“Cats” Bombs at the Box Office

Taylor Swift in "Cats"

Cats is officially a box office flop.

The feature adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s acclaimed musical has opened to the purr of 6.5 million, well below its 10-15 million projections. 

The film features a stellar cast that includes Taylor Swift, Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson, Jason Derulo, and James Corden, who donned feline features thanks to “digital fur technology.” As early as the first teaser dropped, the creepy visuals upended the internet and now that the film has hit theaters, it is still sending moviegoers into a total frenzy. 

“The [social media] blowback was massive and that did hurt it,” said Jeff Bock, a media analyst with Exhibitor Relations.

No doubt an odd creative choice for the musical-veteran studio, Universal, which credits include the Mamma Mia musical franchise and the Oscar-winning Les Miserables.