Will New Year's Eve's poor box office kill ensemble rom-coms?

Despite a big, A-list cast, the holiday flick disappointed at the box office — possibly discouraging Hollywood from making more movies like it

Despite starring everybody (including Zac Effron and Michelle Pfeiffer) and their mother, "New Year's Eve" was still a disaster at the box office.
(Image credit: Facebook/New Year's Eve)

New Year's Eve won the weekend box office, but the A-list ensemble romantic comedy, featuring stars ranging from Michelle Pfeiffer to Zac Efron to Robert De Niro, didn't have studio bosses breaking out the bubbly. The film brought in just $13.7 million, far short of the $20-plus million the studios expected. The movie's haul was especially disappointing given that its predecessor, Valentine's Day, opened with a whopping $72 million last year. Valentine's Day did debut over a four-day holiday weekend, while New Year's Eve started on what turned out to be the lowest-grossing weekend since 2008. Still, was New Year's Eve's performance so dismal that it will discourage Hollywood from making more of these star-heavy ensemble pieces?

It's definitely a blow to the genre: Well, "the New Year's Eve/Valentine's Day mini-franchise is pretty much over" after this, says Katey Rich at CinemaBlend. There are other, perhaps better, big ensemble rom coms in the pipeline, such as What to Expect When You're Expecting, but this looks like the beginning of the end for these films. "It's always a bummer to see Hollywood fall on its face for a weekend," but a movie category with "gooey slop" like New Year's Eve will not be missed.

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