FIFA Movie Lands With A Thud In U.S. Theaters

Transcript

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

The women's World Cup isn't the only thing premiering from FIFA. There's also a feature film that opened in the U.S. on Friday - a $30 million drama called "United Passions."

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

FIFA financed the movie, which details the history of soccer's governing body, starting from humble beginnings in the early 1900s...

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "UNITED PASSIONS")

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As character) (Foreign language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED ACTORS: (As characters) FIFA.

MONTAGNE: All the way up to recent corruption allegations.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "UNITED PASSIONS")

TIM ROTH: (As Sepp Blatter) I don't know where the money's gone. I mean, I have my suspicions.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: (As character) You've been betrayed. You could go to prison.

ROTH: (As Sepp Blatter) Their whole machine's going to blow up.

SHAPIRO: That's Oscar nominated-actor Tim Roth playing FIFA President Sepp Blatter. Despite a big budget and a few high-profile cast members, critics panned the movie as a blatant propaganda.

MONTAGNE: On its opening weekend here in the U.S., it made just $900, according to the Associated Press. The movie only played in 10 theaters. The Hollywood Reporter found a cinema in Phoenix that sold just one ticket.

SHAPIRO: So to borrow a soccer term - it was a flop. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.