Bradley Cooper's newest movie did abysmally bad at the box office -- and ticket sales were apparently so poor ... theaters actually started bumping BC for Peter Parker.
The flick -- titled "Nightmare Alley" and directed by Guillermo del Toro -- raked in just under $3 million over its opening weekend across a little over 2,000 theaters nationwide ... this with a reported price tag of about $60 mil to make it, and future projections looking grim.
True shit. Just got an email from my theater asking if I wanted to cancel my tickets for NIGHTMARE ALLEY because they cancelled every other show to free up the screen for more Spider-Man showings. pic.twitter.com/tpdfD7VjqG
— Reyna Cervantes (@Jfcdoomblade) December 19, 2021
Not just that ... but it would seem some ticket buyers had to nix their scheduled outing after getting word from the local theater that they were swapping a one-off "Nightmare Alley" screening to make room for yet another "Spider-Man: No Way Home" slot.
One person writes, "True s***. Just got an email from my theater asking if I wanted to cancel my tickets for NIGHTMARE ALLEY because they cancelled every other show to free up the screen for more Spider-Man showings."
Me: I think I can get enough work done today and tomorrow to see Nightmare Alley on Tuesday!
— Richard Newby (@RICHARDLNEWBY) December 19, 2021
The theater: Oh, yeah we only have one showing at a super inconvenient time on Tuesday. And also, it’s the last day we’re showing it! pic.twitter.com/92psXmS4Dg
It also appears 'NA' is getting yanked out of cineplexes pretty quickly -- if it was ever playing at all, that is -- in the wake of its terrible performance, with yet another person pointing out there's only one single screening for it this upcoming week at a Marcus Theaters location.
And where "Nightmare Alley" *was* playing ... not very many people were rushing in to see it. There are few photos online showing very empty theater rooms. Bottom line ... hardly anyone caught it. Ditto for 'West Side Story' ... which did worse this weekend than last.
830pm showing of Nightmare Alley. pic.twitter.com/G5T8PlC6pK
— Tokyo Slim (@Tokyo2Slim) December 19, 2021
Meanwhile, 'No Way Home' absolutely crushed ... pulling in over $250 million this weekend, even in the midst of the pandemic and a new variant causing COVID cases to rise again.
So the question ... what gives??? Many are lamenting the lopsided numbers -- pointing out that if Spider-Man can get asses in seats during a still-scary time ... it must mean the death of "real cinema" as we know it, with tentpole popcorn franchises fully taking over.
We got new movies this fall from Steven Spielberg, Guillermo del Toro, Ridley Scott, Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson — only to let them all be largely ignored at the box-office.
— Joe Russo (@joerussotweets) December 18, 2021
My heart aches for cinema.
There's a number of reasons why these flicks for grown folks might be flopping of late -- including a Disney self-sabotage theory that's kinda interesting -- but the fact is ... it's a bad time for movies that don't appeal to little kids. And that trend may be here for the long haul.