TV Critic Breaks Down Why Fans of Whitney Houston Aren’t Really Feeling the New Biopic

The biopic “Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” debuted over the weekend with an estimated $5.3 million in ticket sales, landing in third place at the box office. The drama had a reported production budget of $45 million dollars so its lukewarm opening is considered a disaster by some industry analysts.

Once the holiday festivities have come to a close and the weather eases up, the film will hopefully find favor with audiences looking for a brand new film to enjoy and one about this an incredible icon,” Comscore Senior Media Analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Urban Hollywood 411. But film critic Shawn Edwards isn’t so sure, according to the report.

Whitney Houston fans love Christmas. They weren’t running out of the house to see this movie during the holidays,” said Edwards, executive producer of the Critics Choice Association’s “Celebration of Black Cinema & TV.

“The release date is terrible. Why didn’t Sony release this in October and capitalize on the popularity of their film, The Woman King, which they released in September,” he added.

Speaking previously to Variety, Davis, who signed Whitney to her record contract, said, “I have a mission here. I have a mission to make sure that for all time that the full picture of Whitney Houston is captured in a no-holds-barred film that is musically rich and shows her genius and more of her character than we have seen to date.”