The struggles of world football's highest governing body continue to mount up. The organization's multi-million dollar biopic 'United Passions' tanked during its limited release in the United States over the weekend. The film, which previously debuted at last year's Cannes Film Festival, grossed just $607 from 10 cinemas.
According to The Hollywood Reporter: On Friday, United Passions grossed just $319 from 10 theaters in New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Phoenix, Kansas City, Miami, Minneapolis, Houston, Dallas and Philadelphia, followed by an even worse $288 on Saturday. The top-performing theater, as it were, was Laemmle's NoHo 7 in North Hollywood ($164), and followed by the Shirlington 7 in Hagerstown outside of Washington, D.C. ($161). New York City's Cinema Village 3 reported $112 in ticket sales.
A cinema in Phoenix, Arizona reported a gross of just $9, meaning just one person bought a ticket to see the fictionalized history of the embattled organization.
FIFA reportedly put up three-fourths of the films $30 million dollar budget. The movie is a look at the organization's founding and early days as it examines the lives of key FIFA members like incumbent president Sepp Blatter (Tim Roth), his predecessor Joao Havelange (Sam Neill), and FIFA founder and World Cup creator Jules Rimet (Gerard Depardieu).
Film critics ripped the film. The New York Times claimed it was "one of the most unwatchable films in recent memory, a dishonest bit of corporate-suite sanitizing that's not good even for laughs." The Guardian was equally brutal labelling it "Pure cinematic excrement" and "preposterous hagiography."
The film's hammering at the box office and in the press is just the latest bit of misfortune for the organization. Blatter was forced to resign as president amidst swirling rumours of corruption. While the US Justice Department and Swiss Authorities have already arrested numerous FIFA executives accused of perpetuating the cycle of corruption FIFA profits from.
