Lionsgate is bringing Eli Roth’s Borderlands to Premium Video on Demand later this month to lick its wounds after a dismal box office performance. Beginning August 30, you can purchase Borderlands via PVOD and Premium Electronic Sell-Through. The tale of the film’s journey to the silver screen and subsequent failure at the box office is legend, with journalists and fans baffled by the movie’s ability to misfire despite boasting 17.75 million guns.
I don’t know that anything could have saved Borderlands from its unfortunate fate. The humor of the video game franchise is obnoxious and dated at best, with characters barking in leet speak amidst a Warrior Road-like setting. While colorful characters populate the franchise, production for Borderlands became a hellish experience, with delays, rewrites, and a lack of real stakes making the project’s success an up-dune battle.
The only thing going for Borderlands before release was the film’s cast, which consists of Hollywood A-listers like Cate Blanchett (Lilith), Kevin Hart (Roland), Jack Black (Claptrap), Jamie Lee Curtis (Tannis), Ariana Greenblatt (Tiny Tina), and Gina Gershon (Moxxi). An ensemble such as this could turn coal into diamonds, right? Apparently not. The movie has only garnered $25 million against an estimated $110-$120 million budget, making it one of the biggest box office blunders in film history.
According to Jimmy O’Dee, a stunt coordinator on the film, an R-rated version of Borderlands was the goal.
“We were shooting an R-rated movie when we did it. We always knew that we were going to go either 15 or R rating, it’s 15 in UK, for a slightly mature audience,” O’Dee told ScreenRant. “So, we were blowing people’s heads off. And we were cutting feet off. We were doing all of that. But then, you know, a lot happens. We shot that nearly three years ago, or we just finished it. So, I guess a lot happens in post, and they see where it’s going to go and what market they’re aiming for. But literally the idea and the brief was carnage, head cutting off, feet cutting off. Go for it and then we’ll sort it out in post. It was that kind of thing.”
Given Roth’s history in the horror genre, it’s no surprise that he would want to bring a little of that to Borderlands. “He loves horror,” O’Dee said. “It was funny, he was on the second unit, he came over, and he was like, “Uh… just cut the ankles off. Yeah, get the knife and cut the ankles, and we will leave these stubs.” It was kind of like there wasn’t enough gore for him sometimes. Eli was all over that kind of stuff. He was great to work with. It was such a fun time with him.” The film ultimately received a PG-13 rating for intense sequences of violence and action, language, and some suggestive material.
Based on the video game franchise of the same name, Borderlands stars Cate Blanchett as Lillith, an infamous outlaw who returns to the place where she grew up and forms an alliance with a team of misfits to find the missing daughter of the most powerful man in the universe.
If you’re like me in that you’re still morbidly curious about Borderlands, you can bring it home via PVOD beginning this Friday, August 30. Why not make a night of it? Invite a few friends, pour drinks, eat an edible, and laugh yourselves stupid. Not every movie needs to change the world. There may be a place for Borderlands, after all.