, but I have not expected it even if the movie would have been a success until now already. Since some years awards are even less about how good something is or isn't than in the past. In the past you needed to be part of the lobby which was the strongest and we all have heard enough about that Today the awards seemed to be given away so that at least all diversity criteria are fulfilled and if we are lucky this is than also the best in the category.

Agree with the Rob fans which might have a reason not only because of UK compared to Europe or Australia. I think it is also about the target group: TT is family. Rob is still merely women, young then - middle aged now and they are very much still teenagers or so calmed down so that they can't be bothered. I also hope that the knot will still burst. All the critics cannot be that wrong.

If the movie will not be a success than it is not down to lack of promotion. Paramount invested in ads ad Rob promoted like I have not seen him promoting any album since I am a fan. Also the soundtrack seem to do quite ok, despite everyone knows the songs at least outside of the USA. Still hope is there.