The 2002 George Clooney movie Brad Pitt knew would bomb: “Good luck with this one!”
George Clooney followed his blockbuster success with Ocean's Eleven by reuniting with director Steven Soderbergh for an ambitious remake of Tarkovsky's 1972 science fiction masterpiece Solaris. The resulting film was a slow, introspective space drama that struggled to connect with mainstream audiences, emerging as a significant commercial disappointment despite its artistic ambitions.
At the film's premiere, Brad Pitt offered his candid assessment to Clooney, cheerfully remarking "Good luck with this one" and suggesting the film's appeal would be limited to a tiny niche audience. Pitt's scepticism proved prescient—Solaris failed to recoup its production budget through theatrical ticket sales, highlighting the wide gulf between critical ambition and popular taste in cinema.
- George Clooney's 2002 directorial remake of the classic Andrei Tarkovsky sci-fi film Solaris became a commercial failure after the massive success of Ocean's Eleven
- Brad Pitt attended the premiere and joked the film 'appeals to like eight people,' a prediction that proved accurate as it underperformed at the box office