by Alex Copley Contributor | Photos by WENN

Tags: Metallica 

Metallica frontman admits blame for movie flop

Through the Never made just $3.4m at the box office

 

0 points

Metallica frontman James Hetfield admits Through the Never flop Photo: WENN
Metallica may be known for their explosive stadium tours, but the ‘Enter Sandman’ band’s foray into film wasn’t met with such acclaim and was deemed a failure in cinemas. Now frontman James Hetfield has opened up about 2012 release, Through the Never - a live performance feature including heavyweight songs from a host of the band’s iconic albums.

The group, who formed in 1981, spent more than $30m on the film - including $5m on a specially built stage. However, in its four weeks of general release, the movie recorded only $3.4m in ticket sales.

Talking to Metallica club magazine So What!, Hetfield said: “How awesome we thought it was, and how 'wow, this is pretty unique' we felt about it, at the end of the day, was its downfall. It was not so much a concert film, not so much an action drama – it was somewhere in the middle. It just fell right down the crevasse. It disappeared. And it was sad to see that.”

Though Hetfield initially wanted to “just point fingers everywhere,” he soon accepted the band’s full responsibility for the failure of the film. “At the end of the day, it's on us. It's our fault. We agreed to it, and there you go. So we've learned a lesson,” he admitted.

Despite this, the frontman still defends the band’s decision to invest in the project and remains hopeful that something positive will come from the “bittersweet” experience. “Things happen for a reason. You might not see the silver lining right now – but down the line, who knows? Maybe the movie will make a mark in history somehow. Or maybe we've basically learned don't do it again,” the frontman quipped.

This summer saw the metal superstars return to British shores, storming Reading + Leeds Festival with two monster headline sets  and cementing their status as legends of the game.

Metallica are currently working on their tenth studio album, the follow up to 2008 effort Death Magnetic. Though no release date has been confirmed, metalheads around the world are anticipating another record packed with killer riffs.

Below: Bands that are influenced by Black Sabbath, Metallica, Iron Maiden

Metallica Tickets

Comments
Latest news on Gigwise

Artist A-Z #  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z