Boss Bomb? ‘Deliver Me from Nowhere’s’ Sad Tracking

Music biopics can be huge hits or embarrassing flops in the modern era

The hits?

• “Bohemian Rhapsody” – $216 million US/$694 million international
• “Rocketman” – $96 million US/$98 million international
• “Bob Marley: One Love” – $96 million US/$84 million international

The misses?

• “Back to Black” – $6 million US/$44 million international
• “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody” – $23 million US/$36 million international

(All numbers courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo.com)

Feast or famine, or audiences are still smarting from the moderately recent deaths of Amy Winehouse and Houston.

Bruce Springsteen, by comparison, is alive, well and remarkably vital at 76. And he’s been promoting “Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere” as part of the film’s marketing push.

The film, out Oct. 24, casts Jeremy Allen White as a young Springsteen at an emotional crossroads. The tortured singer is about record 1982’s “Nebraska,” an album that found him digging deep into his artistic soul.

The results speak for themselves all these years later. What’s less clear about the movie? The film’s awards season potential. The first wave of reviews are far from glowing, witness the movie’s current 66 percent “fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes. 

(Denver-based critics weren’t given the chance to screen the film prior to release.)

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So will “Deliver Me from Nowhere” be the next “Rocketman?” Unlikely, to be kind.

The Numbers Keep Falling

A few weeks back, box office sites predicted the film could earn anywhere from $15 million to $25 million. And why not? Springsteen is a living legend, one of rock’s biggest stars whose fame hasn’t dimmed over the decades.

He’s an icon, full stop. And this is the first major, big-screen closeup of his creative process.

Yet Variety predicted the film would earn in the $10 million range just a few days ago. The competition isn’t particularly stiff, including the poorly reviewed “Regretting You” and the second week of the horror sequel “The Black Phone 2.”

The film faces a few obvious obstacles.

Hardly Born to Run

This isn’t a jukebox-style biopic but a very specific look at a very specific part of Springsteen’s life and career. Depression gets an extended closeup, hardly cinematic catnip .

“Glory Days?” Hardly.

Plus, Springsteen’s hard-left politics have been chipping away at his brand in recent years. His shocking defense of sky-high ticket prices shredded his blue-collar image. And his chronic attacks on President Donald Trump, while ignoring the serial miscues of his predecessor, likely chased some potential movie goers away.

Springsteen exists in the rareified air of rock gods. Plus, Hollywood loves cranking out music biopics, witness potential films based on Debbie Harry and Joni Mitchell.

A Springsteen movie should be a must-see event, even one that doesn’t rock the Oscar conversation.

Instead, the film could be out of theaters by Thanksgiving based on current tracking models.