New Delhi

If there was one film that Margot Robbie didn’t expect to be a dud at the box office, then it's Babylon. Recently, the Barbie actress appeared on the Talking Pictures podcast and expressed how baffled she was at the reception her film had at the box office. Babylon was projected to be a mega hit before its theatrical release but went on to become 2022’s biggest box office flop.

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Babylon featured Margot Robbie with Brad Pitt in a film directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Damian Chazelle. Babylon is a Hollywood epic centred on silent movie stars in the 1920s as they struggle to adapt during the industry’s transition to talkies. Babylon was made for a budget in the $80 million range but bombed at the box office. 

Margot Robbie didn't understand why Babylon flopped

During the podcast, Margot said, “I am still saying that,” when podcast host Ben Mankiewicz expressed confusion over people not liking Babylon. She added, “I love it. I don’t get it either. I know I am biased because I am very close to the project and I obviously believe in it, but I still can’t figure out why people hated it. I wonder if in 20 years people are going to be like, ‘Wait, “Babylon” didn’t do well at the time?’ Like when you hear that ‘Shawshank Redemption’ was a failure at the time and you’re like like, ‘How is that possible?'”

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Margot Robbie in Babylon

Margot Robbie starred in Babylon as the fiery rising star. She played a character named Nellie LaRoy, who was inspired by the real-life Clara Bow. 

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She revealed, “When we were trying to figure out what the accent should be for that character, I gave him 51 different versions of an accent. It was like doing a one-woman show. We started off with like Boston. Nellie is from Boston. Here’s what she sounds like if she’s from Arkansas. Then I got specific. Here is Nellie if she was a mixture of Snookie from the ‘Jersey Shore’ and Joe Pesci. Now I’m going to be a little bit of Fran Drescher mixed with Snookie. This is how specific we got. At one point I counted all the voice things I offered him at that point and it was 51.”