Despite putting his own money into the film, Michael Gracey, director of the box office flop Better Man isn’t singing the blues, according to Screen Rant. Released in the States on Christmas Day, 2024, Better Man is a musical drama biopic following the ups and downs of British singer Robbie Williams, but with an unusual twist: the character of Williams is portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee, motioned captured by Johnno Davies and voiced by Davies and Williams himself. This creative decision combined with Williams not being as well known outside the U.K. may be why the film has only grossed $12 million globally on a budget of $110 Million.

Gracey, who previously directed The Greatest Showman with Hugh Jackman, wore multiple hats for this project: director, co-writer, co-producer, and co-financier.

But with these multiple irons in the fire and his extensive focus on Better Man‘s visual effects, as revealed in an interview with Cartoon Brew, it seems the filmmaker’s attention is more on the creative benefits than the financial.

In addition, despite the low gross, Better Man has been well received by those who have seen it, scoring an 88% Fresh Rating and a 90% Audience Rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Better Man is still in theaters as of this writing.