Russo Brothers Reflect on The Electric State’s $320 Million Price Tag

The Russo Brothers might be Marvel’s geniuses whose superhero movies are still regarded as some of the highest-grossing films in history, but things clearly didn’t work out with the directors’ most recent project.

Released on Netflix on March 14, The Electric State starring Millie Bobby Brown in the leading role performed badly with critics, currently having a score of 14% based on more than 100 reviews, though it still climbed high in the streamer’s global top chart, currently sitting at the first position.

With the movie’s budget estimated as a whopping amount of $320 million, the question about a necessity to put so much money in the production is once again in the air; the Russo Brothers, however, have a slightly different take on the matter.

Anthony and Joe Russo Say There’s Only 1 Reason Big-Budget Movies Should Be Released on Streaming

Following The Electric State’s success with Netflix’s audiences, it might be difficult to understand why the movie wasn’t meant for theatrical release after all, especially since its production required a record budget for the movie scheduled only for a streaming premiere.

The film’s critical response was probably what made the Russo brothers change their mind about the whole sense of investing that much money in this type of flicks.

However, according to Joe Russo, this business model is unlikely to just vanish at some point.

“Logically, it probably doesn't make a ton of sense to continue to spend that way, but I think they might – because people still believe in ambition. Executives still believe in ambition. People still want the branding that comes with ambition. They still want that sex appeal that comes with ambition. So I still think you’ll see some of those pop through, but I don't think it's going to be a healthy part of the business model”, the director stated.

The Electric State Is the Lowest-Rated Movie in the Russo Brothers’ Career

Despite having a raving success with the viewers on Netflix and holding a much better score of 74% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, The Electric State is so far one of the worst-rated movies ever produced by Anthony and Joe Russo, holding the same score of 14% as the directors’ 2014 holiday comedy A Merry Friggin' Christmas.

Apart from Bobbie Brown, The Electric State also stars some other prominent figures like Chris Pratt, Anthony Mackie, Woody Harrelson, Ke Huy Quan, Stanley Tucci and Giancarlo Esposito, following an orphaned teenager who embarks on a mission to find her long-lost brother in a retro-futuristic version of the 1990s.