Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and Taylor Swift-led Amsterdam is set to lose up to $100 MILLION after it bombs at the box office

• Amsterdam reportedly had an $80 million budget
• Production company New Regency also spent $70M–$80M on advertising
• The film made $6.4M on opening weekend despite estimates in the teens
• Older viewers didn’t show up as expected after bad reviews came in
• Director David O. Russell has been accused of sexual assault
• He also has had numerous on-set conflicts with A-list stars

The star-studded new film Amsterdam appears to be in free fall as it is set to lose $80 to $100 million at the box office.

The David O. Russell–directed comedy thriller only earned a disappointing $6.4 million during its October 7–9 opening weekend, according to financial analysts who spoke to The Hollywood Reporter, even though initial estimates had it debuting somewhere between $10 to $20 million.

The production company New Regency and Amsterdam’s distributor Disney appeared to be banking on the film’s enormous cast of more than a dozen A-listers — including Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, Taylor Swift, Anya Taylor–Joy, John David Washington, Robert De Niro, Chris Rock and many more — to help bring in audiences, though the star power doesn’t seem to have won over skeptical viewers.

Bombing: Amsterdam is set to lose $80–$100 million after only taking in $6.4 million on its opening weekend, financial sources tell The Hollywood Reporter; Christian Bale, Margot Robbie and John David Washington seen in Amsterdam

The outlet notes that the movie was given a wide release in over 3,000 theaters by Disney and its production company New Regency. New Regency was previously a production company within 20th Century Fox, but it was absorbed when Disney bought the iconic film studio. 

Amsterdam’s tortuous plot is inspired by the Business Plot, in which wealthy businessmen in the US allegedly plotted to stage a coup against the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934. Bale and Washington play two former World War I soldiers who move to Amsterdam for years with their nurse (Robbie), before returning to the US in the 1930s. 

The trio are reunited when they investigate the suspicious death of a senator. After discovering a plot to remove Roosevelt from power, they are framed for a murder while they try to prevent the coup, which has attracted a former military leader (De Niro) as its intended leader.

Amsterdam appeared to be using the cast’s star power to aid in its marketing, as its trailer emphasized the number of A-list actors in the cast, while some of its print advertising merely featured a long list of the cast rather than images representing the film.

The film has an astoundingly large array of high-profile stars, and in addition to the biggest names it also stars Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Rami Malek, Ed Begley Jr., Alessandro Nivola and Matthias Schoenaerts. 

According to financing sources, the $80–$100 million loss is due to the older demographic that was expected to help shore up the film not materializing in theaters.

MIA: According to financing sources, the loss is due to the older demographic that was expected to help shore up the film not materializing in theaters; Taylor Swift pictured

Thumbs down: Amsterdam currently has a 35 percent rotten rating from critics at the most prestigious publications, as surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes; Anya Taylor–Joy, Rami Malek, Bale, Robbie and Robert De Niro seen in Amsterdam

Amsterdam was also not well received by critics. It currently boasts a disappointing 35 percent rotten rating from critics at the most prestigious publications, as surveyed by Rotten Tomatoes. 

Strong reviews might have expanded the movie’s audience, but older viewers were seen as more dependable, even with a lackluster critical response.

Amsterdam was also expected to open somewhere between $10–$20 million, but projections shifted downward after the bad reviews started coming in. 

The outlet noted that older adults have slowed the moviegoing in recent years, even predating the coronavirus pandemic, and films intended for older audiences have increasingly been released exclusively on streaming services. 

According to THR, New Regency was completely on the hook for Amsterdam’s $80 million budget, and it also carried its $70 million global advertising campaign, though some sources claimed closer to $80 million was spent.

‘This is a high-risk movie that is based entirely on execution. Why would they try to thread this needle at this price?’ mused one source.

Other sources claimed the crime comedy wasn’t always going to be such an expensive proposition.

According to them, it was originally budgeted at $50 million and set to film in Boston, but it was moved to Los Angeles shortly before it was set to begin production due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which added tens of millions to the budget.

It didn’t help that the starting of production was also delayed, which likely added additional costs to the film’s budget.

Pricy: The production company New Regency is on the hook for Amsterdam’s $80 million budget and $70–$80 million in advertising globally; still from Amsterdam

The outlet added that the star-studded movie might now be on track to only earn $18 million domestically, with an estimated global total of somewhere south of $40 million.

It is not clear how much the all-star cast was paid for the film, though many of the actors may have lowered their usual fees in order to work with Russell.

Although it likely played a small part in the film’s failure, Russell has faced numerous controversies around his behavior on his film sets and with his own family.

He reportedly came to blows with Three Kings star George Clooney when the actor ordered him to stop verbally abusing crew members on the war film, and he was also recorded berating Lily Tomlin on the set of I Heart Huckabees, while Amy Adams later confirmed email leaks indicating that she had a brutal time film American Hustle.

Russell’s transgender niece also accused the filmmaker of fondling her breasts after inquiring about what hormones she was taking. Authorities ultimately decided not to charge Russell, who defended himself to police by saying his niece was ‘acting very provocative toward him.’

However, the director’s on- and off-set controversies aren’t well known among the general public, suggesting they were a minimal factor in Amsterdam’s failure. 

Modest factor: Director David O. Russell (L) has also been accused of sexual abuse by his transgender niece and has had on-set confrontations with George Clooney, Lily Tomlin and Amy Adams, but those incidents are not well known by the general public; seen September 27

Although the losses are bad news for New Regency, the production company has had award-winning hits in the past, including Leonardo DiCaprio’s survivalist drama The Revenant, which won him his Oscar, as well as Greta Gerwig’s beloved adaptation of Little Women and the Oscar winner Bohemian Rhapsody.

Even as it has a major bomb on its hands with Amsterdam, New Regency still has another relative hit on its hands with the critically acclaimed horror film Barbarian.

That film had a budget of only $4 million, but it has so far earned close to $40 million globally. 

Helping out: New Regency was somewhat buoyed by its horror hit Barbarian, which has earned almost $40 million globally from a $4 million budget; Bale, Robbie, Andrea Riseborough and Malek seen September 21 in London

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