David Duchovny Blames Disappointing X-Files Box Office On The Dark Knight

August 1, 2008 by | 13 Comments

xfilesnewpicsa 300x199 ImageDavid Duchovny has blamed going up against The Dark Knight as the main reason why X-Files: I Want To Believe performed poorly at the box office, taking in only $10 million in its opening weekend.

“I’d prefer if it was a huge hit, but there are mitigating circumstances. We happened to open on the worst day in the history of cinema – the second week of Batman. The only thing worse would be to open with Batman and nobody would’ve done that.”

Duchovny suggested that the movie still has a chance of turning a profit because of its relatively small budget.

“We’re competing for the same audience with what they’re saying will be the highest grossing film of all time,” he said. “What saves us is that we only cost $29 million to make. We’re a small movie masquerading as a blockbuster.”

Duchovny has a point. People cared more about how much The Dark Knight would take in it’s second weekend than there were about seeing the X-Files. The film has also been getting poor reviews, with some people calling it:

Slow, laborious and ponderous without ever earning the right to be, I Want To Believe is a mis-fire that threatens the franchise’s very existence. The only mystery here is, what went wrong?

The movie will probably make a profit, only a small one though.

Read more on: ,

Around the web


  • http://no.com Unknown

    Or maybe the fact that it got horrible reviews and was awful….maybe that's why it was disappointing…. I, myself, was pumped to see it. And then I saw it and was utterly disappointed.

  • Joanne27

    “I Want to Believe” is a small, intimate film about faith and beliefs, not big-budget explosions and aliens.

    Framed in that context, it's a pretty good little film with a lot of parallel layers and provides a compelling background to explore the mature relationship of Mulder and Scully.

    Plus, Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz have thrown in a lot of little Easter eggs for the fans.

    This film will make a profit and add to that the sales of DVDs and worldwide TV licensing, FOX probably will make one more X-Files film … dealing with the 2012 alien invasion.

    I want to believe.

  • Larry

    X-Files wasn't a bad movie. it just came out at the wrong time, plus the fact that the story had nothing to do with the alien conspiracy stories that made the TV show so good. It's a stand alone story that had nothing to do with aliens, so that made alot of fans decide to just wait for the DVD. Plus The Dark Knight is the best film of 2008 thus far, add it all up and it's no surprise that X-Files I Want to Believe box office numbers are so low. Dark Knight is a movie you want to see again and again, X-Files I Want to Believe is a wait for the DVD.

  • http://www.theplugg.com Charbarred

    I find it very strange that they released it in the summer. It's an extended TV episode and for that matter most people will probably be watching it on DVD.

  • Mulders Booking agent

    Of course it was an extended version of an episode…it was a TV show first, like all the other movies that were on TV……..thats what we wanted..the first film was the same as the alien storyline, just longer…people want a better movie than XF then you better make one yourselves or waste your money on movies like step brothers and the other feeble films out there

  • http://soonerthought.blogspot.com/2008/07/quick-review-x-files-i-want-to-believe.html Soonerthought

    Disclosure: I'm a huge fan of the “X-Files” series–a multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, SAG, etc. winner. So yes, I'm predisposed to like and even defend the new movie, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe”. Roger Ebert liked it very much, though it has been shellacked by a lot of others as being “ho hum” and unworthy of the wait. But almost nobody seems to have hated it.

    Well, that's the problem… I liked the new X Files movie. Not loved it, but liked it. It was a reunion of sorts: back to the moody Canadian backdrop, Chris Carter's direction and dialogue, and most of all David Duchovny's “Fox Mulder” and Gillian Anderson's “Dana Scully.” There's also an extended cameo of sorts from “Walter 'Skinman' Skinner,” (Mitch Pilleggi) their former boss.

    Billy Connolly does a great job as a tortured defrocked priest. “Battlestar Galactica's” Callum Keith Rennie is a suitable bad guy and Amanda Peet even manages to rise above the writing of her character a bit.

    Without rehashing the plot (I hate it when alleged critics tell you every plot point in their reviews), let's just say what you may have read is true: this movie is made in the tradition of the non-alien conspiracy episodes (see X-Files: Revelations DVD). It has a real “Silence of the Lambs” vibe. Frankly, that sounds cooler than it is in execution. All that atmosphere is really a backdrop for the tension between Mulder's desire to believe the unbelievable and Scully's crisis with her faith. That's box office poison when you're trying to distract moviegoers from a guy in a black cape beating the shit out of diabolical clown. (If you're a big fan like me you just want to shake show creator and former surfer Chris Carter and say “You had six years and all you came up with is this? Duuuuuuude!”) I have to give him props for a pretty funny Bush joke, though. Worth the price of admission.

    I have to add that though I really enjoyed seeing the characters and getting involved in the mystery of “I Want to Believe,” I couldn't stop myself from thinking “Why don't Mulder and Scully mention the looming alien invasion set for 2012?” I know, I know. Because this isn't about aliens. This is Chris Carter and Fox trying to get non-X-Filers to see the movie–to perhaps “reboot” the franchise for a broader audience. I respect that. I just wish the story were a little creepier, the rating 'R' instead of 'PG-13' and the budget bigger than $30 million.

    I hope the movie does well enough worldwide (with DVD sales and rentals, etc. it should do way better than its $30 million budget) for that third and final invasion-themed movie. I want this former cultural phenomenon to go out in a blaze of glory. But if it doesn't, watch the end credits of “I Want to Believe” for what could be a final farewell from Mulder and Scully.

    I could go on…but I think you should check it out for yourself.

    Not a fan, but like a decent mystery? Go.

    Like romantic tension and relationship stories? Go.

    Like body parts, mayhem and creepy mad scientists? Go.

    Like movies with a heart and a brain? Go.

    Like a cool soundtrack? Go.

    Sick of special effects & explosions subbing for story? Go.

    Go to a matinee if you don't want to pay full price. But have a look. Especially if you want a good, moody, creepy mystery.

    Besides, who knows? Despite yourself, you may want to believe after all.

  • Rosie

    The X-Files movie was really good. It had me thinking for days after leaving the theatre about all the underlying themes.

  • bad

    needed more money… as you could quiet clearly see and needed a different plot.. i.e somthing with aliens in.. (when people think of x-files.. most people think of aliens.. and this is what the film proberly needed most)

  • one sad x philer

    I was an avid X file fan, who stopped watching after season 7. I went to this movie hoping that Chris and Frank would be refreshed after a break from the series and provide us with a thriller. However, just like the Series Finale, this movie was one big snoozefest-Dull writing, horrible directing, and plot holes you could drive a truck through.
    Even if this movie had come out later in the year, it still wouldn't have improved the attendence. I'm the only one out of 10 friends, who would go to see the movie. The rest were so disappointed with the Series Finale that they refused to go see another movie that was written by Chris Carter or Frank Spotnitz.

  • Siu

    The X Files I want to Believe is a movie with good sense. Maybe for those who did not faithfully follow the show it was a bomb. I think you should watch it and make your own decision, since many people has also described it as mind-challenging and profound.

  • Siu

    The X Files I want to Believe is a movie with good sense. Maybe for those who did not faithfully follow the show it was a bomb. I think you should watch it and make your own decision, since many people has also described it as mind-challenging and profound.

  • Beth

    Well, I LIKED the movie. If you love Mulder and scully as I do, then it was an enjoyable ride. Problem is that today everyone wants huge special effects and less interpersonal interaction and thought-provoking plotlines.

    Looks the movie is doing much better overseas and will make money.

  • Beth

    Well, I LIKED the movie. If you love Mulder and scully as I do, then it was an enjoyable ride. Problem is that today everyone wants huge special effects and less interpersonal interaction and thought-provoking plotlines.

    Looks the movie is doing much better overseas and will make money.