Failure is a big word, but Johnny Depp’s ‘Rum Diary’ has been a big box office disappointment, opening in 2000+ theatres but raking in just over $5 million in its opening weekend.
This is catastrophic compared to his other hit movies in recent years, and is worse off than ‘The Tourist’ opposite Angelina Jolie, that happened to be widely panned. Perhaps the appeal of Hunter S Thompson has worn off. After all, we have seen this kind of eccentricity in ‘Withnail and I’ and ‘Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas’ many times. The novelty has worn off, but still, as a character driven movie, ‘Rum Diary’ is close at heart for Depp. It is his finest work and a true portrayal of his best qualities. This is what makes him a great actor for me, so why does no one want to see that?
Although the Rum Diary is likely to make up its budget internationally and with digital/physical sales, it’s a sheer disappointment to see this kind of film fail at the box office, when audiences are flocking to special effects driven movies with no soul.
