This 4-hour saga was the highest-grossing film of the year

Summary

• Cleopatra was a box office triumph but a financial disaster, quadrupling its budget and plagued by scandals and delays.
• The film covered all the details of Cleopatra's tragic story, from her alliance with Caesar to her love affair with Mark Antony.
• Despite being the best film of 1963, Cleopatra's big budget, behind-the-scenes drama and controversy led to its financial crisis.

1963 years Cleopatra was a box office triumph, topping the charts for that year, but the four-hour epic was still a complete financial failure. Starring Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton as Marc Antony, and Rex Harrison as Julius Caesar, the film was fraught with controversy during its development years. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did, and each misstep and scandal drove the bill higher and higher. Over time Cleopatra Released in 1963, it quadrupled its budget, making it nearly impossible for the box office to replace it.

The idea of ​​​​a massive, unprecedented film about Cleopatra, which no one had seen before, began with Walter Wanger. Vanity Fair), a successful film producer who brought the concept to Twentieth Century Fox in 1958. Cleopatra. Taylor was cast, Rouben Mamoulian was chosen to direct, and several other actors were chosen to fill various other roles. That's when things started to go wrong. After delays and a completely spent budget, Twentieth Century Fox basically had to start over With a new director and massive recasts, rewrites and reworkings that all cost big bucks.

What Cleopatra Was About

A four-hour saga about Egypt's most famous queen

Script for Cleopatra Adapted from the 1957 book The Life and Times of Cleopatra by Carlo Maria Franzero. This is a story that the world has long been fascinated by – the reign of the famous Egyptian queen Cleopatraand her alleged love affairs, first with the Roman Julius Caesar and then with Mark Antony. This is a tragic tale of betrayals, coups, murder, love and suicide. Cleopatra it didn't return anything. The film has a total running time of 3 hours and 53 minutes, which allows the 1963 epic to cover all the details of the story, from Cleopatra's partnership with Caesar to dethroning her younger brother (and husband), Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, who had previously driven her out of Egypt. .

Once Cleopatra successfully returned to her throne Cleopatrashe married Caesar and the couple dreamed of ruling the world together. Their joint heir, Caesarion, was officially recognized and all seemed well – until, of course, the famous assassination of Julius Caesar. After this, Cleopatra began a love affair with Mark Antony instead, and the two teamed up against Caesar's adopted son, Octavian, who was chosen as heir over Caesarion. After several losing battles and several deceptions and misunderstandings, Antony commits suicide and dies in Cleopatra's arms, who then kills herself.

Cleopatra was a huge box office success in 1963

The scandals about Cleopatra attracted the audience to the theaters

Cleopatra has long been a mysterious and intriguing historical figure, so it's no surprise that her dramatic story draws audiences to theaters. If the tragic temptation wasn't enough, the film's infamous scale would do it. CleopatraThe 1963 film was fueled by rumors of spectacular sets and terrible performances. grossed $58 million at the global box office. It could be adjusted for inflation Cleopatra's total is around $484 million, which is still a fair feat by today's standards.

By the time Cleopatra hit theaters, the struggles and controversies it faced during production were well known, and critics and audiences alike were trying to find out if they were worth all the trouble.

Cleopatra was the best film of 1963 by a good margin, and the film remained in the top 10 grossers for quite some time thereafter. However, critical reception was mixed. Over time Cleopatra was a hit in theaters, the struggles and controversies it faced during production were well known, and critics and audiences alike were looking to see if they were worth all the trouble. This was the biggest result Cleopatra it was just good. This was ultimately fueled by the fact that Twentieth Century Fox lost millions on the project despite the film's box office success.

Cleopatra's Budget and BTS Problems Explained – How Much Money She Lost

Labors of love, disorganized sets and wasted money – Oh My!

Producer Walter Wagner had a great vision Cleopatraand it was clear from the start that it was going to be an expensive film. However, no one could have predicted how much Twentieth Century Fox would spend on the project. In the earliest stages of production, the studio gave Wagner a budget of about $3 million to get the ball rolling—enough for a 64-day shoot with cast and director salaries. Another $5 million was added to cover Nigel Balchin's script and a potential leading lady. Finally, Taylor very publicly signed a $1 million contract— more than any female actor's salary.

shooting for Cleopatra It started in England, and it was the first of many costly mistakes that Fox made. The Alexandria set, which includes several 52-foot-tall sphinxes and spans 20 acres, was built at a cost of $600,000, making it nearly impossible to shoot the Egyptian scenes solely for the gloomy weather. To make matters worse, Taylor became seriously ill with pneumonia and it was only a short time before she recovered and resumed filming. Again, after several months of work Cleopatra had already gone over budget, lost $7 million, and completed only 10 minutes of footage (none of which included Taylor).

After a few months of work, Cleopatra was already over budget, losing $7 million and completing only 10 minutes of footage (none of which featured Taylor).

Cleopatra By the time Taylor recovered, he was already in over his head, but Fox decided to start from square one. The leading lady was one of the few actors left on the project, and even a new director was brought in (Joseph Mankiewicz). England filming was canceled and the filming was brought to Italy instead. The new sets were more spectacular than before The replica of the Roman Forum was reported to be larger than the real thing. Of course, all this costs a lot of money. In the end, Cleopatra It cost 44 million dollars, about 350 million dollars today.

the immense value of Cleopatra The behind-the-scenes drama of the project was public Hollywood news in the 1960s. Taylor began a relationship with the very famous Richard Burtoncausing both to divorce their spouses. There were frequent reports of drug and alcohol use, adding to the already disorganized state of filming. The actors would openly discuss the strange production process Cleopatra for years to come, describing it as a surreal and chaotic experience. Despite being the biggest film of 1963, it took Twentieth Century Fox years to recover. Cleopatra.

In the end, Twentieth Century Fox is estimated to have spent close to $60 million. Cleopatra (when taking into account expenses that are not usually reported within the budget), i.e the film's $58 million box office haul didn't cut it. It wasn't until Fox was sold Cleopatra's television broadcast fee can be said to be 5 million dollars Cleopatra broke even, and it didn't happen until 1966—three years later, blockbuster status and a massive financial crisis all rolled into one.

Source: Vanity Fair