45-481: Dolittle may refer to: Dolittle (film) , a 2020 film Dolittle (programming language) , a Japanese programming language See also [ edit ] Doctor Dolittle , a fictional character Doolittle (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Dolittle . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
90-490: A box-office bomb for a reported loss of $ 50–100 million. It was nominated for six Golden Raspberry Awards , including Worst Picture , winning for Worst Remake, Rip-off or Sequel . In Victorian era Britain , Dr. John Dolittle is a Welsh veterinarian with the ability to communicate with animals. After his wife Lily dies at sea, Dolittle retreats from human society and only tends to animals at his sanctuary that Queen Victoria gifted him. Years later, Tommy Stubbins ,
135-554: A "bomb" had the opposite meaning, referring instead to a successful film that "exploded" at the box office. The term continued to be used this way in the United Kingdom into the 1970s. With the advent of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter in the 2000s, word of mouth regarding new films is easily spread and has had a marked effect on box office performance. A film's ability or failure to attract positive or negative commentary can strongly impact its performance at
180-545: A "challenged production", there were no fights for power and no competing cuts for the film. The film's title was changed from The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle to simply Dolittle in August. The film was budgeted at $ 175 million before reshoots. According to financial statements analyzed by Forbes the film spent a total of $ 233.6 million, with a net cost of $ 192.4 million after UK tax credits. In January 2020, on Joe Rogan 's podcast The Joe Rogan Experience , Downey Jr. discussed
225-408: A considerable $ 234 million worldwide, but this was short of its $ 250 million budget plus worldwide advertising. The 2007 film The Golden Compass had a production budget of $ 200 million. To be able to fund the film, New Line Cinema had to sell all of the film's international distribution rights to various film distributors around the world. The film underperformed domestically, but
270-525: A major rethinking of his career and life. Box-office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has technically "bombed", the term is more frequently used for major studio releases that were highly anticipated, extensively marketed, and expensive to produce, but nevertheless failed commercially. Originally,
315-521: A minute now" and "twty down" ". A segment in the film in which Dolittle removes bagpipes from Ginko-Who-Soars' anus , inducing flatulence , was criticised as "gross" and "disgusting". In a retrospective article, The Telegraph called it "a set-piece that will be forever seared into the minds of those unfortunate enough to sit through it". Robert Downey Jr. later referred to the movie as “a two-and-a-half-year wound of squandered opportunity,” and noted that its troubled production and failure led to
360-430: A picture of this wild looking guy wearing this kind of suit with stars on it and like a staff in his hand [to Gaghan]... and he goes, "That looks good to me" and I was like "great let's do this movie"". Music artist Sia performed a new song of hers, " Original ", for the end credits, while Danny Elfman composed the film's score. The film was released by Universal Pictures . It was originally set for May 24, 2019, but
405-676: A screenplay by Gaghan, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand, based on a story by Thomas Shepherd. Dolittle is based on the title character created by Hugh Lofting and is primarily inspired by the author's second Doctor Dolittle book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle (1922). Robert Downey Jr. stars as the title character, alongside Antonio Banderas , Michael Sheen , Jim Broadbent , Jessie Buckley , Harry Collett , and Kasia Smutniak in live-action roles, with Emma Thompson , Rami Malek , John Cena , Kumail Nanjiani , Octavia Spencer , Tom Holland , Craig Robinson , Ralph Fiennes , Selena Gomez , and Marion Cotillard voicing an array of creatures. It
450-705: A tiger, bear, and a lioness. In March, Kumail Nanjiani , Octavia Spencer , John Cena , Rami Malek , Craig Robinson , Marion Cotillard , Frances de la Tour and Carmen Ejogo all signed on for voice roles as well. The character of Regine, a lioness voiced by Ejogo, was cut from the finished film. Principal production commenced mid-February 2018. Live-action scenes began filming in Kirkby Lonsdale , Cumbria in May, with further location filming at South Forest, Windsor Great Park , at Cothay Manor in Stawley , Somerset and on
495-457: A young boy, accidentally wounds a red squirrel named Kevin while out with his hunter father. He finds himself led to Dolittle's home by his macaw Polynesia , who hopes his arrival will help Dolittle reconnect with humans. At the same time, Queen Victoria dispatches her maid of honor, Lady Rose, to seek Dolittle's help when she falls seriously ill. After treating Kevin, Dolittle agrees to see Victoria, after Poly reveals he will lose his home to
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#1732883860588540-510: Is the third iteration of film adaptions based on the character, after the 1967 musical Doctor Dolittle starring Rex Harrison and the 1998–2009 Dr. Dolittle film series starring Eddie Murphy as the titular character and later Kyla Pratt as his daughter, and the only one not to be distributed by 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios ). The project was announced as The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle in March 2017 with Downey set to star, and
585-755: The Menai Suspension Bridge in North West Wales , in June. The film went through 21 days of re-shoots in April 2019 following poor test screenings. Director Jonathan Liebesman helped to oversee the filming alongside Gaghan , while Chris McKay wrote new material after it became clear from first cuts that the comedy elements of the film were not coming together as well as the producers had hoped. Prior to this, Universal had turned towards Seth Rogen and Neighbors co-writer Brendan O'Brien to help add comedy to
630-619: The Treasury if the queen dies. At her palace, Dolittle finds Victoria being tended to by his lifelong rival, Dr. Blair Müdfly. Examining her himself in the presence of Müdfly and Lord Thomas Badgley, a member of the House of Lords, he discovers she was poisoned with nightshade and can only be cured with the magical fruit from the Eden Tree . Dolittle mounts an expedition to handle this, leaving his dog Jip and his stick insect Styx to keep an eye on
675-495: The widespread antiwar sentiment it reflected had started to shift in favor of American entry into World War I . Another example is the 2015 docudrama about FIFA entitled United Passions . A glowing portrayal of FIFA, which had mostly funded the film, United Passions was released in theaters in the United States at the same time FIFA's leaders were under investigation for fraud and corruption . The film grossed only $ 918 at
720-516: The Queen while he is away. Although he takes along several animals for the journey, including Chee-Chee the gorilla , Yoshi the polar bear , and Poly, he refuses to take Tommy. Poly, refusing to let Tommy be left behind, sends Betsy the giraffe and Tutu the fox to collect him. He manages to reach the ship and helps out after beginning to learn how to talk to animals, especially when Müdfly begins pursuing Dolittle to impede his efforts. To track down
765-553: The US box office in its opening weekend. Sometimes, a film's performance may be adversely affected by national crisis or a disaster, such as the September 11 attacks in 2001, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020–2021. In evaluating box-office gross numbers, it is important to keep in mind that not all money is returned to the film studio. Some of the gross is kept by
810-408: The United States and Canada, and $ 174.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $ 251.5 million. Due to its high production and marketing costs, The New York Observer estimated that the film needed to gross over $ 500 million worldwide to break even ; following its debut weekend, it was estimated the film would lose Universal between $ 50–100 million. In the United States and Canada,
855-506: The World , each of which initially lost money at the box office but has since become popular. It is common for a single film's lackluster performance to push its studio into the red, in the sense of recording a net loss on its income statement . In extreme cases, a bomb may push its studio into bankruptcy or closure . Examples of this include United Artists ( Heaven's Gate ) and Carolco Pictures ( Cutthroat Island ). The Golden Compass
900-481: The animal characters [and] its painfully unfunny comedy". Much of the criticism focused on Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of the character with a Welsh accent, which the actor himself called "the single hardest accent on Earth". Mark Kermode derided the attempt, comparing it unfavourably with Welsh actor Michael Sheen's English accent, calling it "something from Mars" and suggesting the film had been heavily dubbed . Welsh reviewers were more mixed. Simon Thompson praised
945-484: The attempt, stating "it's a brave choice, I take my hat off to Robert Downey Jr. for going for it" and "as flawed as it is, it warmed the cockles of my heart to hear a Welsh accent in the cinema". Another Welsh reviewer said that appraisal of the accent "depends on how much love you have for him in attempting to do it in the first place", arguing that he had "clearly swotted up on the dialect , dropping in random phrases like "tidy" and "mun" , along with "I'll be there in
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#1732883860588990-417: The box office, especially on the opening weekend. Occasionally, films may underperform because of issues largely unrelated to the content of the film, such as the timing of the film's release. This was one of the reasons given for the commercial failure of Intolerance , D. W. Griffith's follow-up to The Birth of a Nation . Owing to production delays, the film was not released until late 1916, when
1035-407: The box office. For the 2005 film Sahara , its budget ballooned to $ 281.2 million for production, distribution, and other expenses. The film earned $ 119 million in theaters and $ 202.9 million overall with television and other subsidies included, resulting in a net loss of $ 78.3 million. In 2012, Disney reported losses of $ 200 million on John Carter . The film had made
1080-453: The courage to defeat him. Although the group acquire the journal, Müdfly steals it and destroys their ship. Rassouli, learning that Dolittle is trying to honour Lily's memory with his expedition, and he also misses her, loans him a ship to chase after Müdfly. Both parties eventually reach the island of the Eden Tree, only to find it is guarded by the dragon Ginko-Who-Soars. Although it attacks
1125-642: The decision to close the production company had been made a year prior to the film's release. The 2006 independent movie Zyzzyx Road made just $ 30 at the US box office. With a budget of $ 1.2 million and starring Tom Sizemore and Katherine Heigl , its tiny revenue is due to its limited box-office release – just six days in a single theater in Dallas for the purpose of meeting Screen Actors Guild requirements – rather than its ability to attract viewers. According to co-star Leo Grillo , it sold six tickets, two of which were to cast members. Previously,
1170-420: The film a negative review: "Terrible script. Terrible visuals. Dull plot. Dismal gags. The fact (is) that at 101 minutes it really, really tested one's patience. It is shockingly poor". In examining the film's ending, Lisa Laman of Screen Rant noted that the film as a whole suffered from numerous problems, including "...Dolittle's new backstory involving a deceased wife...the largely lifeless voice-over work of
1215-458: The film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, while PostTrak reported an average of 3 out of 5 stars from viewers they surveyed. Courtney Howard of Variety called the film a "frenetic, crass kids' flick" and wrote: "What should have been an awe-filled adventure quickly curdles into an awful one, thanks to a pedestrian formula and the filmmakers' fixation on fart jokes". Writing for The Hollywood Reporter , Todd McCarthy said: "From
1260-493: The film exhibitors and the film distributor. The scratch formula for making a rough estimate of a studio's portion of the gross is that the studio usually gets half. A large budget can cause a film to fail financially, even when it performs reasonably well at the box office; 1980's Heaven's Gate , for example, exceeded its planned production schedule by three months, causing its budget to inflate from $ 12 million to $ 44 million. The film only earned $ 3.5 million at
1305-450: The film has an approval rating of 15% based on 242 reviews, with an average rating of 4/10. The site's critics consensus reads: " Dolittle may be enough to entertain very young viewers, but they deserve better than this rote adaptation's jumbled story and stale humor." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 26 out of 100, based on 46 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave
1350-466: The film was released alongside Bad Boys for Life , and was projected to gross $ 20–22 million from 4,155 theaters in its three-day opening weekend, and a total of around $ 27 million over the full four-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend. It made $ 6.3 million on its first day, including $ 925,000 from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $ 22 million for three days, and $ 29.5 million over
1395-410: The film's struggles, Square Pictures did not make any more films and is now a consolidated subsidiary of Square Enix as Visual Works . In 2011, Mars Needs Moms was the last film released by ImageMovers Digital before Disney 's stake got absorbed by ImageMovers to a loss of nearly $ 140 million – the largest box-office bomb of all time in nominal dollar terms. Regardless of this loss,
Dolittle - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-553: The film, but neither could remain committed to the project and dropped out. McKay was assigned to storyboard sequences and assemble different edits before later leaving to instead direct The Tomorrow War . Liebesman took over McKay's duties and finished the film alongside Gaghan. The Lego Batman Movie scribe John Whittington had also performed rewrites on the script amid reshoots, and flew to London to meet with Downey, who allegedly tore Whittington's script apart in favor of "new ideas". The Hollywood Reporter stated that despite
1485-470: The four-day frame, finishing second, behind Bad Boys for Life . The film made $ 12.1 million in its second weekend and $ 7.7 million in its third, remaining in second both times. After months of delays, the film was released in China on July 24, and made $ 5.2 million from about 3,000 screens in its opening weekend. By August 6, the film had reached $ 14.6 million in grosses in the country. On Rotten Tomatoes ,
1530-433: The fruit, Dolittle brings his expedition to Monteverde, ruled over by Lily's father King Rassouli, to recover her journal. He believes that it will help lead the way to the site where the fruit is found. However, Rassouli apprehends Dolittle when he tries to steal the journal and locks him in with a moody tiger named Barry. While Tommy works to recover the journal, Dolittle stalls Barry until Chee-Chee locates him and finds
1575-593: The groups, causing Müdfly to fall down a hole, it soon collapses from internal pain. Dolittle diagnoses and cures the dragon, causing Ginko to gratefully reward him access to the tree and its fruit. Dolittle returns in time to cure Victoria, before revealing that Badgley had poisoned her to take the crown for himself. The queen has him sent to the Tower of London for treason, thanking Dolittle for saving her. Returning home, Dolittle re-opens it to others, while taking on Tommy as his apprentice. In March 2017, Robert Downey Jr.
1620-538: The inspiration for the Dr. Dolittle character in the film, which he said stemmed from a Welsh neo-pagan physician called William Price : "Same way I did with Iron Man... before I signed on, I was just googling 'weirdest Welsh doctor', I just wanted to think of, I don't want to just do another English accent.. so there was this guy called William Price, who's a nutty Welsh doctor, he was a neo-druidist, he believed that he could communicate with all nature and all that stuff, so I sent
1665-458: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dolittle&oldid=1214263115 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Dolittle (film) Dolittle is a 2020 American fantasy adventure film directed by Stephen Gaghan from
1710-517: The rest of the cast joined over the following year. Filming began in March 2018 and lasted through June, taking place around the United Kingdom. The film underwent three weeks of reshoots in the spring of 2019, directed by Jonathan Liebesman and written by Chris McKay , after initial test screenings yielded poor results. Universal Pictures theatrically released Dolittle in the United States on January 17, 2020. The film received generally negative reviews and grossed $ 251.5 million worldwide, making it
1755-416: The very first scene, it's clear something is terribly off with this lavishly misbegotten attempt to repopularize an animal-loaded literary franchise that was born exactly a century ago. The oddly diffident star and executive producer Robert Downey Jr. never finds the power-supplying third rail needed to energize a tale that fails to make a real case for being reinterpreted". British critic Mark Kermode gave
1800-557: Was a success at the international box office and grossed $ 372 million worldwide; nonetheless, its underperformance at the box office in North America was seen as a significant factor in influencing the decision by Warner Bros. Pictures to take direct control of New Line Cinema. In 2001, Square Pictures , a division of Square , released its only film, Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within . It received mixed reviews from critics and failed to recover its $ 145 million cost. Following
1845-712: Was an international success; New Line Cinema did not have a cut of the international box office. These events were major factors in New Line Cinema becoming a division of Warner Bros. Pictures . Films initially thought of as "flops" may recover income elsewhere. Several films have underperformed in their countries of origin, but have been sufficiently successful internationally to recoup losses or even become financial successes. Films may also recover money through international distribution, sales to television syndication , distribution outside of cinemas, and releases on home media . The 1995 post-apocalyptic action film Waterworld
Dolittle - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-623: Was cast to star in The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle , a feature adaptation of Hugh Lofting 's second published Dolittle book, The Voyages of Doctor Dolittle . Downey was paid $ 20 million for his involvement. In December, Harry Collett and Jim Broadbent were also cast, in live-action roles. The following year in February, Antonio Banderas and Michael Sheen were added to the live-action cast, while Tom Holland , Emma Thompson , Ralph Fiennes , and Selena Gomez were cast to voice animals, including
1935-456: Was given a COVID-19 insurance payout, which amounted to £57 million ($ 71 million). Other films have succeeded long after cinema release by becoming cult films or being re-evaluated over time. High-profile films fitting this description include Vertigo , Blade Runner , The Wizard of Oz , It's a Wonderful Life , Citizen Kane , The Shawshank Redemption , Showgirls , Fight Club , The Thing , and Scott Pilgrim vs.
1980-445: Was moved to April 12 of that year, to avoid competition with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker , which itself was later moved from May to December 20, 2019. The film was later moved again to January 17, 2020. Dolittle was released on Digital HD on March 24, 2020, and on DVD , Blu-ray , and Ultra HD Blu-ray on April 7. As of July 12, 2020, the film had made $ 14.3 million in home media sales. Dolittle grossed $ 77 million in
2025-409: Was the most expensive film ever made at the time after undergoing significant production difficulties. While it performed relatively well in the US box office, it did not initially turn a profit and became known as a box-office flop. International box-office takings and video sales led it to turn a profit. In 2023, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One , which underperformed at the box office,
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