Imagine a film so poorly made and universally condemned that it fails to land distributors in most major territories and is labeled propaganda. Ultimately the director has to distance himself from the final product, which is rarely seen anywhere in the world. This is the story of the world’s biggest box office bomb. ,Also read: India’s most expensive film flops after controversy over gay kiss, ends director’s career, puts entire Bollywood in debt,
World’s biggest box office bomb
The 2014 sports drama United Passions has the dubious distinction of being the biggest box office bomb in cinema history. The English-language film, produced in France, tells the origin story of football’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The film was 90% funded by FIFA. Made on a budget of $29–32 million, United Passions faced a poor time at the ticket counter. United Passions grossed only $918 in its opening weekend in the US, the worst opening of any film in history. Overseas, it failed in most markets and only managed to cross $100,000 in Russia and CIS. In many markets, the film did not even find a distributor and was not released or went straight to home media.
Why was United Passion ridiculed?
United Passions has been criticized for covering up various allegations of fraud, backdoor dealings and corruption at FIFA while portraying officials as heroes. It didn’t help that the film was released during the infamous 2015 FIFA corruption scandal, which forced several top officials, including FIFA president Sepp Blatter, to resign. Many critics called the film propaganda, with The Guardian describing it as “cinematic excrement” and “self-hagiography”. The film has a disappointing 0% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning it received no favorable reviews.
outcome
Tim Roth, who played Blatter in the film, has stated on record that he was concerned as to why nothing about corruption in FIFA was included in the film. In an interview with the BBC, the actor said, “I asked him ‘Where’s all the corruption in the script? Where’s the backstabbing, the deals?’.” The actor said that he has tried to convey these elements through his performance.
The film’s director Frédéric Aubertin was also the target. However, he almost distanced himself from the film. In June 2015, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he tried to balance “a Disney promotional film” [and] A Costa-Gavras/Michael Moore film”, but the project ultimately suited FIFA. “Now I’m looked at bad as the guy who brought AIDS to Africa or as the guy who caused the financial crisis. my name is all over [this mess]And apparently, I am a publicity man who makes films for corrupt people,” the filmmaker said.
United Passion is not available to stream on any platform. According to reports, due to the negative publicity surrounding the film’s release, no platform was ready to buy the digital rights of the film.
