The Boat That Rocked gets shorter cut for US release

source: slashfilm.com

The Boat That Rocked could lose up to 20 minutes from its running time when it finally hits American cinemas in November.

The Richard Curtis-directed flick was released in the UK and Australia earlier this year to middling reviews and unimpressive box office returns. Of its $50 million budget (quite large for a comedy), it has only raked in about $25 million.

If the film is to turn a profit, it will need an impressive run in the U.S. To put that in perspective, Curtis’ last film Love Actually only grossed $59 million in the U.S. However, it managed to gross $187 million internationally. Now that $25 mil international gross for TBTR is looking pretty dismal.

Originally scheduled for an August bow, Universal sold the picture to specialist distributor Focus Features and the release date has since changed to November.

The delay is the result of a trip back to the editing room, during which 20 or so minutes are set to be cut from the 129 minute flick. The overlong nature of the film no doubt led to the picture’s disappointing 55% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

If I may quote my original review of the film: “Curtis needed to take a sharp pair of scissors to this script before setting sail into production. There are too many characters, too many tales, and too many minutes for what should have been a breezy comedy.“

So I’m all for the cuts! There is a great film (well, a very enjoyable one) hidden away here. Let’s hope Focus can unearth it.

Discuss: What were your thoughts on The Boat That Rocked? Too long? Not long enough?