Weird! Rachel Zegler’s ‘Y2K’ Tanks at Box Office
Disney's PR nightmare can't open horror-comedy following anti-Trump rant
Indie horror consistently overperforms at the box office.
Recent surprise hits include the “Terrifier” series, “MaXXXine” and “Late Night with the Devil.”
Small budgets. Big ROI. Tell that to “Y2K” and its troubled leading lady.
The A24 studio’s latest takes a cheeky look at possible computer glitches at the turn of the century. Many expected a digital disaster of epic proportions. Spoiler alert: It was all hype.
It’s fine fodder for a movie, particularly a horror comedy starring Rachel Zegler, the biggest star in the relatively unknown cast.
Tell that to audiences, who avoided the film for more mainstream titles like “Wicked,” “Moana 2” and “Gladiator 2.”
“Y2K’s” tepid pre-release forecast tapped out at $5 million. No such luck over the weekend, with the film earning just $2.1 million from 2,100 theaters.
The far-Left Deadline noted how poorly the film performed, both for the spunky genre and its most notable star.
Genre has typically worked here in a niche form, but not this year as A24’s Rachel Zegler-led Y2K is blipping out with a $2.1M opening and a C- CinemaScore. While arthouse distribs like Neon and A24 have low thresholds for success, and this Kyle Mooney-directed horror comedy cost under $15M, $2M+ isn’t anything to brag about — if it gets there. And it’s certainly not good for Zegler.
Zegler, a rising star thanks to “West Side Story” and the “Hunger Games” prequel, cemented her “It” actress status by snagging the lead role in Disney’s “Snow White’ live-action film.
She proceeded to crush that goodwill with baffling statements that riled up audiences across the country. First, she slammed the “Snow White” source material, calling it “weird” and suggesting the new version would fix what was wrong with a movie that jump-started the Disney empire.
More recently, she savaged President-Elect Donald Trump’s voters, hoping they would “never know peace” following the mogul’s Election Day victory. The comments went viral, adding to her brand as a spoiled actress eager to insult potential movie goers.
She quickly backpedaled, apologizing for her cruel words. Did audiences reject “Y2K” in response?
Ziegler’s “Snow White,” co-starring Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, hits theaters in March. The Disney brand, revived with recent hits like “Inside Out 2” and “Moana 2,” could be enough to make the movie a hit.
The other possibility?
Zegler’s comments catch up with both her and the film, sinking its chances to recoup its outrageous budget.
Rachel Zegler should focus on growing up instead of being a big name in Hollywood, which doesn’t appear to be likely anyway, with all her woke BS.
We are boycotting. There’s no need to guess. No need to wonder. This is categorized by half of the country as a “Jaguar” “Bud Light” moment. We are going to sink this movie. Bomb it. It’s toast. We’re so done with this crap.
MAGAts gotta have their retribution. Don’t worry Rachel, they have never known peace to begin with.
I HATE Zegler with a passion that makes me wish SHE knows no peace. BUT I had to see Y2K this weekend to review for another site and it just plain SUCKS. I’d love to pin the flop on her but I didn’t even know she was in it til it started and i sat aghast. I knew it was a Kyle Mooney movie, and should have known better after his bizarro Brigsby Bear bored me to tears in 2017 but he was very inventive on SNL so i volunteered to review it (for pay of course).
Zegler’s name wasn’t on the poster, nor was her mug. The poster didn’t list ANYONE as stars, just the stupid “Y2K” title which no Gen Z is gonna be interested in in the first place. What was truly annoying about this piece of crap was that it was nothing but tonally jarring, the computer issues were stupid and superficial, and Zegler (as much as i hate to say it) was the most appealing person in the cast. When the rest of the cast is made up of unknowns who are even lamer than she is and I DESPISE her already, this is something that should never have been greenlit.
The most sucks, the marketing was atrocious.
I should note that you ARE right that she’s box office poison now. Not like West Side ever did real business though, and even Hunger Games performed weaker than the originals even with the higher box office prices of today.
The Snow White trailer is so awful it’s funny. Gal Gadot looks bored out of her skull, the CGI dwarfs look awful … will be one of the most anticipate flops in the history of cinema.