Fifa’s 'cinematic excrement' biopic 'United Passions' bombs in the US
A Fifa biopic retelling the history of the international football body has flopped in the US raising a mere £397.
Amid the scrutiny and arrests plaguing the body, the self-congratulatory ‘United Passions’, featuring Tim Roth as Sepp Blatter, Sam Neil and Gerard Depardieu, has been slammed by critics and ignored by audiences – despite Fifa pumping a reported £17m into it.
The retelling of Fifa’s history from the perspective of three of its presidents debuted in the US on only 10 screens. The movie, which was hindered by the timely standing down of movie protagonist Blatter, has been ribbed by critics.
Branded by the Guardian as “pure cinematic excrement”, “one of the most unwatchable films in recent memory” by the New York Times and “a squirm-inducing heap of propaganda at its most self-congratulatory” by the LA Times. It looks unlikely the movie will ever make back its £20m budget.