Margot Robbie's Big Bold Beautiful Journey flops in UK box office as critics savage insufferable romantic fantasy

Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell’s new film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey opened weakly at the UK box office this weekend, drawing £532,000 across 649 screens. The number one spot went to Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, which earned about £2.3 million in its second weekend. The romance fantasy, produced on a £33 million budget, averaged roughly £820 per cinema, described by industry tallies as about 100 tickets sold per venue over the weekend. Robbie drew attention on the red carpet at the London premiere in a backless, jeweled gown, but the sartorial moment did not translate into strong cinema attendance.

The reception from critics was largely negative, withAggregated scores reflecting a split but generally unfavorable response. Rotten Tomatoes registered a 56 percent rottens score and Metacritic placed the film at 39 on the generally unfavorable scale, signaling mixed to negative reviews and contributing to the weak box-office performance. Several outlets mounted pointed critiques of the film’s balance of romance and fantasy, arguing that the premise was miscalibrated and failed to deliver a compelling narrative despite the presence of two bankable leads. In reviews that surfaced around the film’s release, critics described the project as an insufferable romantic fantasy and noted that even strong performances could not rescue the material.

Indiewire’s review argued the movie misfired as a romance and a fantasy; while not blaming director Kogonada entirely for the outcome, the piece suggested that the film’s script did not give the performers meaningful material to mine. The Wrap’s coverage highlighted the mismatch between what Robbie and Farrell bring to the screen and what the story required, framing the pairing as a missed opportunity rather than a triumph. A separate write-up for Variety acknowledged that, despite notable visual moments and certain charming touches, the film ultimately arrives at a sense of emptiness and remains a bore in the end. Screendaily’s critic noted the undeniable chemistry between Robbie and Farrell but said the high-concept feature feels more like a confection than a substantive romance, lingering in a too-sweet, treacly space for too long.

Director Kogonada has previously earned acclaim for Columbus (2017) and After Yang (2021), and the collaboration with Farrell had raised expectations that the film would translate that critical success to a larger audience. Instead, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey marks a rare misstep in his transition to a blockbuster-scale project, illustrating the challenges of translating intimate, high-concept storytelling to a broad market. Robbie, meanwhile, had not released a feature since 2023’s Barbie, which she produced and starred in through her LuckyChap banner and which enjoyed enormous domestic and international box-office success. Barbie’s domestic tally reached about $636.2 million with a global take surpassing $1.4 billion, setting a high bar for Robbie’s return to screens in this more fantastical, rom-com-flavored project. Robbie has said the script for A Big Bold Beautiful Journey was exquisite and felt original, magical, and romantic, and she has expressed an interest in more love-story collaborations with Farrell, though the film’s reception complicates such forward-looking discussions.

The plot follows Sarah and David, who meet at a wedding and are swept into an otherworldly journey that invites them to relive pivotal milestones from their relationship. The concept blends romance with fantastical elements, aiming for a light, escapist vibe. Critics have suggested that the execution did not sustain the emotional or narrative momentum needed to justify the film’s ambitious premise, noting that the romance ultimately arrives at a status that feels thinner than its lofty ambitions.

For Robbie, the studio cycle around A Big Bold Beautiful Journey comes at a busy time: she is expected to reprise the promotional circuit for early 2026, with Emerald Fennell’s adaptation of Wuthering Heights slated for cinemas in February. That project positions Robbie at the center of a slate that blends genre work with prestige-major releases, underscoring the volatility of high-profile leads when a single title fails to resonate with audiences. The trial by box office for this film also underscores the risk in pairing Robbie and Farrell in an expansive romantic fantasy that asks audiences to invest in a fantastical premise rather than a tightly wound, character-driven story.

Beyond the immediate box office data, the industry will be watching how the failure of A Big Bold Beautiful Journey influences future collaborations, casting choices, and marketing strategies for similarly pitched projects. The UK market’s response to the film reflects a broader recalibration in how audiences approach big-name star vehicles that hinge on romance and otherworldly intrigue without a tightly anchored narrative or clear emotional stakes. As the next wave of Robbie’s schedule unfolds, expectations will remain high for a project that can balance star power with a story that grounds its fantasy in relatable human moments.