A prestigious literary adaptation that became one of cinema's most notorious box-office bombs

Entertainment · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: When Warner Bros. adapted Donna Tartt’s acclaimed novel The Goldfinch, they assembled a powerhouse team including director John Crowley and cinematographer Roger Deakins. Despite the pedigree, the 2019 film collapsed upon release, failing to capture the book’s complexity and resulting in staggering financial losses for the studio and Amazon.

The production of The Goldfinch began with high expectations following the 2014 acquisition of rights by Warner Bros. and RatPac Entertainment. By 2017, Amazon Studios had joined as a co-financier, securing streaming rights for Prime Video. The project boasted a significant budget of $44–49 million and a cast featuring Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman, and Jeffrey Wright. However, internal test screenings held about six months before the premiere signaled trouble, prompting Warner Bros. to dramatically scale back its marketing efforts.

Upon its September 2019 release, the film was a commercial disaster. It earned only $9.4 million worldwide against its production budget, leading to estimated losses of up to $50 million. The opening weekend was particularly dismal, debuting to just $2.6 million across more than 2,500 screens—the sixth worst-saturated opening in history. Critics were largely unforgiving, with the film holding a 24% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews frequently described the adaptation as inert and confusing, with some critics likening the experience to watching a series of disjointed snippets rather than a cohesive narrative.

The fallout extended beyond the box office. Author Donna Tartt, who received $3 million for the film rights, reportedly disowned the project after being excluded from the screenwriting and production process. Her dissatisfaction was so profound that she fired Amanda "Binky" Urban, her agent of over 30 years. While the film’s cinematography and individual performances were occasionally praised, the consensus remained that it failed to translate the depth of the source material, leaving audiences and critics alike disappointed by the final result.

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