Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man tanks in US grossing just $1,100,000 at box office-Brooke Ivey Johnson-Entertainment – Metro

Robbie Williams biopic Better Man has failed to rock the US box office.

The ‘warts and all’ biopic follows Williams – played by a CGI monkey – during his rise to fame in boyband Take That and as a solo artist.

It also covers some of the obstacles Williams faced including his battles with substance abuse, mental health issues, and his difficult relationship with his father Pete (played by Steve Pemberton).

Directed by The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey, the film seeks to capture how Williams always felt ‘less evolved than other people.’

Williams is a bonafide superstar in the UK, but he’s essentially unknown in the US, and the box office numbers in the states reflects this disconnect.

With just a $1.1million (£908k) made in the US so far, the film is a definite bust in America, especially considering it was produced independently for roughly $110m (£90.8m).

Better Man bombed at US box offices (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)

It has long been known that Williams always regretted not cracking the US market as a popstar, so many have speculated that pushing Better Man to American audiences was his final attempt to conquer the states.

But for the most part, Americans all have the same thing to say about the film: ‘Who is Robbie Williams?’

X user @AlexTanooki wrote: ‘I expected this film to flop simply because they were hyping up Robbie Williams as a bigger pop star then he actually is. Nobody outside the UK knows who he is on a household basis. Not even saying he’s a bad singer.. but an international release.. not gonna work.’

@KyrosGGs agreed: ‘Does anyone in America even know who Robbie Williams is?’

Williams is played by a chimp in the film while everyone else is human (Picture: AP)

@Wellspring86023 posted: ‘Not many people know who Robbie Williams is in the USA. It’s a UK only type of thing. For those of you who don’t know who he is, he is a singer from a 90s boy band Take That. They are Beatles status in the Uk, but in the USA it’s like they never existed.’

Still, many users online felt that the film is excellent in its own right and that Americans should ‘get over’ not knowing Williams and see the film anyway.

@GigatronusP posted on X: ‘I’m not kidding, America. Go watch Better Man, it’s really good. You don’t have to know Robbie Williams.’

Many Americans wondered why they would go see a biopic about someone they’ve never heard of (Picture: Paramount Pictures)

@BoxChocolatez agreed, writing: ‘”I dont know who Robbie Williams is so why would I see the movie?” Aside from all the other reasons thats dumb, you also dont know who any fictional character is until you see their movie lol. That’s how watching movies works. John Wick? I don’t know that guy! Why would I see it?’

The film has done better in the UK, but with an opening of £1.5m to start and £3.8m to date, it hasn’t been the overwhelming success that would justify the big budget it took to make it.

David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, told Variety of the film: ‘Robbie Williams played by a digitally animated chimpanzee [is] an outlandish choice. For anyone complaining that the industry plays it too safe, this is your movie,’ he said.

‘The risk-taking is excellent, but $110 million is not realistic for the genre and for this musical artist. $25 to $30 million would have made more sense.’

Still, the film has gotten extremely positive reviews, with many calling it one of the most unique and striking biopics in cinema history.

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