Eli Roth: "Borderlands" Became "Something That Belongs to No One" After Its $33 Million Flop

The "Borderlands" movie carried a $120 million budget, not counting the expensive marketing costs surrounding its summer 2024 release. Despite a star-studded cast including Cate Blanchett and Kevin Hart, the film collapsed at the box office instantly, recouping only a quarter of its production cost. The video game adaptation was a disappointment for existing fans and an overly chaotic mess for average moviegoers. Director Eli Roth is now suggesting the studio is to blame.

"As things get bigger, studios naturally become more risk-averse," Roth told Variety in a recent interview. "As a filmmaker, my nature is to do what's left of center, because that's what has worked for me." The writer-director behind early-2000s horror films like "Cabin Fever" and "Hostel" didn't elaborate on which parts of his vision were trimmed by Hollywood, but he said targeting a PG-13 rating for "Borderlands" was fatal.

"What resulted was something that belongs to no one," Roth said. "It's not a kids' movie, but it's trying to appeal to everyone. It's meant for gamers, but it doesn't include the violence gamers wanted, because it can't be that extreme — the cost would be too high. You end up with a movie that's neither fish nor fowl."

While the "Borderlands" games are actually rated M (17+) by the ESRB for bloody animations and crude humor, that's not really what they're known for. The violence and gore are more cartoonish; the cel-shaded art style allows for comic-book-style cutaways, leaving the goriest parts to the imagination.

Roth chose the independent route for his latest comedy-slasher film, "Ice Cream Man." He initially said the film didn't use generative AI, then later claimed he "misspoke." At least if that film turns out badly, he'll have no one to blame but himself.