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Margot Robbie has wowed the critics in virtually every movie she’s starred in, from her breakout role on The Wolf Of Wall Street to being the saving grace of the widely panned Suicide Squad.
But it appears she’s hit a snare, with her latest film I, Tonya getting a lukewarm reception at the Toronto Film Festival.
As Variety reports the film, which is a biopic of disgraced former US professional ice skater Tonya Harding, received much lower than expected bids from studios.
According to the website, “[some] potential buyers who looked at the picture thought it had only limited commercial appeal,” and “the bidding process never got as hot as the agents and producers thought it would.”
The inside word is that CBS films had bid $6 million before the screening, but lowered that to $2 million after seeing the film.
I, Tonya was bought by Neon and 30WEST for around $5 million despite the somewhat lacklustre reception. Being a smaller studio, it means I, Tonya is less likely to get exposure in major cinema chains, and might only show in boutique or arthouse cinemas, or be shown in limited release.
On a positive note, Variety reviewer Owen Gleiberman rated Robbie’s performance as “canny, live-wire, [and] deeply sympathetic.”
Margot underwent quite a transformation for the role, as was revealed when she was spotted on the Atlanta set this year.
Image: Twitter @bestofmargot
If you’re unfamiliar with the thrilling real life story, it goes like this: In 1994, the world media was sent into a huge frenzy when U.S. figure skating champion, Tonya Harding, hired a hit-man to break her competitor Nancy Kerrigan’s right leg.
The move would mean Kerrigan was too injured and unable to compete in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. The attacker followed Kerrigan to a Detroit skating rink and after her practice, struck her in a corridor a few inches above her knee. Her leg was not broken and both skaters made it the Olympics that year.
The bizarre plot to cripple Kerrigan had failed and she went on to take silver while Harding came eighth. Harding was banned from the sport as a result.
