Even if Tom Hooper’s Cats uses up all of its nine lives it won’t be enough for the film to make a profit or break even. New analysis of the film’s box office versus its production and promotion expenses via Deadline paints a bleak picture for the adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, with the film expected to lose at least $71 million once it’s all said and done, though actual loses could be even higher.

Per the report, if Cats manages to pull in a global box office of $100 million — $40 million domestic and $60 million overseas — it still won’t be enough to cover the cost of production and promotion among other expenses. The film cost around $95 million to make and Deadline has estimated around $115 million in global P&A spend. When you start to add in additional costs, the disparity between box office and expense grows even wider.

 

And that $71 million loss is an “at least”. It’s likely that the actual financial loss will be much higher. As of this article’s writing, Cats is sitting at a $37 million global box office and it’s unclear how much more the film will actually make. As is, Universal Pictures has officially removed Cats from their For Your Consideration campaign, meaning that the studio is not seeking any awards nominations — at the Academy Awards or otherwise — for the film.

 

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