Anyone who has worked in a bureaucratic job in a cubicle or for a memo-pushing boss where nothing gets done in the usual office park probably recognizes their workplace in the iconic 1999 comedy, Office location.
The movie is so sweet that its best lines are immortal In movie lists. Bill Lumbergh: “So, if you could do that, that would be great…” And Milton Waddams: “Y– Sorry. You– I believe you have my stapler?” Bob Slidell: “What would you say…what would you do here?”
And who could forget the TPS report or the fact that one of the office employees is named Michael Bolton? Bill Lumbergh: “I need those TPS reports… ASAP.”
Classic. How can such a film flop? After all, office space There was a deeper point: that modern work is about achieving nothing, avoiding risk, and drowning in paperwork, while losing your humanity and being micromanaged and treated like a number. And that was before AI.
The film ‘Office Space’ was a ‘bonafide box office flop’ in 1999.
(Photo by Getty Images)
Was office space Really a flop? Yes. The film “was a box office failure in 1999, grossing just $10.8 million.” Diversity Informed.according to vice presidentThe film was “removed from distribution after a very short time” in theaters.
However, according to Diversity, “Workplace satire” was rediscovered through DVDs, blockbusters, and then streaming shows. Over time, word of mouth spread, and it became a “cultural sensation”.
The film was created by Mike Judge, known for animated comedies. Beavis and Butthead And King of the Hill.
The protagonist is Initech programmer Peter Gibbons, played by Ron Livingston, who hates his job, in part because of his micromanaging boss, Bill Lumbergh, played by Gary Cole, who won’t leave him alone. Diversity Explained. The film introduced the term “as*clown” to refer to singer Michael Bolton, with whom a character shares his name, vice president reported, And a major restaurant chain stopped asking its employees to dress “tastefully.”
Why did ‘Office Space’ flop?
The judge gave the theory variety tI hope the movie flopped because “It was hard to make a trailer for this movie – it was hard to market it in general. And the trailer wasn’t very good. I mean, it was a weird movie at the time.”
Fans got excited on reddit thread. “Even before streaming, some movies were box office movies, and some movies were DVD selling movies. Office Space was definitely a selling DVD movie. Nothing about it made me feel like I lost anything by not seeing it on the giant screen, even though it is a great movie.” Wrote one.
One fan wrote, “Some of the best movies in front of its audience.” Another wrote: “Because the world wasn’t ready for another Michael Bolton.”
Basically one of the reasons why the movie flopped is 1999 it was quite a year For movies. This film faced tough competition from films like fight Club, American Beauty, toy story 2, And the green Mile.
Livingston said Diversity: “People come up and tell me the movie changed their life. It’s like after seeing the movie, it gave them the confidence to get out of whatever they were doing that was making them unhappy and move on to something else. I only hear from people for whom it worked, but hopefully there aren’t too many who regret it.”
Connected:
