Metallica can't seem to catch a break with their 3D movie experiment, Through The Never. The movie bombed in the U.S. box office and there was hope that maybe they would do well overseas. Turns out, that's not the case at all.
Heavy metal film buff Axl Rosenberg of MetalSucks, who previously worked in the film industry before metal blogging could become a career choice, did some research and found that the movie is not performing well in foreign markets either:
Through the Never has now opened in twenty-five foreign territories across Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia, and to date, has only made $4,452,165 in those markets. Combined with its domestic earnings, that brings its total gross to $7,872,132 — not even half of its reported $18 million production budget, which doesn’t even include marketing costs.
There is still hope for not taking a loss. There are still markets where the movie hasn't opened, plus the movie soundtrack is doing surprisingly well, selling around 60,000 copies to date in the US alone for a product that cost them ZERO to make. I assume that the band is rushing to get the DVD out before the end of the holiday season, because it's clear that Metallica's fanbase is fine with buying product that they can take home. The band is said to be stocking up the DVD/Blu-ray version with a ton of extras to ensure it will sell.
In the end, Metallica may come out on top of this, especially with all the extra PR generated from the movie, so it's too soon to call it a loss just yet. But it's safe to say we won't be seeing a sequel anytime soon.
