Release: The Oil Slick

The Oil Slick
Genre: Sports/Biography
Director: John Lee Hancock
Writer: Jacob Jones
Cast: James Franco, Tim Robbins, Michael Douglas, Noah Emmerich, Trai Byres, Kevin Owens, Cameron Britton, Justin Hartley, Charlie McDermott, Brandon Mychal Smith, Alan Ritchson






Budget: $40,000,000
Domestic Box Office: $32,900,553
Foreign Box Office: $15,859,828
Total Profit: -$36,004,126

Reaction: Football films can be tricky at the box office - especially at the foreign box office - if there is not a universal theme to the story. This film didn't really have that and it obviously struggled to attract an audience at the box office.

"The Oil Slick by writer Jacob Jones is definitely one of the better sports movies. The feud between the coaches played by Tim Robbins and James Franco alone makes the movie worth a watch. The ups and downs of the Houston Oilers are entertaining but some scenes and events feel a bit rushed and were only scratching the surface, which keeps it from being a really great movie."- Robert Avery, San Jose Mercury

"There are some story and character development issues that are pretty glaring, but when the film is on the football field those drift away and are replaced by exciting sports action. The Oil Slick is a decent movie, but it could have been a lot better with some more work. I'd still recommend it though - especially for fans of sports fans." - Charlie Sage, HBC-TV

"The Oil Slick has a lot going in its favor - a talented, committed cast and a strong attention to detail - but there is a fatal flaw to the story itself. There is no real arc. It tells the facts - and it does this well - but the moments that are supposed to be emotional or monumental fail to land because the characters feel like plot devices rather than lived in characters due to the lack of character arcs." - Katie Barnes, Washington Herald

Rated PG-13 for thematic material, some violence and language