The much-anticipated crime drama The Many Saints of Newark opened to a disappointing box office, but what caused the film to flop? The film serves as a prequel to HBO's much-loved crime drama series The Sopranos, documenting the younger years of Tony Soprano as he works for his mobster uncle in the midst of a violent gang war. The Many Saints of Newark was originally slated for a 2020 release but was pushed twice due to pandemic concerns, finding an October 2021 release date. The film was given a simultaneous release in both theaters and on HBO Max.
The Many Saints of Newark's cast includes existing Sopranos characters alongside previously unseen ones, and the film's marketing relied heavily on the popularity of The Sopranos, as well as the casting of the late James Gandolfini's son, Michael Gandolfini, to portray the younger version of his father's iconic character. The Sopranos enjoyed eight years on the air, and over its six-season run became one of the most popular shows on TV, and making a prequel is usually a sure-fire way to guarantee the interest of existing fans without alienating newcomers to the franchise. The Many Saints of Newark's prequel status alone was enough to see the film receive considerable buzz, even without the added marketing push from the studio.
However, the film hasn't so far been able to live up to its considerable hype. The Many Saints of Newark opened to mixed reviews and a disappointing box office, earning just $5 million in its opening weekend against a $50 million production budget. It wasn't that the film's theatrical release was limited, either - it opened wide in 3181 venues - so what exactly made The Many Saints of Newark's opening weekend such a failure? It seems likely that the main culprit is the film's marketing relying too heavily on The Sopranos' continued popularity.
While some speculated that Warner Bros. day-and-date release model was to blame, it doesn't seem that HBO Max was the problem. It's possible that the film opening on the same weekend as Venom: Let There Be Carnage hurt The Many Saints of Newark's bottom line, as the former gobbled up audiences, but that's seemingly the symptom of a larger problem - The Sopranos ended 17 years before the film's release, and the moviegoing public has moved on. Tony Soprano's inclusion is both good and bad, as it shows the beloved character long before he became The Sopranos' iconic protagonist, and it didn't necessarily make for as much of a draw as the studio had hoped for.
There's also the matter of the film's cast. While casting Gandolfini in his father's role was a nice touch, The Many Saints of Newark lacks an A-list protagonist to help market the film, which likely further hurt the film's opening weekend. Much of the film's marketing focused on Gandolfini - a relative unknown - who, while playing the franchise's most iconic character, isn't even the film's protagonist, and this is jarring to new and old fans alike. This narrative dissonance spills over into the story itself, with The Many Saints of Newark retconning The Sopranos' timeline, too - something which only further alienates the film's core audience.
A disappointing opening weekend isn't necessarily the death-knell for a film, but when combined with mixed reviews, it's less than encouraging. Sadly, it seems that too much time has passed since the finale of The Sopranos for interest in the prequel to manifest into ticket sales, and the unenthusiastic critical response seems to have sealed the film's fate. While The Many Saints of Newark might yet achieve the same popularity as The Sopranos, if its opening weekend is any indication, it seems destined to be a huge box office flop.
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