Cats – it’s been called a “nightmarish,” “repulsive” “hairball.” Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the popular Broadway musical had a less than purr-fect weekend. After suffering a harmful blow from critics, the star-studded movie had a disastrous $6.5 million opening. But Jason Derulo, who plays Rum Tum Tugger, is shaking the hate right off. Here’s what he recently said:
Any time you defy what an art form is, any time you defy all rules, there’s going to be some push-back, obviously. But it’s an incredible piece of art done by some of the best people in the world. I am just excited for the people to actually see it because reviewers, I mean, what the hell do they know? Have they made a film ever in their life?
Jason Derulo fired back at the haters with some bold statements about his new film. He called Cats an “incredible piece of art,” whilst shutting down reviewers’ opinions. The pop singer said he’s more excited to see “the people” react then critics. (Hey – writers are people too!) Here’s what else he told TMZ in New York City:
Reviews don't matter, man. At the end of the day, people are gonna go see it and it's gonna be a deportation into another dimension. It's an incredible, incredible, brave piece of art. It has always been that way. When it came out on Broadway, people were like, 'What is this?' It's something totally different.
It’s true! There’s nothing like Cats in theaters. There may never be another movie like it. The alleged $300 million budget project has generated a lot of buzz since its trailer premiered over the summer, mainly centered on its CGI. The movie features huge stars such as Taylor Swift, Judi Dench and Rebel Wilson dancing and singing around in human-cat hybrid outfits for a two-hour-long affair that director Tom Hooper actually wasn’t done with until the day before its Hollywood premiere.
Cats was met with a ton of initial backlash regarding its CGI, so much so that some changes were made in response. Some additional updates were even made after the movie had already started playing in theaters! Jason Derulo even remarked on the movie’s visuals, saying he’s “125 percent” sure his penis was removed from the film via VFX.
Aside from the visuals, Cats had a looming Millennium Falcon racing ahead of it, considering Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker premiered on the big screen on the same weekend! The final episode of the 40-year Skywalker Saga opened at a massive $175 million domestic debut. Cats made it to the fifth spot, with returning blockbusters Jumanji: The Next Level and Frozen II ahead of it.
Yet, the beauty of Cats may lie in it’s love-to-hate factor that could propel the film into cult classic status. Other films with low success on the critical and box office front, such as The Room or Showgirls, have become popular among big audiences and are shown on the big screen more regularly than some of the most well-received movies of all time. Does Jason Derulo mean this kind of “art”? It’s all subjective, right?
Check out Cats in theaters now!
