Jennifer Lopez Heartbreak: £22M Musical Flops With Under £7K Opening, Sells Equivalent of 700 Popcorn Boxes

Jennifer Lopez's acting career suffers another blow with Kiss of the Spider Woman's box office performance.

Lopez's latest film, Kiss of the Spider Woman, was a catastrophic flop at the UK box office over the weekend, earning £6,856 ($9,260) against a budget of £22 million (about $30 million). That debut revenue amounts to 700 popcorn boxes sold in cinemas, according to the Daily Star.

Media outlets have yet to confirm Lopez's response to the turnout, though she described the film as a passion project, according to The Sun. 'I was waiting my whole life to be able to do a real big MGM Hollywood musical, and I finally got to do it. It was more than I hoped,' she said.

Musical Earns Critical Acclaim at Sundance

Critics generally embraced Kiss of the Spider Woman when it premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Despite the initial reception and rumours of Oscar nominations, the film underperformed at the US box office last October, grossing £660,000 ($891,000) against a £1.1 million ($1.5 million) opening target. It went on to take £1.48 million ($2 million) in total during its US run.

The film's UK opening grossed a mere fraction of expectations, making it one of the weakest debuts for a major production led by an A-list star. Released last Friday in more than 140 cinemas, that equates to an average of £49 ($66) per venue.

Directed by Bill Condon, Kiss of the Spider Woman is a modern take on the 1992 Tony-winning Broadway musical based on Manuel Puig's 1976 novel, which was first adapted for film in 1985. Produced by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Lopez, the latter leads the cast alongside Tonatiuh and Diego Luna.

Lopez Finalises Divorce During Filming of Kiss of the Spider Woman

Lopez recalled having conflicting emotions while filming, hinting at her divorce from Affleck, now officially her ex-husband. 'It was a really tough time. Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy,' she told CBS. 'And then, it was like, back home it was not great. And it was just like, Oh, you know, how do I reconcile this?'

The couple's divorce was settled in January 2025, coinciding with the Sundance world premiere of Kiss of the Spider Woman. 'It was the best thing that ever happened to me,' she said. 'Because it changed me ... It didn't change me, it helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow.'

Jennifer Lopez's Career Highs and Lows

Lopez's film career has included several highs, with hits such as Selena, Hustlers, Monster-in-Law and Maid in Manhattan. However, recent releases have fallen short of expectations, particularly 2024's Unstoppable, which grossed only £3,112 ($4,200) in the United States on its opening weekend.

The setback does not appear to faze Lopez, who began her career as a dancer on the 1990s comedy series In Living Colour. She has successfully navigated both her music and film careers for the most part, with her early studio albums topping the Billboard 200 chart. She also merged acting and singing in Kiss of the Spider Woman, a musical.

'The hard times are the lessons, and you have to understand that,' she mused. 'You have to understand that. And once you do, everything just becomes a little bit lighter. And you can really, really fly... And I still feel like I want to fly higher. I want to see more. I want to do more things.'