Poor Crimson Peak.
Although critics praised its art direction and moody atmosphere, Guillermo del Toro’s lavish gothic romance earned only 75 million against its 55 million budget.
It faced tough box office competition and in all likelihood suffered from poor marketing choices, which depicted it as an indie horror film rather than the love story with ghosts it truly was.
Within del Toro’s oeuvre, the film also holds the tricky position of bridging his financially successful Pacific Rim and the Oscar-winning phenomenon The Shape of Water.
As such, Crimson Peak seemed to come and go without nearly the splash it warranted both on its own merits and as a one-movie microcosm of one of modern cinema’s most lauded visionaries; a director’s origins and passions, distilled.
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