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Kassovitz’s rant must have put a full stop to most of the film’s potential audience thinking about viewing the film. If Babylon A.D.’s own director is announcing that the film is no good, then the only reason anyone is turning up is to see just how bad it actually is. Anyone else that brought a ticket probably just didn’t get the news.

Because it went over budget, Babylon A.D. ended up costing $70 million. The film was released unceremoniously (it was not screened for critics) on August 29, 2008 over the Labor Day weekend. Out at a fairly wide 3,390 venues, the film took $9.4 million on its opening weekend to reach #2. It was reported that there was very little advertising for the film up until the week it was released. It was also no surprise that it did not fare well with the critics who were brave enough to go view it. The following week it was down to #6 with just $4.1 million. It ended its run in the US with a domestic take of just $22.5 million. Overseas grosses amounted to $49.5 million (with $8 million coming from France). Babylon A.D. had earned a total worldwide gross of $72 million.

While the film opens with a somewhat interesting monologue, it seems that any philosophical and religious message that Kassovitz was trying to put across was suddenly lost during Fox’s decision to increase the action (possibly done because Fox feared a backlash). For example, the opening monologue is reduced in the US version, with dialogue where Toorop denounces God removed entirely, yet it is retained in the European version. Given Fox’s editing of the film, if you take out the end credits, the version released in the US is really only around 80 minutes long. There was an extended cut released on DVD, this being the version released theatrically across Europe, which runs around ten minutes longer and has alternate dialogue.

Even with the technical expertise (the special effects look reasonably good) and fine actors involved (including Charlotte Rampling and Gerard Depardieu in supporting roles), the story is lackluster. There doesn’t seem to be any real importance placed upon Toorop’s mission. Despite the inclusion of Michelle Yeoh, there is also nothing whatsoever unique about the action here. The film has the most insanely ridiculous ending, with Diesel holding hands with two young children making their way home. One has to wonder if Diesel’s star power was starting to wane at this point in his career. It’s possible that he might have damaged his credibility as an action star, having maybe lost fans due to previously starring in the comedy The Pacifier.

The documentary Fucking Kassovitz (yes, that is what it’s actually called) appeared online in 2011, detailing some of the problems that occurred during the making of the film. A good chunk of it generally has Kassovitz getting annoyed with how things are not going the way he wants. It actually opens with him apologizing to his cast and crew for “the mess” that the movie is in. At one point he’s noticeably upset that there isn’t enough of a budget to make the film look like it’s set in the future. In fact, one of the weirdest futuristic advancements seen in the film is a TV you can’t turn off.

When a director goes out of his way to announce that the film he’s just made is stupid, then it’s pretty much dead on arrival. Given Kassovitz’s outburst, that the film made any money at all is quite surprising. Having Babylon A.D. re-released in the future with a director’s commentary would make for fantastic viewing, but it also seems highly unlikely. As it stands, it’s unclear as to just how much of the film is close to Kassovitz’s vision and how much was butchered by Fox, who was either concerned with how the story might be perceived, or they just lacked faith in the director. Maybe it was both.

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