The Invasion

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    [Total: 5 Average: 2.4]
  • Directed By: Oliver Hirschbiegel
  • Written By: David Kajganich
  • Release Date: August 17, 2007
  • Domestic Distributor: Warner Bros
  • Cast: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Jeremy Northam

Box Office Info:
Budget: $65 million Financed by: Warner Bros; Village Roadshow
Domestic Box Office: $15,074,191 Overseas Box Office: $25,096,367


WB announced another redo of Invasion of the Body Snatchers in August 2003, as the studio owned the remake rights after they made (and dumped) Abel Ferrara’s Body Snatchers (1993).  Screenwriter David Kajganich was signed to a blind script commitment after he sold his spec Town Creek to the studio in 2003 and that assignment became this doomed picture.  The budget for The Invasion was $65 million after extensive reshoots added $10M in expenses and it was co-financed by Warner Bros and Village Roadshow.  $16M of the picture’s price tag went to Nicole Kidman.

The Invasion completed filming in December 2005 with a summer 2006 release planned, but after director Oliver Hirschbiegel delivered his cut, Warner Bros and producer Joel Silver had the movie reworked.  Hirschbiegel was removed and the Wachowskis came onboard to do rewrites and V For Vendetta director James McTeigue was hired to direct the reshoots.  17 days were allotted for the reshoots.

After the movie was piecemealed together with the new footage, most of which were bland action sequences, Warner Bros dated it for the slow end of summer frame on August 17, 2007.  The Invasion was tracking very poorly and reviews were mixed leaning negative.  Word had also leaked to the public that the original director was replaced and that The Invasion was a problem picture.

It bowed against Superbad and another delayed turkey The Last Legion.  The Invasion was dead on arrival with $5,951,409 — placing #5 for the weekend led by Superbad.  Audiences gave the movie a toxic C cinemascore and it declined 48% in its second frame to $3,093,428 and then sank 62.3% to $1,166,052 in its third session.  The domestic run closed with only $15,074,191.

Australia based Village Roadshow dumped the film in their home country into 41 theaters with a mere $23,632 gross.  Warner Bros distributed overseas in most markets to a terrible $25M cume.  The worldwide gross was $40.1M and WB would see returned about $22M after theaters take their percentage of the gross — which would not cover global P&A expenses and the theatrical receipts would not dent the budget.  After ancillary sales, The Invasion lost nearly $60 million.

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