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44-519: Garbo plays a wife who pretends to be her own fictitious twin sister in order to recapture the affections of her estranged husband (Douglas), who has left her for a former girlfriend (Bennett). The film is generally regarded as the box-office flop that ended Garbo's career in an unsuccessful attempt to modernize or "Americanize" her image in order to increase her shrinking fan base in the United States. By mutual agreement, Garbo's contract with MGM

88-561: A "bomb" had the opposite meaning, referring instead to a successful film that "exploded" at the box office. The term continued to be used this way in the United Kingdom into the 1970s. With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at

132-459: A chase on the ski slopes, and all is forgiven. Before Garbo's previous film, Ninotchka (1939) was completed, MGM scheduled Madame Curie as her next picture. Pleased with the financial and critical success of Ninotchka , MGM decided to pair Garbo and Douglas in another romantic comedy. George Cukor , who had directed Garbo in Camille (1936), which is generally regarded as her best film,

176-420: A comedienne is not entirely successful is no fault of hers. Had the script writers and the director, George Cukor, entered into the same spirit of the thing with as much enthusiasm, lack of self-consciousness and abandon as the star, the result would have been a smash hit...Just how some of the lines of dialog escaped the scissors is as much of a mystery as how the screen writers...so completely flopped in providing

220-459: A comedienne. Attendance also was likely impacted by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , which occurred three weeks before the film was re-released. A few sources have challenged the general perception that the picture was a financial failure, with at least one stating that it eventually made back five times its budget. Later in 1942, Garbo and MGM mutually agreed to terminate her contract with

264-408: A considerable $ 234 million worldwide, but this was short of its $ 250 million budget plus worldwide advertising. The 2007 film The Golden Compass had a production budget of $ 200 million. To be able to fund the film, New Line Cinema had to sell all of the film's international distribution rights to various film distributors around the world. The film underperformed domestically, but

308-644: A large bar area in the foyer where smaller performances are sometimes held. The National Film Theatre was designed by Norman Engleback , an architect within London County Council . In 2022 the architects behind the redevelopment of the Southbank promenade entrance received London and National awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects for their design, which includes a "grand canopy of cast fibreglass" which "glows boldly like

352-400: A major Hollywood release — citing its alleged "immoral and un-Christian attitude toward marriage and its obligations: impudently suggestive scenes, dialogue, and situations: suggestive costumes." The film also was condemned by the archbishop of New York, the first time a particular film had been singled out. These condemnations strongly discouraged Catholics from seeing the film. Two-Faced Woman

396-473: A new scene was added to the film in which Larry Blake determines almost immediately that Katherine is actually his estranged wife Karin, posing as her spurious twin sister and chooses to play along with her pretense rather than actually consider having an affair with his sister-in-law. The Legion of Decency amended its rating for the modified film from a "C", meaning condemned, to "B", meaning morally objectionable in part. In addition to censorship-related changes,

440-435: A reasonably satisfactory finale." Harrison's Reports called Garbo's performance "brilliant...yet if it were not for her charms and fine acting ability there would be little to recommend, for the story is weak and somewhat silly." Film Daily declared Garbo "a delightful comedienne" but called it "unfortunate that the combined talents" of the scriptwriters "do not measure up to those of Miss Garbo's. George Cukor's direction

484-433: Is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed, and expensive to produce, but nevertheless failed commercially. Originally,

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528-413: Is not as keen as it could be and tends to let the film ramble." Due to the film's critical failure, many sources have said that the film also did poorly at the box office. According to MGM records, it earned $ 875,000 in the United States and Canada, and $ 925,000 in other markets, resulting in an initial loss of $ 62,000. Despite the previous success of Ninotchka , audiences had difficulty accepting Garbo as

572-845: The National Film Theatre ) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films . It is operated by the British Film Institute . Forbes called its largest cinema, NFT1, "one of the crown jewels of the London film scene". The National Film Theatre was initially opened in a temporary building (the Telecinema ) at the Festival of Britain in 1951 and moved to its present location in 1957, replacing

616-439: The widespread antiwar sentiment it reflected had started to shift in favor of American entry into World War I . Another example is the 2015 docudrama about FIFA entitled United Passions . A glowing portrayal of FIFA, which had mostly funded the film, United Passions was released in theaters in the United States at the same time FIFA's leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption . The film grossed only $ 918 at

660-593: The 2000 British film Offending Angels had become notorious for taking in less than £100 (~$ 150 ) at the box office. It had a £70,000 (~$ 105,000 ) budget but was panned by critics, including the BBC , who called it a "truly awful pile of garbage", and Total Film , who called it "irredeemable". In 2011, the film The Worst Movie Ever! opened to just $ 11 at the US box office. It played in only one theater. BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as

704-605: The National Film Theatre and Belvedere Road. Designed by Avery Associates Architects, it was built under the Waterloo Bridge approach and expanded during construction into a former subterranean car park. It remained separate from the National Film Theatre, with separate entrances. The museum was closed in 1999. On 14 March 2007, the National Film Theatre was relaunched as BFI Southbank in considerably enlarged premises, taking over space that had been used by

748-715: The Thameside restaurant on the site. It opened for the first BFI London Film Festival on 16 October 1957. Later, the Southbank Centre expanded its buildings to meet the National Film Theatre from the south, while the National Theatre occupies the area to the northeast. A second screen was added on 21 September 1970. In 1988, a new building was constructed for the Museum of the Moving Image between

792-518: The US box office in its opening weekend. Sometimes, a film's performance may be adversely affected by national crisis or a disaster, such as the September 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021. In evaluating box-office gross numbers, it is important to keep in mind that not all money is returned to the film studio. Some of the gross is kept by

836-510: The World , each of which initially lost money at the box office but has since become popular. It is common for a single film's lackluster performance to push its studio into the red, in the sense of recording a net loss on its income statement . In extreme cases, a bomb may push its studio into bankruptcy or closure . Examples of this include United Artists ( Heaven's Gate ) and Carolco Pictures ( Cutthroat Island ). The Golden Compass

880-417: The box office, especially on the opening weekend. Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film, such as the timing of the film's release. This was one of the reasons given for the commercial failure of Intolerance , D. W. Griffith's follow-up to The Birth of a Nation . Owing to production delays, the film was not released until late 1916, when

924-407: The box office. For the 2005 film Sahara , its budget ballooned to $ 281.2 million for production, distribution, and other expenses. The film earned $ 119 million in theaters and $ 202.9 million overall with television and other subsidies included, resulting in a net loss of $ 78.3 million. In 2012, Disney reported losses of $ 200 million on John Carter . The film had made

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968-646: The decision to close the production company had been made a year prior to the film's release. The 2006 independent movie Zyzzyx Road made just $ 30 at the US box office. With a budget of $ 1.2 million and starring Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl , its tiny revenue is due to its limited box-office release – just six days in a single theater in Dallas for the purpose of meeting Screen Actors Guild requirements – rather than its ability to attract viewers. According to co-star Leo Grillo , it sold six tickets, two of which were to cast members. Previously,

1012-415: The film decisively condemns itself by shoddy workmanship. Miss Garbo's current attempt to trip the light fantastic is one of the awkward exhibitions of the season, George Cukor's direction is static and labored, and the script is a stale joke, repeated at length. Considering the several talents that have combined to create this dismal jape, put down Two-Faced Woman as one of the more costly disappointments of

1056-493: The film exhibitors and the film distributor. The scratch formula for making a rough estimate of a studio's portion of the gross is that the studio usually gets half. A large budget can cause a film to fail financially, even when it performs reasonably well at the box office; 1980's Heaven's Gate , for example, exceeded its planned production schedule by three months, causing its budget to inflate from $ 12 million to $ 44 million. The film only earned $ 3.5 million at

1100-434: The film to promote a new image of Garbo as modern and glamorous, hoping to increase her appeal to filmgoers in the United States. Much of the income from Garbo's earlier pictures had come from their popularity with European audiences, which were now unavailable due to World War II . Garbo hated the script for Two-Faced Woman , and did not want to make the film; she was disappointed that Madame Curie had been shelved (MGM made

1144-461: The film with Greer Garson in 1943) and was very uncomfortable with the attempt to portray her as a modern "American" woman. Garbo strongly objected to a scene where she is wearing a bathing suit and swimming; she pleaded with director Cukor to have the scene cut, but Cukor, who shared Garbo's reservations about the film, told her it had to remain in the picture. The script also called for Garbo to dance in an elaborate ballroom rhumba scene. Garbo, who

1188-410: The film's struggles, Square Pictures did not make any more films and is now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix as Visual Works . In 2011, Mars Needs Moms was the last film released by ImageMovers Digital before Disney 's stake got absorbed by ImageMovers to a loss of nearly $ 140 million – the largest box-office bomb of all time in nominal dollar terms. Regardless of this loss,

1232-686: The main venue of the BFI Flare LGBTIQ+ Film Festival . In 2023, Forbes called its largest cinema, NFT1, "one of the crown jewels of the London film scene". BFI Southbank is sited below the southern end of Waterloo Bridge , forming part of the cultural complex on the South Bank of the River Thames in London . The site comprises three cinemas and studio space, as well as cafes and exhibition space. It also has

1276-473: The museum. The enlargement works were due to start in the summer of 2005, but were delaying owing to funding problems. When it reopened, in addition to the three pre-existing cinemas, the complex included a new small cinema (the studio), a médiathèque , a contemporary art gallery dedicated to the moving image (the BFI Gallery ), a shop, and a bar and restaurant run by Benugo . The cinema also serves as

1320-495: The negative notices, Garbo was awarded The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Best Acting Award. John Mosher of The New Yorker wrote of Garbo that "one can feel only that the archbishop who opposed the showing of the film was her one true friend. Of Garbo's folly there is little really to say. Just condolences might be enough." Theodore Strauss of The New York Times wrote: "It is hardly necessary to sit in judgment upon such delicate matters of public interest, inasmuch as

1364-421: The studio also cut a number of Constance Bennett's scenes and changed the ending because some felt that Bennett had upstaged Garbo in many of their scenes together. Even with the cuts, Leonard Maltin wrote in 2014 that Bennett "steal[s] the film with her hilarious performance." The revised version of Two-Faced Woman was released in early January 1942. The original, uncensored version of the film still exists, and

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1408-504: The studio. Contrary to popular belief, Garbo did not retire from acting because of the poor reception to Two-Faced Woman ; she fully intended to return to films following the end of World War II. Since she was no longer under a studio contract, she was able to be highly selective over any roles offered to her; for various reasons, several later film projects which interested her did not come to fruition, leaving Two-Faced Woman as her final film. Box-office flop A box-office bomb

1452-460: The year." The review apparently missed the point that Garbo's role is to impersonate her fictional twin sister who unlike her is a novice to dancing. A scathing review in Time proclaimed the film was "almost as shocking as seeing your mother drunk." Even those reviews that praised Garbo's performance, still panned the film in general. Variety wrote: "That the experiment of converting Miss Garbo into

1496-564: Was a success at the international box office and grossed $ 372 million worldwide; nonetheless, its underperformance at the box office in North America was seen as a significant factor in influencing the decision by Warner Bros. Pictures to take direct control of New Line Cinema. In 2001, Square Pictures , a division of Square , released its only film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within . It received mixed reviews from critics and failed to recover its $ 145 million cost. Following

1540-719: Was an international success; New Line Cinema did not have a cut of the international box office. These events were major factors in New Line Cinema becoming a division of Warner Bros. Pictures . Films initially thought of as "flops" may recover income elsewhere. Several films have underperformed in their countries of origin, but have been sufficiently successful internationally to recoup losses or even become financial successes. Films may also recover money through international distribution, sales to television syndication , distribution outside of cinemas, and releases on home media . The 1995 post-apocalyptic action film Waterworld

1584-415: Was assigned to direct. Constance Bennett , a major leading lady of the 1930s whose career was waning, was cast in a supporting role through the efforts of her friend Cukor. The screenplay by S.N. Behrman , Salka Viertel , and George Oppenheimer was based on a 1925 Constance Talmadge silent film titled Her Sister from Paris , which in turn was based on a play by German playwright Ludwig Fulda . MGM used

1628-411: Was banned in several cities, including Boston and Providence, Rhode Island. Other cities including Omaha, Chicago, and Milwaukee ordered that some scenes be cut. MGM responded to the negative criticism of Two-Faced Woman by withdrawing the original cut of the film. Certain scenes were reshot and edited before the official release date. George Cukor refused to participate in the reshooting. Most notably,

1672-456: Was given a COVID-19 insurance payout, which amounted to £57 million ($ 71 million). Other films have succeeded long after cinema release by becoming cult films or being re-evaluated over time. High-profile films fitting this description include Vertigo , Blade Runner , The Wizard of Oz , It's a Wonderful Life , Citizen Kane , The Shawshank Redemption , Showgirls , Fight Club , The Thing , and Scott Pilgrim vs.

1716-442: Was involved before his marriage. Karin travels to New York to thwart the romance and win her husband back by masquerading as her spurious twin sister Katherine Borg, a wild, amoral "modern" woman. Larry is fascinated by Karin, in the guise of Katherine, but he quickly discovers the truth. He continues to play along, nearly seducing his wife's purported twin sister, but stopping short each time. Karin and Larry eventually reunite during

1760-413: Was not a natural dancer and disliked dancing in general, was forced to take lessons and once hid from her dance instructor in a tree at her home. She later said that she was embarrassed by the film and that it "was not good and it could never be made good." Garbo recalled that Melvyn Douglas , her co-star, disliked the film as well and his distaste for it was obvious during the production. Two-Faced Woman

1804-528: Was produced by Gottfried Reinhardt , with music by Bronislau Kaper , cinematography by Joseph Ruttenberg , art direction by Cedric Gibbons , and costume design by Adrian . MGM originally scheduled Two-Faced Woman for release in November 1941. The film received a Production Code seal of approval, but the National Legion of Decency rated the film as "C" for condemned — unusual at that time for

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1848-454: Was shown in 2004 at a George Cukor retrospective at the National Film Theatre in London, but has not been issued commercially in either the United States or Europe or shown on Turner Classic Movies (owned by WarnerMedia which holds the rights to the pre-1986 MGM film library). Upon the amended film's release in January 1942, Garbo received some of the worst reviews of her career. Despite

1892-575: Was terminated shortly after Two-Faced Woman was released, and it became her last film. Following a whirlwind romance and marriage, Ski instructor Karin Borg ( Greta Garbo ) learns, to her chagrin, that her new husband Larry Blake ( Melvyn Douglas ), editor of a fashion magazine, expects her to be a dutiful, submissive wife and not the independent woman she was when they met. They separate and Larry returns to New York City, where he takes up again with playwright Griselda Vaughn ( Constance Bennett ), with whom he

1936-409: Was the most expensive film ever made at the time after undergoing significant production difficulties. While it performed relatively well in the US box office, it did not initially turn a profit and became known as a box-office flop. International box-office takings and video sales led it to turn a profit. In 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One , which underperformed at the box office,

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