Nate Parker's much-talked about film, Birth of a Nation, was a box office flop.
The historically inaccurate biopic about Nat Turner failed to bring in the big numbers that Fox Searchlight was expecting after the company paid $17,000,000 to distribute the film. The movie, which opened over the weekend, only took in an estimated $7.1 million and came in 6th place.
Could it be that the low numbers were due to the controversy surrounding Parker's rape allegations from 1999? Possibly so. It seems as though Parker became a liability for his own movie. No matter how many interviews he did, not only did he come off arrogant and rude, but also lacked remorse when discussing that night in 1999.
Even his own co-stars couldn't save the movie. Gabrielle Union, a rape survivor, penned a poignant post about her own sexual assault, but urged others to see the movie.
When the reviews came rolling in about the film, it was hard to find a positive one. From the historical inaccuracies, to the role black women played in the movie, it was true to some that it was a flawed endeavor. One has to wonder if Fox, on the heels of its 12 Years A Slave hit, saw money earning potential in the biopic? Either way, their ROI was not met. But they can only blame themselves and bad PR.