• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

Coroner’s Report: Michael Mann’s ‘Ferrari’

Why is the industry surprised when expensive awards bait films, designed to impress critics more than audiences, fail at the box office? The latest Mann disappointment is an example of the chasm between film executives and filmgoers.

Adam Driver in 'Ferrari.'
Adam Driver in 'Ferrari.' Courtesy of Neon
Scott Mendelson
January 29, 2024

After earning $36 million worldwide in its first month of theatrical release, Michael Mann’s Ferrari is most unequivocally the biggest box office bomb of the year-end holiday season. The film, financed independently and released domestically by Neon, arrived on PVOD this past Tuesday as it exited the Oscar race with zero nominations. Was this surprising? No. The Ferrari crash-and-burn is the latest and most lucid example of the disconnect between the powerful people who make movies and those who actually pay to watch them.