Margot Robbie’s ‘Babylon’ lands on Netflix after a disastrous cinema run

One of Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt’s most high-profile box office disappointments is getting a second chance on streaming, with Babylon arriving on Netflix in the United States on December 7, 2025.

Directed by Damien Chazelle, the film was originally released in cinemas on December 23, 2022 and came with major expectations following the director’s Oscar-winning success with La La Land. The cast also included Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo and Li Jun Li.

Despite its star power and scale, the film failed to connect with mainstream audiences during its theatrical run and struggled to recoup its costs.

How badly did ‘Babylon’ perform at the box office

Publicly available figures estimate that Babylon was produced on a budget of around $80 million and grossed just over $65 million worldwide. These figures do not include global marketing and promotion costs.

In early 2025, industry estimates suggested the film may have lost Paramount Pictures as much as $87 million. While exact losses are difficult to verify due to the complexities of studio accounting, the estimate offers a clear indication of how sharply the project underperformed.

A second life on streaming

With its debut on Netflix, Babylon is now expected to reach a far wider audience than it did during its cinema run. The film’s arrival on one of the world’s largest streaming platforms gives millions of viewers their first opportunity to engage with Chazelle’s ambitious vision.

For Robbie, whose career includes major hits such as Barbie, The Wolf of Wall Street, I, Tonya, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Suicide Squad, Babylon remains one of the rare projects where box office success did not follow star power.

Whether the film will find new appreciation with home audiences remains to be seen, but its Netflix release now offers Babylon a long-awaited second act.