In 2011, The Hollywood Reporter conducted a scientific survey and discovered that 35 percent of Republicans and 20 percent of Democrats consider the political discourse of actors before purchasing a movie ticket. Here are a few films that might have been (or might be) affected by this phenomenon.
In March 2010, the famously progressive Sean Penn wished “rectal cancer” on his political opponents. Nine months later, the politically charged Fair Game opened. The $22 million movie made just $9.5 million domestically. The 2011 THR survey indicated that 40 percent of Republicans routinely avoid Penn's movies because of his political rhetoric.
Four days ahead of the release of Cars 2, Pixar head John Lasseter revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that he revamped the story to make the oil industry the “uber bad guy,” and many conservatives went online to express their displeasure over the insertion of left-wing political messages into children’s movies. Cars 2 made $191 million domestically, $53 million less than its predecessor five years earlier.
This film about a worldwide epidemic opened on Sept. 9, 2011, seven weeks after star Matt Damon attended a Save Our Schools march where some attendees compared Republicans to “terrorists.” The $60 million movie earned $76 million domestically.
On Sept. 23, 2011, Morgan Freeman said on CNN that the conservative Tea Party opposition to President Barack Obama “is a racist thing.” That same day, his family film, A Dolphin Tale, opened, and it was tracking particularly well with conservatives. The movie did well enough to warrant a sequel, but a poll indicated that 37 percent of Tea Partiers said they were less likely to see the movie because of Freeman’s remarks.
Jane Fonda played First Lady Nancy Reagan in this film about a White House butler, and conservatives who haven’t forgiven the actress they call “Hanoi Jane” for visiting the enemy during the Vietnam war called for a boycott. Asked her opinion of a man organizing one such boycott, Fonda told THR he should “Get a life … if he creates hoopla, it will cause more people to see the movie.” The $30 million film made $116.6 million domestically and was considered a success.
George Clooney often criticizes conservatives, and many of them took to the Internet ahead of Tomorrowland to say they’d purposely avoid it to punish the actor. Since it was a movie about the dangers of global warming, which polls say most conservatives believe is hyped, it was an easy call for them. Eighteen months before the movie opened, Clooney said those who were skeptical of climate change were “stupid.” Tomorrowland, which cost $190 million, earned $93 million domestically.
On Oct. 9, Seth Rogen tweeted: “F— you @RealBenCarson.” Conservatives circulated the tweet, and many swore they’d punish Rogen by shunning his movies. Two weeks later, his $30 million film, Steve Jobs, opened to a very disappointing $7.3 million for the weekend.
Four days after a New York Police Officer was murdered, director Quentin Tarantino spoke at a rally that included members of Black Lives Matter and other progressive groups to denounce cops who have killed minorities. “I have to call the murderers the murderers,” he said of the cops. The NYPD and Los Angeles Police Department have called for a boycott of the director’s film, The Hateful Eight, which opens on Christmas Day.