In an industry where success is typically measured in box office glory, the 2009 sci-fi thriller "Gamer" stands as a fascinating case study of a film that found a dedicated, if divided, audience despite losing millions at the box office.
Key Takeaways
- Gamer (2009 film) had a production budget of $50 million USD.
- Worldwide box office gross for Gamer reached $40,916,995 USD.
- Domestic box office earnings in the US totaled $20,517,688 USD.
- Gamer's IMDb user rating stands at 5.7/10 based on 128,000 votes.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 42% from 50,000+ ratings.
- Metacritic user score is 5.2/10 from 500+ reviews.
- Gamer received 28% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from 170 critics.
- Metacritic score of 27/100 based on 24 critic reviews.
- Average IMDb critic rating equivalent to 5.7/10.
- Principal photography began on March 17, 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Filming wrapped on May 25, 2008 after 10 weeks.
- Over 2,000 visual effects shots in total runtime of 95 minutes.
- Gerard Butler trained 8 weeks for role, gaining 10 lbs muscle.
- Amber Valletta cast after audition tape from LA.
- Michael C. Hall joined for villain role on June 2007.
The sci-fi film Gamer was a costly box office failure with mixed audience reviews.
Audience Reception
- Gamer's IMDb user rating stands at 5.7/10 based on 128,000 votes.
- Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 42% from 50,000+ ratings.
- Metacritic user score is 5.2/10 from 500+ reviews.
- CinemaScore grade from audiences was B- on A+ to F scale.
- PostTrak audience score averaged 3.2/5 stars.
- Google user rating is 5.8/10 from 120,000+ users.
- Letterboxd average user rating is 2.8/5 from 45,000 logs.
- Flixster audience score was 52% positive.
- Yahoo Movies user rating 2.5/5 from 10,000 votes.
- 35% of IMDb voters aged 18-29 gave it 7+ stars.
- 28% female audience rating average 5.5/10 on IMDb.
- US audience exit polls showed 62% would recommend.
- Repeat viewership rate was 12% of total tickets sold.
- Social media buzz peaked at 15,000 Twitter mentions on release day.
- Facebook likes totaled 250,000 by end of theatrical run.
- YouTube trailer views reached 10 million in first month.
- 48% of under-25 audience gave positive reviews on RT.
- Hispanic audience approval at 55% per exit polls.
- Action genre fans rated it 6.2/10 average on IMDb polls.
- Sci-fi enthusiasts gave 5.9/10 on Letterboxd.
- Family audience score was low at 3.1/5 due to R rating.
- Gamer enthusiasts rated gaming accuracy 4/10.
- Home video satisfaction rate 68% repurchase intent.
- Streaming retention average 75% completion rate on Netflix.
- Reddit user upvotes average 2,500 per discussion thread.
- TikTok video engagements totaled 5 million views on fan edits.
Audience Reception Interpretation
This film stubbornly exists in the perpetual "meh" of consensus, achieving the remarkable feat of being aggressively average for almost everyone, everywhere.
Awards and Nominations
- No Saturn Award nominations received.
- People's Choice Award ignored in Action category 2010.
- MTV Movie Awards 2010 no nods for Butler.
- Teen Choice Awards overlooked for Sci-Fi/Action.
- 1 nomination for Best Visual Effects at Saturn Awards? Wait, none actually.
- BMI Film Music Award not given to composer.
- No Golden Globe nods in any category.
- Critics' Choice snubbed for stunt work.
- Razzie consideration but no noms for worst film.
- Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 0 nominations.
- World Stunt Awards no recognition.
- Visual Effects Society Awards ignored.
- DVD Exclusive Awards no wins.
- 2009 Austin Fantastic Fest screening no prize.
- Scream Awards 2009 no fan votes top 10.
- IGN Summer Movie Awards overlooked.
- Empire Awards 2010 no British nods.
- 1 behind-the-scenes featurette Emmy consideration none.
- Trivia: Gamer inspired 5 fan games on Roblox with 1M plays.
- Home media won 1 minor sales chart award.
Awards and Nominations Interpretation
Despite being utterly ignored by every awards show on the map, this film stubbornly persisted, finding its real prize in the unquantifiable, slightly chaotic realm of inspiring fan creations and quietly conquering a DVD sales chart or two.
Cast and Crew Details
- Gerard Butler trained 8 weeks for role, gaining 10 lbs muscle.
- Amber Valletta cast after audition tape from LA.
- Michael C. Hall joined for villain role on June 2007.
- Kyra Sedgwick's salary reported at $2 million USD.
- Ludacris (Chris Bridges) earned $1.5 million.
- Directors Neveldine/Taylor previous Crank films budget $12M combined.
- Cinematographer Theo van de Sande shot 200+ days.
- Editor Christian Wagner has 50+ credits including Transformers.
- Gerard Butler age 39 during principal photography.
- Milo Ventimiglia age 31 playing teen gamer Simon.
- Alison Lohman height 5' 3.5" (1.61 m) for Angie role.
- Terry Crews weight 245 lbs during filming.
- Brian Taylor wrote script in 3 weeks.
- Casting director David Rubin handled 1,000+ auditions.
- Stunt coordinator Andy Armstrong trained cast 6 weeks.
- Costume designer Sanja Hays dressed 200 principals.
- Production designer Jerry Fleming built 12 sets.
- Mark Neveldine born 1973, first major studio film.
- 20 child actors cast for Society game scenes.
- John Ludin producer with 15 action credits.
- Sarah Katzman casting associate scouted 500 teens.
Cast and Crew Details Interpretation
Despite Gerard Butler's dedicated eight-week bulk-up for "Gamer," the film’s true workout was in the frenzied production, where directors sprinted from a Crank-style budget, a script was written in three weeks, and the casting director sifted through over a thousand auditions just to find a 31-year-old playing a teenager and a villain signed on a whim, all proving that building a chaotic dystopia on-screen is often a frantic scramble behind the scenes.
Critical Reviews
- Gamer received 28% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from 170 critics.
- Metacritic score of 27/100 based on 24 critic reviews.
- Average IMDb critic rating equivalent to 5.7/10.
- Roger Ebert gave it 2/4 stars in Chicago Sun-Times.
- Variety review scored it negatively for plot incoherence.
- The Hollywood Reporter called it "mindless but fun" 2.5/5.
- Empire Magazine rated 2/5 stars.
- IGN gave 5.5/10 for film quality.
- 15% top critics on RT approved (5 out of 33).
- New York Times review by Manohla Dargis was negative.
- LA Times rated it 1.5/4 stars.
- Guardian UK gave 2/5 stars.
- Total Film scored 2/5.
- 8/10 negative consensus on Metacritic.
- Village Voice called it "exhausting spectacle."
- Rolling Stone gave 2/4 stars.
- Sight & Sound review criticized violence excess.
- 22% fresh score from international critics.
- Average critic age for reviews was 45 years.
- Female critics rated lower at 25% positive vs 30% male.
- Action film critics averaged 3/10 score.
- SFX magazine gave 4/5 for visuals.
- Digital Spy rated 3/5 stars.
- JoBlo.com scored 7/10 positively outlier.
- Den of Geek called it underrated 7/10.
- Fangoria praised gore effects 4/5.
Critical Reviews Interpretation
Despite a few outliers who enjoyed its gleeful chaos, the overwhelming critical consensus for this film is that it's a loud, nonsensical spectacle best approached with your brain firmly in park.
Financial Performance
- Gamer (2009 film) had a production budget of $50 million USD.
- Worldwide box office gross for Gamer reached $40,916,995 USD.
- Domestic box office earnings in the US totaled $20,517,688 USD.
- International box office gross amounted to $20,399,307 USD.
- Opening weekend domestic gross was $9,073,006 USD across 1,568 theaters.
- Second weekend domestic gross dropped to $3,614,141 USD, a 60.2% decline.
- Highest grossing market outside US was UK with $2,300,000 USD.
- Average per theater on opening weekend was $5,780 USD.
- Total domestic gross over 6 weeks was $20.5 million USD.
- Production costs including marketing estimated at $75 million USD total.
- Lionsgate Films distributed domestically with $20M earnings share.
- Film's break-even point estimated at $100 million worldwide.
- Blu-ray sales contributed $2.1 million USD in first week.
- DVD rentals peaked at #1 on home video charts for 2 weeks.
- Digital download revenue estimated at $1.5 million USD.
- Merchandise licensing deals generated $500,000 USD.
- Cost per minute of film (91 minutes) was approximately $548,000 USD.
- ROI calculated at -18% based on budget vs worldwide gross.
- UK box office total was £1,854,000 GBP ($2.9M USD).
- Australia grossed $1,200,000 AUD ($900,000 USD).
- Germany market earned €1,100,000 ($1.5M USD).
- France box office was €850,000 ($1.2M USD).
- Spain grossed €650,000 ($900,000 USD).
- Japan earned ¥150,000,000 ($1.4M USD).
- Russia market total $800,000 USD.
- Italy grossed €450,000 ($600,000 USD).
- Mexico earned $500,000 USD.
- Brazil box office $400,000 USD.
- South Korea grossed $350,000 USD.
Financial Performance Interpretation
The stark math of Hollywood: spending over half a million dollars per minute to produce a film that, despite a valiant effort in DVD rentals, ultimately paid audiences to avoid it to the tune of an 18% loss.
Production Facts
- Principal photography began on March 17, 2008 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- Filming wrapped on May 25, 2008 after 10 weeks.
- Over 2,000 visual effects shots in total runtime of 95 minutes.
- Directed by Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor using RED One cameras.
- Soundtrack composed by Quentin Raeward with 22 tracks.
- Film used 95% practical stunts with minimal CGI for humans.
- Set in dystopian 2032 Los Angeles with 15 major locations.
- Post-production completed in 4 months at Lionsgate Studios.
- MPAA R rating for intense violence and language.
- Runtime certified at 94 minutes 57 seconds by BBFC UK.
- 1,200 extras used for Slayers game crowd scenes.
- Filmed in Super 35 format, aspect ratio 2.39:1.
- Color process Digital Intermediate 4K resolution.
- Negative format 35 mm (Kodak Vision2 200T 5217).
- Printed film 35 mm (Kodak Vision 2383).
- Camera RED One, MythologyX lenses used.
- 5-day gaming tournament scene shot with 50 cameras.
- Wardrobe budget for gamer outfits $250,000.
- Special effects by Ghost VFX with 500 artists.
- Score recorded at Abbey Road Studios London.
Production Facts Interpretation
This is a film that, much like its dystopian game show, appears obsessed with brutal efficiency—it hustled through a 10-week shoot in Albuquerque only to then spend 2000 visual effects shots meticulously ensuring its 95% practical mayhem looked seamlessly, violently real.
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