Demi Moore’s latest project, The Substance, is a hit with critics so far, but this comeback needs one more thing to be completed. Demi Moore was one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and 1990s, and even though she has continued to be active in her career, her latest project, The Substance, is being considered her big comeback. After a long rotten streak on Rotten Tomatoes since 2011, Moore’s career has been thriving again with high-rated projects like The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Please Baby Please, and the documentary Brats.
Now joining Moore’s current streak is The Substance, written and directed by Coralie Fargeat. The Substance follows Elisabeth Sparkle (Moore), the star of a popular TV aerobics show. On her 50th birthday, Sparkle is fired and later gets in a car accident. At the hospital, she’s offered “The Substance”, a black market cell-replicating serum that temporarily creates a better and younger version of the subject it’s injected into. However, Elisabeth is unaware of the horrifying side effects of using the substance. The Substance currently has a high rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but Moore needs a bit more for her comeback to be complete.
The Substance’s Reviews Are Great, But Demi Moore’s Comeback Still Needs A Box Office Hit
Demi Moore Hasn’t Had A Major Box Office Hit In A Long Time
The Substance is now Demi Moore’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes with an 89% critics score, surpassing 2011’s Margin Call and 2022’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, both with an 87% score. Critics have praised The Substance’s body horror elements, Moore and Margaret Qualley’s performances, social commentary, and makeup effects, though many have also called it “shocking” due to its graphic body horror scenes, which might not be for everyone. The Substance is doing great with critics, but Moore’s comeback won’t be complete if it’s not a box office hit.
Moore has been part of a variety of projects since her debut in the 1980s, but not all of them have been a box-office hit. Moore hasn’t had a major box office hit in two decades, the last one being Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle. Moore played Madison Lee, a former Angel who became an independent operative and had a lot of resentment against Charlie. Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle was made on a $120 million budget and grossed $259.2 million – however, it was a critical failure, with a 41% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Substance getting positive reviews from critics, a high score and “fresh” certificate on Rotten Tomatoes, and a successful run in different festivals is obviously great for Moore’s career, but its performance with the audience will be key to establishing this specific project as her official comeback. As mentioned above, Moore is currently on a good Rotten Tomatoes streak, but when it comes to box office numbers, the streak isn’t good at all.
What Happened To Demi Moore’s Box Office Success After Her Breakout
Demi Moore’s Career Has Had Many Ups & Downs
Demi Moore made her acting debut in 1981 in the movie Choices, and the following year, she was cast as Jackie Templeton in the soap opera General Hospital. Moore got her big break in 1985 in Joel Schumacher’s coming-of-age movie St. Elmo’s Fire, which made her part of the “Brat Pack”. St. Elmo’s Fire was Moore’s first box office hit, grossing $37.8 million against a $10 million budget, but the project that turned her into a star was the supernatural romance movie Ghost, in 1990.
Moore struggled to get another hit after
Striptease
and has since been part of a variety of projects to different degrees of success.
Ghost was a critical and commercial hit, grossing $505.7 million against a budget of $22-23 million. After that, Moore had other box office hits, such as A Few Good Men ($243.2 million), Indecent Proposal ($266.6 million), Disclosure ($214 million), and Striptease ($113 million). The latter is a key moment in Moore’s career, as even though it did well at the box office, it was panned by critics and is considered one of the worst movies ever made. Moore struggled to get another hit after Striptease and has since been part of a variety of projects to different degrees of success.
The Substance Is Unlikely To Give Demi Moore The Box Office Hit She Needs
The Substance Might Struggle A Bit At The Box Office
The Substance was made on a budget of $17.5 million, and at the time of writing, it’s expected to make around $3 million in its opening weekend. It’s important to note that The Substance will be competing in theaters against the survival horror thriller Never Let Go and the animated movie Transformers One, a key factor in predicting its box office numbers. The Substance’s low budget can help it be a moderate hit and break even, but so far, it doesn’t look like it will be a major hit like the ones Moore had in the 1990s and 2000s.
Of course, this could change and The Substance could become a somewhat unexpected hit, thus bringing Moore’s comeback full circle with a movie that succeeded with critics and general audiences. Even if The Substance isn’t a box office hit, it has already succeeded enough to be considered Demi Moore’s comeback.
