Margot Robbie remains puzzled by the poor reception of Babylon, the 2022 film directed by Damien Chazelle, which struggled both with critics and at the box office. Despite grossing only $15 million domestically, far below its $80 million budget, Robbie expressed on the Talking Pictures podcast that she can’t understand why the film didn’t connect with audiences.
“I still can’t figure out why people hated it,” Robbie said. “I love it. I wonder if in 20 years people will say, ‘Wait, Babylon didn’t do well at the time?’—like how The Shawshank Redemption was a failure at first.”
The Shawshank Redemption was a box office disappointment in 1994 but later became a beloved classic, earning a spot as one of the greatest films of all time after gaining popularity through cable and DVD rentals. Robbie hopes Babylon might find a similar reassessment in the future.
Despite the film’s mixed reception, Robbie reflected fondly on her experience working with Chazelle. She shared stories of how she gave him 51 different versions of her character’s accent during rehearsals before Chazelle settled on a New Jersey accent for her role as Nellie LaRoy, inspired by silent film star Clara Bow.
While Babylon didn’t win major awards, it was nominated for five Golden Globes, with one win for Best Score.